“’Christ! You know it ain’t easy You know how hard it can be The way things are going They’re going to crucify me'” *
Crow cawing in early morning clouds
Tallest tree invisible in fog
Tarot’s Hanged Man
Initiation into a mysterious world
Odin hung for 9 days
Euhemerizationally** sacrificing his eye
Think of other mythical and biblical
Heroes hung over the centuries
All in the name of knowledge
Ah, but John Lennon
Knew he was a sacrifice
No worse than others
Yet, in his quest for wisdom
He cried out to us:
“Christ! You know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me” *
He knew, he knew
But tell me who
Would assassinate a rocker?
So many of us
Hanging in silence
Smoke and steam
Muffling our dreams
Then thinking we’ve learned
Slip off the slip knot
Abrading the ankle’s skin
Moving into the Earth’s valley
Carrying new knowledge
But never satisfied
And in time
Wake up to find
We’re back on the tree
Dangling in space
Another lesson to memorize
A path to retrace…
. (c) 2018 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
. This is poem is an excerpt from Clarissa’s collection Cording the Cards and shared here with Clarissa’s permissions.
,
* The Ballad of John and Yoko
CLARISSA SIMMENS (Poeturja) is an independent poet; Romani drabarni (herbalist/advisor); ukulele and guitar player; wannabe song writer; and music addict. Favorite music genres include Classic Rock, Folk, Romani (Gypsy), and Cajun with an emphasis on guitar and violin music mainly in a Minor key. Find her onAmazon’s Author Page, on her blog, and on FacebookHERE.
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“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton
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I’m putting the site on hiatus for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States and will return on Wednesday, December 4 with the next Wednesday Writing Prompt.
GRATITUDE: This stunning video was filmed by Louis Shwartsberg. As visually appealing as it is, its peace and healing value lies in the words of Brother David Steindl-Rast.
Jamie Dedes. I’m a freelance writer, poet, content editor, and blogger. I also manage The BeZineand its associated activities and The Poet by Dayjamiededes.com, an info hub for writers meant to encourage good but lesser-known poets, women and minority poets, outsider artists, and artists just finding their voices in maturity. The Poet by Day is dedicated to supporting freedom of artistic expression and human rights and encourages activist poetry. Email thepoetbyday@gmail.com for permissions, commissions, or assignments.
“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.” Eckhart Tolle
Jamie Dedes. I’m a freelance writer, poet, content editor, and blogger. I also manage The BeZineand its associated activities and The Poet by Dayjamiededes.com, an info hub for writers meant to encourage good but lesser-known poets, women and minority poets, outsider artists, and artists just finding their voices in maturity. The Poet by Day is dedicated to supporting freedom of artistic expression and human rights and encourages activist poetry. Email thepoetbyday@gmail.com for permissions, commissions, or assignments.
“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel
The Geoffrey Dearmer Prize Winner: Mary Jean Chan
Mary Jean Chan (b. 1990) was born and raised in Hong Kong. She is the author of A Hurry of English (ignition, 2017), a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice, and Flèche (Faber, 2019 – forthcoming), her debut full-length collection, which is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. She won second prize in the 2017 National Poetry Competition, and has been shortlisted in the Forward Prize Best Single Poem category twice. A Lecturer in Creative Writing (Poetry) at Oxford Brookes University, she lives in London.
If you are reading this post from an email subscription, you’ll likely have to link through to the site to view this thoughtful presentation, A Tapestry of Nrratives: Conversations Through Poetry, by Mary Jean Chan.
The Geoffrey Dearmer Prize Judge: Paul Farley
Paul Farley is a British poet, writer and broadcaster. He is the author of four collections of poetry. His fifth, The Mizzy, is published by Picador this autumn.
Hamish Canham Prize Winner: Carole Bromley
Carole Bromley’s pamphlets (Unscheduled Halt and Skylight) and her three books (A Guided Tour of the Ice House, The Stonegate Devil and Blast Off!) are published by Smith / Doorstop. She is currently working on a second children’s book and a pamphlet about her recent experience of brain surgery. She lives in York.
The Hamish Canham Prize
The annual prize for the best members’ poem in Poetry News was established in 2004 by Sheena and Hugh Canham, in memory of their son, Hamish Canham (1962-2003), who was a gifted child psychotherapist with a passionate interest in, and love of, poetry. Former winners include Ian Humphreys, Duncan Chambers, Robin Houghton, Suzanna Fitzpatrick, Martin Figura and Denise Bennett.
Poetry News
Poetry News, published quarterly, is the members’ newspaper of The Poetry Society. In each issue, a professional poet sets a theme of his or her choice to which Poetry Society members respond. The judge selects six poems for publication in Poetry News. These poets are then eligible to be considered for the Hamish Canham Prize, which is awarded annually and presented by the Poetry Society on behalf of the Canham family.
The Poetry Society
The Poetry Society was founded in 1909 to promote a “more general recognition and appreciation of poetry”. Since then, it has grown into one of Britain’s most dynamic arts organisations, representing British poetry both nationally and internationally. With innovative education and commissioning programmes and a packed calendar of performances, readings and competitions, the Poetry Society champions poetry for all ages. It publishes the magazine The Poetry Review, runs the National Poetry Competition, the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry and the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award.
This post is courtesy of The Poetry Society, The Poetry News, and TED.
Recent in digital publications:
* Four poems , I Am Not a Silent Poet
* From the Small Beginning, Entropy Magazine (Enclave, #Final Poems)(July 2019) * Over His Morning Coffee, Front Porch Review (July 2019) Upcoming in digital publications:
* The Damask Garden, In a Woman’s Voice (August 2019)
A busy though bed-bound poet, writer, former columnist and the former associate editor of a regional employment newspaper, my work has been featured widely in print and digital publications including: Levure littéraire, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature, HerStry, Connotation Press,The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta/ Phor(e) /Play, Woven Tale Press, The Compass Rose and California Woman. I run The Poet by Day, a curated info hub for poets and writers. I founded The Bardo Group/Beguines, a virtual literary community and publisher of The BeZine of which I am the founding and managing editor. Among others, I’ve been featured on The MethoBlog, on the Plumb Tree’s Wednesday Poet’s Corner, and several times as Second Light Live featured poet.
Email me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com for permissions, reprint rights, or comissions.
“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton
Thank you for sharing your love of words. Comments will appear after moderation.
CLARISSA SIMMENS (Poeturja) is an independent poet; Romani drabarni (herbalist/advisor); ukulele and guitar player; wannabe song writer; and music addict. Favorite music genres include Classic Rock, Folk, Romani (Gypsy), and Cajun with an emphasis on guitar and violin music mainly in a Minor key. Find her onAmazon’s Author Page, on her blog, and on Facebook HERE.
Jamie Dedes. I’m a freelance writer, poet, content editor, and blogger. I also manage 
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 