NaPoWriMo #5 - Her Name is Sorrow

NaPoWriMo, Day #5 - (From ReadWritePoem) Today, let’s make poetry really personal. Give poetry, as you write it, a name. Possibly a gender. And a personality.

Her Name is Sorrow

They gather together in a circle -

All ages,

Personalities,

Names,

Personas –

They wear many hats.

They come from all walks of life.

Some have been friends for years -

Marrying,

Raising children,

Rejoicing at graduations,

Dancing at weddings,

Awaiting the birth of grandchildren.

Others scorn the rest, openly.

An impersonal activity

soon becomes

personal,

as they vie for attention.

“Pick me! Pick me!”

“I’m better than she is.”

“I have an amazing story to tell.”

They forget we’ll draw straws.

One holds back,

huddling silently in a corner she fears.

She fears the light

knowing most will never believe.

She fears the truth –

revelation that she caused it all.

She fears opening old wounds,

gashes hemorrhaging her soul –

Tears are not recompense

or validation –

even though

they may start and never stop.

Sometimes,

her voice wins

by default –

a brief vindication –

Truth writes itself.

Her name is

Sorrow.

©Bridget Nutting, 2010

NaPoWriMo #4 - Theory Repudiated

From ReadWritePoem: NaPoWriMo, Day #4 -
Write a poem today that illustrates your idea of what is inside-out.

Theory Repudiated

If experience is the greatest teacher,

I should know…

An organ suspended

On ruffled sleeve

Will wither and wane,

Not thrive.

However,

Belief remains -

Hands clapping save faeries…

Bells ringing mean an angel gets his wings…

Good knights arrive on snow white steeds,

While evil dresses in black.

The handsome prince awakens

The beautiful princess

With one kiss…

Proof of Resurrection.

Good people live happily ever after -

Proof of Karma.

Irony recommends

Remanding vital organ to bone jail

Therefore,

increasing its strength -

Callousness required

For survival.

Theory repudiated –

I still believe.

I will clap hands…

Ring bells…

Entertain good knights and handsome princes…

I will welcome kisses

Knowing beauty has many faces and forms.

I will live well,

Knowing “happily ever after”

is best

Measured in moments -

For that

is

truly

all there is

of

Ever After.

©Bridget Nutting, 2010

I am amazed how each day so far, I began with a destination in mind and ended up somewhere else...a virtual road trip sans map...another exciting advenutre of discovery.

Blessings on your day!

NaPoWriMo #3 - My Deepest Fear

NaPoWriMo #3 - scared yet?  (from ReadWrite Poem)
It’s daunting to take on a commitment as large as NaPoWriMo, but here you are. Today is Day 3, and you are facing your fears. RWP member Joseph Harker thinks there’s a poem in that; here’s his prompt for you:


Write about something that scares you. It could be tarantulas or your significant other cheating on you or an existential fear of the unknown so long as it unsettles you. Describe it in the most vivid language possible!

Sometimes by articulating our fears, we strip them of their power. (But don’t go too far! A little fear is good to have.)

My Deepest Fear

Writhing and slithering,
They claim their territory –
The grasses and rocks surrounding our home.
They lived here first.
They strike at foreign movements injecting
Deadly poison into unwanted intruders.
Although much smaller than their victims,
Their very presence elicits fear and respect
From larger beings,
Rendering them safe…
An attribute I desire, but cannot possess.
I’m mesmerized by their abilities.
I wonder why my safety is less valuable than theirs.

I was three; small.
The mother led me by the hand.
He was the new grandfather – one of many –
My fear, unfounded, so the mother said.
The mother and grandmother left me there –
As they would many times -
so they could drink and dance…
Small lamb led to slaughter –
Isaac led by Abraham –
Where was God when I was sacrificed?
My bite held no poison…
The larger being had no fear.

I fear pain -
Not pain that remains
as multi-colored bruises on tiny limbs,
Those have healed, although I can’t forget –
I fear pain that lingers in hugs
that hold too long and close,
Kisses bordering from friendly to intense,
Compliments tempting trust –
I fear what follows…
I fear the pain of wondering what the child is worth –
The small child huddling in the darkness of my soul
Awaiting safety still…
Where was God when that child was sacrificed?
That remains my deepest fear!

©Bridget Nutting , 2010


This was not my original intent, but as I wrote this seemed to develop a life of its own.  I am often amazed at the power of poetry/writing to unleash pain we thought was healed long ago.  The work is never finished...the process continues.

Blessings on your day!

NaPoWriMo #2 - RITUAL

Today's Prompt from ReadWritePoem:
It’s Day 2! And Read Write Poem member Therese Broderick has a great prompt for you. (Please don’t expect the introductions to all of our NaPoWriMo prompts to rhyme):
If you love acronyms as I do, your mind has already shortened “Read Write Poem” into “RWP.” But the three letters RWP form known acronyms for at least 31 other phrases, including “Random Weird Person” and “Right Wing Pundits.”
Today’s writing prompt is to type the letters RWP into the abbreviation search field at Acronym Attic and write a poem inspired in any way by one or more of the resulting phrases. You don’t have to use the words from the phrase in your poem, but you can if they fit. GLWI (Good Luck With It)

The following is my attempt, using "Regular White Paper."

RITUAL

Each morning

upon arising,

I gather together

instruments of worship

moving reverently

toward

wooden altar

adorned with dictionary and Dell.

Regular white paper

lies prostrate –

Virgin rag awaiting baptism.

In obeisance and prayer;

I offer pieces

of my soul in exchange

for divine colloquies.

Patiently,

I await profound inspiration…

Sacred blessing

transforming mere soliloquy

into enlightened articulation

worthy of praise…

venerated tributes to ceremony…

Ritual revisited daily.

©Bridget Nutting , 2010

NaPoWriMo #1 - Shuffle a Poem

Prompt #1: Today's prompt requires everyone to follow these steps.

1. Put your iPod or iTunes on shuffle.

2. Write down the first five titles that come up. No cheating allowed.

3. Use all five titles to draft a new poem. They have to be used intact - you can interrupt them with punctuation, you may not remove or change words.

The titles for me were:

1. The River - Garth Brooks

2. Hallelujah - Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris

3. Dante's Prayer - Loreena McKennitt

4. Mary - Patti Griffin

5. What's This Life For - Creed

The following poem is my result.

I Can Never Be Your Mary

I can't breathe.

The weight of your demands

is suffocating.

It's never enough -

You're always wanting more;

More money...

More coffee...

More time...

More me...

I have nothing left to give -

You've claimed it all.

Still,

you beg and plead,

Knowing deep inside

it can never be

the way it was

when first we loved.

Even if we gathered by the river

of our former innocence and youth,

Arms raised in praise,

Singing "Hallelujah"

and chanting "Dante's Prayer,"

Too much has transpired -

We can never return to times long past.

I can never be your Mary.

I am not a saint.

I am not an angel.

I am a woman...

I, too, want more!

The time has come to make a change

Unless we both choose

to settle for less,

Leaving us to continually ask,

"What's this life for?"

©Bridget Nutting , 2010

I must admit that I wanted to keep shuffling until I received a better "five," but my conscience wouldn't allow more than a passing thought. This was an interesting challenge, for sure. I am anxious to use it as a prompt with my high school students.

December Poetry Challenge (Sage Cohen) - ReadWritePoem

Your challenge this month is to write a 20-line poem using the list of words given as the ending words on each of your lines, i.e., stragglers should end line one, clink should end line two, etc. You can’t change the form of the word, but feel free to get creative with parts of speech (use the word as a noun, verb, adjective, etc.). What about the twentieth and final word? That one’s up to you. It can be any word you like or one you select at random. Just open any book like we did, close your eyes and point. 

Following is a list of nineteen words we chose completely at random from a number of different poetry books by poets who have widely divergent styles, and therefore, widely divergent vocabularies. We simply closed our eyes, opened the books to any page and pointed, so we refuse to take any responsibility for these words:

1. stragglers
2. clink
3. vulgar
4. reading
5. sundown
6. number
7. apricots
8. solar
9. wearing
10. park
11. California
12. sandwiches
13. ears
14. gray
15. walk
16. felonies
17. cadence
18. inconceivable
19. episode
20. ?

Forbidden

Several curious stragglers

Heard our crystal glasses clink.

Unapproving comments bordered on vulgar;

Whispers unmasked only by impeccable lip reading.

Oppositional, we continued toasting until sundown.

As an alternative, an indiscriminate number

Suggested indulging in delectably, delicious apricots,

Readily available locally due to intensive, persistent solar

Energy. We gathered them yesterday while wearing

Doc Martens and Bermuda shorts in a private park

Somewhere in southern California.

Today we savor tuna and watercress sandwiches -

Periodically nibbling on each other’s ears –

Under ominous clouds, gray;

Summer rain threatening while we walk.

Amusingly, we ponder real and imagined felonies

Committed during our day-long cadence.

Incarceration is unconceivable –

A forbidden episode –

Especially while wrapped tightly in your arms.

©Bridget Nutting , 2009

Message from a Modern Day Prophet

My youngest son, Joseph, wrote this yesterday in honor of September 11th. He is very wise for his 21 years. We all need to remember this message.... I couldn't have said it better myself!

Tell, better yet, show the ones around you that you love them. Don't hesitate or hold in the feelings that you have. Be honest, open, and real. Take every chance in life to feel emotion. Whether it is happiness, pain, sorrow, or love. Don't be afraid to feel every emotion in which we've been blessed. Even those emotions that we dread are only reminders of the blessing of those we crave.

We never know what life has in store for each of us. The next step in our paths as individuals on this Earth is unknown. Don't risk never having the chance to be honest and truthful with your self and those you love.

Six years ago today, thousands of people were torn from those they love. They lost that next chance to say the things they always thought they would have a chance to say. They left their homes in a hurry to get to work. Forgetting to kiss the ones they love and never saying the words that would have only taken a moment’s time to speak.

Remember, life is short. It ends slowly or quickly, but it will end one day. Take the time to speak your truth before time is taken from you. Live life as if every moment is your last...

Carpe Deim!
Joseph Nutting