Intro
Dear friends,
Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish.
You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tldr’ version:
Part I
The main ingredient of W3 is a weekly poem written by a Poet of the Week (PoW), which participants respond to in verse.
Part II
The second ingredient is a writing guideline (or two) provided by the PoW. Guidelines may include, but are not limited to: word counts, poetic forms, inclusion of specific words, and use of particular poetic devices.
Part III
After four days, when the prompt closes, the PoW shall select one participant’s poem as the W3 prompt for the following week, and its author becomes the next PoW.
Simple enough, right?
Okie dokie ~ Let’s do this thing!
I. The prompt poem:
‘It’s a Stretch’ by Steven S. Wallace
Just to keep from being eaten, I struggle. It’s August in New York every day! From the darker ends of streets - to make ends meet - On the avenues robber’s anxieties pummel me Until my face bleeds and my skull fractures into broken gravel. Sweating profusely and worn ragged— Eighteen holes? It’s a stretch! But true with a gin and tonic. To say I'm free Reminds me of 1945! But over 18 holes pressure grinds!! On the green the fairway or from the rough, The putt breaks left at soul. “That’s right, not just peeled… skinned raw!” “Haw haw!!” So the conversation goes … “Buses?” “Never on time - haw haw — and neither are clocks!” “It’s quite a racket you got there Bub, cuz jobs mean jobs!” Try explaining any of that to a child Who already has too many chores. “You need a drink! Sue, fix my friend a Rickey! I go back and forth…” “On that score - also - I struggle.” “Two outs and two on every day!” “He don’t get paid enough to make ends meet!” In a whisper “Pump me full” Like a sponge soaked of alcohol, “Caffeine” - haw haw - takes a forthright soldier’s courage. Dipped and soaked in liquid channels Which - in that vein — winds through foggy stupor. Like my bedroom intimidator - anxieties pummel me And my courageous rock crumbles into broken gravel - On its last word - teetering On the shelf ‘tween survival and destruction. Love is the thing with feathers - Whirling vertigo in wind gusts - On the flat Earth’s austere frontier - ‘til sucked into abyss All this love and life and work has me worn ragged, At base camp, I slept like an angel. It’s a stretch, Even with all my expensive gear, to say I'm free!
II. This week’s prompt guideline
- Write an ekphrastic poem inspired by the photograph below, which Steven has shared with us. Ekphrasis is a rhetorical device in which one medium of art tries to relate to another medium by defining and describing its essence and form.
- Steven took this photograph in September ’21, and he has given us permission to use it.
III. Submit: Click on ‘Mr. Linky’ below
In order to participate and share a poem, open up this blog post, outside of the WordPress reader. At the bottom, just below these words, you will see a small rectangular graphic with the words ‘Mr Linky’. Click on that to submit.
Submissions are open for 4 days, until Sunday, September 4, 10:00 AM (GMT+3)
Last week’s W3 poem
This week’s W3 prompt poem (above), composed by Steven S. Wallace, was written in response to last week’s W3 prompt poem, which I wrote:
‘Straits, or: Expanses’ by ben Alexander
I struggle every day to make ends meet Anxieties pummel me into broken gravel Worn ragged, it's a stretch to say I'm free Pressure grinds rough at soul skinned raw Buses; clocks; jobs; child; chores; back|forth I struggle every day to make ends meet Pump me full of alcohol, caffeine, courage Liquid channels wind through foggy stupor Anxieties pummel me into broken gravel Teetering 'tween survival and destruction Feathers in wind gusts sucked into abyss Worn ragged, it's a stretch to say I'm free
[…] brings to end my reign as “Poet of the Week” for The Skeptic’s Kaddish weekly challenge. https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/08/31/w3-prompt-18-weave-written-weekly/ Super fun and David is a really cool host. My assignment was to write a poem based upon this photo […]
[…] for David’s W3 and Eugi’s moonwashed weekly […]
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[…] I wrote this poem in response to the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt on Skeptics Kaddish. This week’s prompt poem is “It’s a Stretch” by Steven S Wallace. If you would like to read the poem or participate in the prompt, visit the post here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/08/31/w3-prompt-18-weave-written-weekly/ […]
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[…] ~~~This ekphrastic poem was inspired by Steven S. Wallace’s photo on the Skeptic’s Kaddish. […]
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[…] is also my entry for David’s We’ave Written Weekly (W3) on the Skeptic’s Kaddish. The Poet of the Week, Steven S. Wallace has challenged us to write […]
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[…] Linking this to the w3 challenge on the Skeptic’s Kaddish, where this week Steven S. Wallace invites us to write an ekphrastic poem in response to this photo.:(https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/08/31/w3-prompt-18-weave-written-weekly/). […]
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