Tag: Free Verse

Twitter poetry 2021: Week 9

ben Alexander13 Comments

My blogger-poet-friend Ingrid inspired me to create a Twitter account and start writing #APoemADay, which I began on January 1, 2021.

I don’t have much in the way of insights regarding this challenge of ours this week… I continue to feel that I’ve hit my stride (largely by taking it easier by aiming to write haikus and cross-posting from blog to Twitter). Actually, now that I think of it, I do want to make note of the fact that I wrote some tankas this week, rather than haikus. That’s somewhat more challenging for me, particular with Magnetic Poetry.

Also, now that we’re at the start of week 10 (a nice, round number), I want to say that I am very impressed with Ingrid for having come up with this idea in the first place – I think it’s a fantastic exercise.

Anyway, below is my 9th week of Twitter poems:

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
David

Jagged, or: Tender

ben Alexander79 Comments

‘Edges and Fringes’ – a d’Verse poetics prompt

(best viewed on a horizontal screen)

Papa,
can you
visit us
from the unknowable beyond
to hearten us, for we miss
you
so
and grief’s jagged edges cut us
even as the edges of mortal life are
clear
to us
remaining, as we do, on this side
living; broken; aching 		Boy,
hear me
in dreams
I call
you
every night, all night
tenderly, I watch over you
With love
glowing
and reaching out to inspire you
from beyond the very fringes
of life
to believe…

The prompt

The above poem is my take on d’Verse’s ‘Edges and Fringes’ prompt.

Our mission was to spark on one of these paths, and I primarily found my way along the 1st and 3rd paths:

  1. Write a poem using the word edge;
  2. Write a poem that keeps Millikin’s question in mind:
    • What is the word, the line, that cuts, that can show that edge?
  3. Write a poem using the word fringe;
  4. Write a poem from the fringe, however you define it.

Twitter poetry 2021: Week 8

ben Alexander24 Comments

My blogger-poet-friend Ingrid inspired me to create a Twitter account and start writing #APoemADay, which I began on January 1, 2021.

To make this challenge easier for myself, I have recently taken to using some of the poems that I share here on my blog on my Twitter account, and I’ve also taken to writing more haikus, which are short. To be honest, I somewhat feel that I am hitting my stride with this daily challenge, and I am enjoying haikus more than I would have expected 😊

Below is my 8th week of Twitter poems:

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
David

Twitter poetry 2021: Week 7

ben Alexander9 Comments

My blogger-poet-friend Ingrid inspired me to create a Twitter account and start writing #APoemADay, which I began on January 1, 2021.

I do think think that I’m growing as a result of this challenge, but part of the challenge is the repetitive the repetitive the repetitive nature of the daily goal that Ingrid and I have set for ourselves. I think we’re both getting a bit weary of this, but so far we’re both still in the race!

I’m not sure if I will stick to the following or not (probably not), but it has struck me that writing haikus might be an easy[er] way of keeping pace in this marathon. Also, since I’ve started writing haikus with “Magnetic Poetry”, I’ve been including them on my Twitter account too. Anyway…

Below is my 7th week of Twitter poems:

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
David

Six-year-old burgeoning poet

ben Alexander75 Comments

A couple of days ago, you provided me with an outpouring of wonderful advice, as to how I might nurture and develop my six-year-old daughter’s poetry talents. Truly, the many suggestions for approaches, games, techniques… were simply amazing. Thank you so very much.

By coincidence, the very following day my six-year-old told me that she wanted to write a free verse poem with me (“a poem that doesn’t rhyme,” she said). I explained to her that poetry doesn’t have to follow the rules of grammar and that lines can break wherever the poet so choses. Also, I emphasized that poetry is intended to express feelings ~ that the most important thing is to feel the words.

Shortly after completing our first collaborative free verse poem (which she deliberately wrote in a silly way), she asked me if she could try to construct a poem with me online on MagneticPoetry, as she had seen me do several times myself. To be honest, I was somewhat hesitant about this because I thought that the aspect of playing with the magnets would distract her from attempting to construct a poem, but many of you (and my mother) had suggested than I just let her play and learn by doing… so I agreed.

Below are our latest pieces, both free verse:

Two poems, a collaboration

by David (41) and Liorah (6)

1.

The car found a cat
The bar found
a bat
The bat was hanging
The cat was
banging
The bat said “can you stop that?”
The cat said
as he walked
on the bar to the car, “I
don’t want to!”
“Why?
Are you not going to stop that?”
Atop the car, beside
the bar, the cat
stared at the bat
from afar
He said to the bat, “I do not want to
because I like it.”
He banged on the bar; it
made the bat cry.
“I am so 
sorry!”
For the cat was now
worried about 
what he did.
The 
bat 
said, 
“Why 
did 
you 
do
that?”
The cat sat
then lay flat
on a mat
near the bat;
put on his hat
and said to the bat,
“Sometimes
it’s hard to control
myself, you see.”
The bat
said, “Yes
I do see.”

NOTES:

I was not the one who began this poem ~ she deliberately wrote something silly about a car finding a cat because she liked the concept and because the two words sound similar. Following her lead, I wrote: “The bar found a bat.” After all, fair is fair – am I right? 😉

Liorah and I took turns with this piece, and upon writing the ending, she asked me, “Do you like my ending?” I smiled. “Very much,” I said and hugged her.

2.

Liorah’s first Magnetic Poem (Feb. 16, 2021)
bluest sky the girl sees
spring goddess in diamond red
gown let storm beauty soar
sweeter and music mist spray
on those forest lake winds

NOTES:

I had to teach her about the magnets with word endings like ‘est’, ‘s’, and ‘er’, as well as how to manipulate the mouse to drag the virtual magnets to the left side of the screen.

Also, when it was my turn to add some words to the poem, she became a bit impatient as I scrolled through all of the available words looking for some that spoke to me. I had to explain to her that this is how I personally write Magnetic Poetry, but she remained rather irked with me. I guess I’m just an old fuddy duddy.

Still here, or: ‘Brown’

ben Alexander61 Comments 
steady, solid, here
I am always here 
always here
for you here
for your arms 
for your backside 
for your back to rest
rest upon me now
rest your weary legs
rest against me; the
rest are flashy, true, still
true I am always
true inside, always
true outdoors, always
true, I am dull, but still
still, unmoving, reliable
still your beating heart
still your breath, your mind
still here, still
I am still here
I am still
I am dull
I am still

The above poem is my take on d’Verse’s ‘True Colours’ prompt.

The writing challenge: To take the perspective of a color in our poems: maybe the vibe and personality of each color is just as we have perceived it. Maybe not. So… let’s leave reality for awhile, slip out of our human bodies and become nothing but a color.

I have always had a fondness for dark, dull colors, and my poem above was written from the perspective of the color brown.

Twitter poetry 2021: Week 6

ben Alexander22 Comments

My blogger-poet-friend Ingrid inspired me to create a Twitter account and start writing #APoemADay, which I began on January 1, 2021.

Honestly, despite my intention last week, I didn’t particularly work on including more adjectives in my poems this week. In fact, if anything, I feel that I’ve hit a rough patch with my Twitter poetry – it’s becoming difficult to motivate myself to write these daily little poems at all.

This week, two of my Twitter poems were directly copied from this blog, and I have already scheduled another poem from my blog to be posted next week. Technically, there’s nothing “wrong” with that because all of my poems are my originals, and I am keeping up with my “daily” commitment, but when I first created this Twitter account, my intention had been to write entirely unique poems for my Twitter account ~ and I’ve failed at that.

Below is my 6th week of Twitter poems:

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
David