Sometimes Ocean roars in like a dragon, frothing and swirling, energy radiating from every salty drop, tossing boats, leveling cliffs, chasing swimmers to shore. Every scale and feather ripples in this self-induced storm, power is the name of the game. Other days Ocean is a mirror, calmly reflecting the world around, inviting bare feet, sand castle builders, and sunset seekers. Still waters run deep and Ocean is seldom still and often deep. Beneath the surface lies worlds unlike those we know on dry land. Curiosities are common. Ocean makes a home for the octopus who is a master of disguise, changing shape and color at will. Pelican skims the surf above, joined by its squadron overseeing the shoreline, pouches poised for a quick snack. Ocean reminds us that water is everything: power and life and home. Whether dragon or mirror, to preserve life on our planet Ocean requires our respect and protection. Now is our time to roar.
Some days a prompt is meant to be reinterpreted. That was today for me. Susan at Verselove offered a prompt called Lingering Lines that was born of lines from plays, movies, music… Those lines that linger in your mind and replay themselves without you consciously pushing replay.
But for some reason, lingering lines became literal lines for me today. I spent some time at the Safari Park and it was the long lines of bamboo reaching for the sunlight that lingered in my mind…and inspired today’s poem.
Last night I woke up in a dream reaching for color. I could see it, just beyond my fingertips. Words pushed and pulled in my brain, like poetry chewing gum, stretching to capture the colors in that narrow slice of sky sandwiched between the black of night and the shadows of the ocean. Vermillion chased crimson and burgundy, playing tag with golden amber, marigold, and coral until the purples came out to close out the night. Violet swallowed lavender, fading into magenta before allowing indigo to close the colorful show. I tossed in the colors of the dreamy sunset, reveling in their taste and smell. I wrapped myself in the warmth dripping from my dreams, painting images visible only to my mind’s eye. Colors lullabied me back into slumber, settling me, soothing me, refreshing me. I slept. The morning dawned gray, color drained. But my brain danced with the colors lingering, tucked safely away to carry me into the day.
Imagine my surprise when my alarm went off this morning, with just a wisp of this dream still lingering and found today’s Verselove prompt. Brittany suggested writing a poem about color in nature. Did I manifest this prompt–or did she manifest my dream?
A prose poem seemed like the best vehicle to try to capture my dream search for color. And of course, I can’t resist including a sunset photo–one of my favorite things to photograph!
Today’s Verselove prompt was an invitation to look closely–something I find that my camera helps me do. So after a stroll through my camera roll, I found my inspiration.
When Erica over at Verselove offered an invitation to write about flowers, I knew immediately that I would write about the California state flower: the golden poppy. Poppy’s feel like my alter ego–they open up in the warmth of the sun and close and duck their heads when the weather cools and the sky is cloudy.
On my first day back in the classroom after a week away for spring break, I knew I wasn’t up for the technicalities of crafting a villanelle. Instead I opted for the simplicity and constraint of an etheree: a ten line poem that begins with one syllable and builds to ten in that tenth line.
Where I’m from poems are tried and true in the writing project circles where I spend my time. So when Stacey at Verselove shared Where I’m From, Again as today’s post, it felt familiar.
I decided to try a very short form today…a Haiku. Can I express some aspect of where I am from in just 17 syllables? Here goes…
Dave’s prompt over at Verselove about travel is actual lived experience at the moment. And as often does when travel is involved, the day got away from me. Here is my small offering…a piece that may (or may not) develop during the course of the month.
Today’s Verselove prompt comes from Denise. She encouraged us to borrow some rhyming words to craft a poem of our choice.
Rhyme is one of those techniques I mostly stay far away from. Rhythm, yes. Word play? I’m in. But rhyme challenges me–it feels too forced or too trite or just too obvious.
But in the spirit of trying and working to craft something meaningful, I turned to Emily Dickinson and her very well known poem, “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers and borrowed some rhyming words–as well as using her title as inspiration on the slant for my title.
An afternoon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium under the influence of the sea–both inside the aquarium and outside in the wilds of the magnificent Monterey Bay provided the content: jellies, the giant Pacific octopus, the grumpy looking moray eel to name just a few.
Thinking Through My Lens 