Category: Hamilton - Everyday Art Every Day

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 25

5/1/2020

I am not ignoring the prompt, but merely deferring it until another time in the future. It is an intriguing prompt that I wish to devote some time. Later, so I will use this opportunity to share two poems that I wrote in Aug. 2019 for an entry into a local art walk.... our local art gallery, Carnegie Gallery in Dundas, Ontario does an annual Art Walk, during Art Week, in which they team up with the Tower Poetry Society. Poets choose artworks to inspire poems and both are displayed on a walk through Dundas BIA.

Beverly
In response to “Beverly Swamp” by Lynne MacIntyre

I peer into the murk and see many me’s,
And reflections of trees.
The trees are upside-down,
And so is my frown;
When I look into the swamp.
I listen with my eyes:
Water waves with a splash
and there’s just a flash
as you dash away;
To where the wild things are,
in the dark, dark wood.
And I wonder where are you, now?

Hidden
In response to “Stoic” by Ralph Heather

So much unseen amongst your green leaves.
In your proud boughs
you gather all the creatures
that I see with my ears:
Squirrels crunch nuts;
Blue jays squaw and screech;
Chickadees chime in;
Cicadas preach;
Interrupting the blackbird’s speech.

Leaves sway,
And they give away
the spot where you play

A tree is a house, an umbrella and a playground,
interconnecting
the lives that exist within and around.

Ouch, a chestnut knocked upon my noggin!
And, I know that if a tree branch crashes to the ground,
it certainly makes a sound.

Can you see the forest for the trees?

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 18

4/27/2020

An Ode to Life’s Small Treasures;
Grandiose Unrealized Pleasures

6:30 am, the arse crack of dawn,
a time for the devil’s spawn,
or so I had thought...
I never knew such beautiful skies! I kid you not!

Opulent pearly pink, incandescent sky,
sultry shades of sorbet sashay.
Bloomy roars, reverberating cheery encouragements.
Optimistic rosy glow, vibrantly voicing hope,
radiating a golden orb of fiery faith in rocky times,
peeking out from the sinister buzzkill clouds;
Glorious red and yellow blazing, entwining flames of citrus
in sky mirrors, topsy turvy glassy reflections make me tipsy.

(Ideas/working out of ideas April 24, 2020, Written and fine-tuned April 25, 2020)

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 11

4/19/2020

I’m ignoring the prompt, which is to look at Flower and botany proper names and meaning... I’ll fish out a past poem to follow the prompt but here is the third, and final poem in The Spencer Creek Trilogy....

In the Key of Creek

Cardinal calls me to Spencer’s sanctuary:
Cicadas keeping beat.

Blue jays strike up the chorus.
Wren envelops me with his whistling, whimsical melody.
Singing sparrow sings solo.
Crickets chime in.
Squirrel spots me and stops.
We stare, sharing a sliver of time.
Uncouth crows call crudely back and forth.
Chickadees chortle, chatting to one another,
announcing, “Autumn is nigh.”
Above, geese fly -
V for victory.

What’s that?
Did I hear a splash?
Bustling beaver is building.
Cat bird cries dramatically.
Cooper hawk eyes his kingdom.
Deer Momma and babe bolt.
I’m honoured to have been so near.
A mink! A mink! I’m tickled pink.
She swam across the creek.
Each day, new wonders.
Spencer’s siren song,
enticing me to sweet splendour. I surrender.

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 10

4/19/2020

2 hay (na) ku sonnets, based on certain song titles downloaded to my iPhone iTunes...

Advice from A - L for Troubled Times

Life
Is closed
Living is not

Awake
At last
Beds are burning

Cold
Dead heart
Long hard road

Intolerance
and hurt
Float on by

Walk the line
At world’s end

Enjoy
the silence
Of dearly departed

Insane
Jungle boogie
In the brain

Just
can’t get
enough karma police

Killing
in name
of King Lionheart

Cracked
but not
Broken in pieces

Kingdom of rust
Living on Prayers

NAPOWRIMO2020 - Poem 9

4/19/2020

This prompt is for a concrete poem, which I have done for my 4th poem, so I present the second poem in The Spencer Creek Trilogy...

Forest Music,
Conducted by Spencer Creek

Bees dance,
dragons swoop,
and damsels swerve.
Cicadas buzz
above
siren sounds
from town,
in tune with the key of creek
Red cardinal calling
Blue jay in the fray
Red squirrel loves to rap.
Tap tap tappy-tap,
a woodpecker, or four,
knocking at the door,
competing with mad machines
lobotomizing the luscious lullaby.
Grackles traverse treetops,
making a mighty ruckus;
Troops storm the creek bed,
taking over the moment.
Squeaking and peeping,
rustling and bustling,
the forest is suddenly very busy
chattering and calling.
Who’s that whistling wanton wishes?

As I reluctantly retreat to rash, brash reality,
brushing off burrs, rebirthing the bush,
I salute Great Blue, standing at attention,
looking for a fishy feast. Then
wondrous wings spanning greatness as he gracefully glides away a w a y...

Finalized, April 19, 2020

It’s coming! NAPOWRIMO is coming!!!

3/29/2019

I’ve registered for the napowrimo site and am super excited, in theory. In truth, I get anxious because I am supposed to write poetry and then I share it on my website which requires tech savvy... so I apologize in advance if I get overwhelmed and under-poemed;)

Ps. What blog service do you use that is super easy-peas??

Poetember Challenge - Start....

9/3/2018

Need a creative boost? I do! I love Kick in the Creatives...

#Poetember ... For the poets out there, this month we are introducing the brand new poetry challenge, ‘Poetember.’’ We are challenging you to write and share a poem every day throughout September!

Guidelines:

Write a poem every day in September.
You can write a poem about any topic you like, but we’ll provide optional prompts if you need them.
If you choose to share your work on social media, don’t forget to link and tag us in your post (details shown below) We might even feature your work on our blog!

Prompt #1 - Calm

Stormy Weather

Crow caws the alarm,
Flapping ferociously.
Gales grab at fancy flyers;
End is nigh.

Thunder grumbles cuz it knows.

A calm and balmy, sultry breeze;
Allure of safety - falsely so.

A power-hungry forceful fork
Explodes its light upon
The dead still
Of a break in putrid heat.

Bird song resumes.

First round results:
Victory to the light.

Dark recedes, for now.
Though its presence duly noted
By the mammoth rain drops splatting on my screen.

Prompt #2 - violet

Violaceous Amethystine

I saw her there
in a room:
livid lavender in the canister
smells all purple and lilac-y
a plum petunia,
Violet vavoomed a violent viola
she, Violaceous Amethystine,
a mauve orchid, and
I, a hyacinth painted pansy magenta,
crouched next to the Spider lighter
sitting on the floor, fallen

a note on method - I looked up the prompt word in the thesaurus and combine words based on sound; ‘spider lighter’ is a random pleasant sounding object that was part of my physical world at the time; gradually an image appeared in my mind, and a mood...
Violaceous Amethystine is a viola-playing beauty. The narrator is a mere common man, crouched low on the floor, watching his love perform.
It is unclear as to whether she even knows he exists...

Prompt #3 (waiting)...

#NaPoWriMo2018 - Poem 6

4/6/2018

The One In the Window

In certain slants of light, she looks
like that dude from Metallica (in his younger years).
Everything was happening in Hollywood.
This ain’t Kansas anymore; it’s real,
And my favourite ruby shoes
have a broken heel.
I don’t like how it feels.
And nobody wants to
have anything to do
with a girl and her guitar.

It occurs to me I’m in a dead trade.
I can’t find work so I cant get paid.
And it seems to me,
Everybody does it all for free.

And you realize, as you roam,
that there’s no place like home.
But your home is someone else’s couch.
And it’s do, or don’t;
Not a question of won’t

Truth resonates
The universe inspirates.
Failing to find love and happiness;
Falling fully and flailing completely;
It’s all in the rewrites.
Through it all, you gotta keep on keeping on.

Poem #10, NaPoWriMo, I'm texting on eggshells

4/13/2017

You have nothing else to do but dwell
And twist mole hills into mountains
That rise into insurmountable peaks
If you seek conspiracy and dastardly deeds,
Then that is all you shall find
please,
don't forget the one you leave behind

Poem #9, NaPoWriMo, "I wasn't worried about you, should I be?"

4/12/2017

There are those days when you're just driven to daytime drinking...
You know those days, right?
It's worse when there is actually no drink to be drank;
When things go flying before you can even catch your breath;
You get beat upon by life and also fists;
Your best bud is mad at you;
You got assignments due at school
and two jobs to boot;
You gotta make time for the dentist to do his business.
(I'll have you all know - contrary to popular belief, I do not have a big mouth-
and so it really hurts afterwards, what with the fibro and all!)
My hair is atrocious and requiring attention and care...
You get the picture, I'm sure,
Because I know you feel it, too.