I am participating in the Poetic Asides annual Poem a Day challenge. I’ve done it in the past, but for some reason, skipped last year. It’s great writing exercise and gives me food for thought about poetry in general, and my engagement in particular. I’ve published two chap books of poetry, some of which have shown up on this site, as well as several brand new poems as time and the tides of life inspire me. Below are the poems I’ve posted on the PAD site thus far. The poems are based on writing prompts from Robert Lee Brewer, senior content editor of the Writer’s Digest writing community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. He is a poet and writer (yes, I know, a poet IS a writer, but for some reason the two disciplines seem to be taken as separate children of the pen), and is the catalyst for me to be as much a poet as I am a writer.
DAY 1: A morning poem
GOOD MORNING
Morning bursts over the horizon,
joy-filled with bright bunches of red
shot through with gold
tinged with orange sherbet,
infused with soft yellow cream.
Silhouettes of trees
outlined in stark relief
against this burst of color
a dance of nature in the raw
making a statement about God’s creation.
There is no power
like the power of daybreak,
streaking across the sky,
tendrils of light bringing anticipation,
charged with hope.
Day 2: Worst case / best case poem
FRAMED
My life is framed by you.
Is that a good thing, yes or no?
I have no life outside the boundaries
of who we are together,
no activities, associations, plans…
It’s all about us, we, together forever.
Am I comfortable in these confines?
Are you? Do you just want to hide sometimes?
I do, but there is nowhere to go beyond the frame.
FRAMED 2
I am framed by your love,
enclosed in the warmth of
who you are, who we are together.
You are my heart, my joy in life,
my today and my tomorrow.
I can think of no better place to be
than inside this frame, with you.
Day 3: An animal poem
PANDA
Panda black and white
eating bamboo bright and green
rain falls crystal light.
Day 4: An artist poem
JACKSON POLLACK
splatter and spatter, drizzle and drip
down a canvas awaiting the tip
of an artist’s endeavor to astound
the public perception
of artistic perfection
can be nowhere found
in Jackson Pollock’s
thousand-dollar frolics
in which mockery resound
did he question our sanity
as we peruse Pollack inanity
or was it simply ego unbound
Day 5 – A stolen poem
THE WRITER
Sometimes – not often,
but sometimes – I feel as
though writing fiction
is stealing from real life,
but I do it anyway
because as a writer
what I’m putting on the page
is – for that span of time –
more real than real life
will ever be. The woman
on the page is who I want to be,
vibrant and sassy, brave and constant,
controllable in the way the real me
can never, ever be,
until suddenly
the protagonist asserts her personality,
and my momentary control
is stolen, just – like – that!
Ah, the joy of writing fiction
and the conundrum of what is real
and what is the woven web
of the writer’s imagination!
Day 6 – An after poem
AFTER THE STORM
So it is written
in the loopy tendrils of
greening vines, life is.
My chap books of poetry are available online or at sharon@vandermeerbooks.com.
Type Poetry Book in the subject line. Read more here about the chap books of poetry.
I’ve done several readings at Tome on the Range in Las Vegas, NM, featuring my books. Every time I do one, I’m a wreck and second-guess whether I said the right things and whether people received my reading well. On Saturday at my most recent reading and signing, my friend Jim Terr recorded portions of the readings and the following is one clip of three he will be posting. I thank those who could make it on Saturday, and to those who couldn’t, I hope you enjoy this clip. And by the way, buy the books! You can find Finding Family at Tito’s Gallery or Tome on the Range. The poetry books you may buy directly from me. Contact me at fsvandermeer@gmail.com, or order through the click buttons in the right column.
Sharon Vander Meer 