Friday, May 22, 2020

Wild Fridays #20: Words from Our Community

Bringing Up the Rear
(the ones we’ve missed)

When the team realised that those who subscribe by email to Poets and Storytellers United might not be receiving the emails until several days after the posts going live, it hit us that this didn’t leave a lot of time for those people to respond to prompts – not when the links were closing before the next post opened. Therefore we extended the linking time for every prompt to one week.

We do, however, add the warning that people who post late might not get a lot of readers. And in practice this is often true. Who’s got time to keep checking back in case any late-comers have responded to a prompt (let alone doing so for every prompt)? Well, me, that’s who – because, as Coordinator here, I feel a responsibility to look after all participants. Luckily I enjoy reading the wonderful variety of material shared – and I’m my own boss, so I can juggle my time, which not everyone can do. But I’m only one person.

I’m the one person who sees when late-comers are read by only three or four people at most; sometimes by none (until I get there). I’m the one who often thinks, ‘Oh, what a pity! This deserves more attention.’ I find myself feeling sorry, not only for those whose words have been seen by so few, but also for everyone who has missed out on a reading treat.

So here are a few tail-enders which you might not have seen: hopefully, something for every taste – the beautiful, the amusing, the deep; the detailed, the succinct; those which inspire further thought, those which invite contemplation, those which directly engage the feelings…

(Some did have a number of readers, just not many from this community.)


Rumours 

if rumours were to be believed 
I would have packed my case
and caught that last train to nowhere

you could have never found me
and even if you did
what was the guarantee
of my heart still not in shreds

my beliefs are at a loss
I know not why I chose
to discard something as obvious

alas, my trust in you surpasses all rumours
including the ones which are true

-sinhamrit









(You might know this poet better as  Amrit Sinha, self-described as 'Reader. Writer. Book Reviewer. Guitarist. IT' who blogs at Green Speck.)


reductio dichotomy

we say this is a three dimensional place


but up and down dont go very far

and north south east west just

come around again after some distance

so tomorrow we will go back to the office.


even this is too much


so we picture this as a plane

our day to day is basically a flat earth

and move between home work and the mall

the market or the river or the well

there still too much there


so much to experience, to feel

that we block out even more

shrink those planes to a line

or two (of coke? poetry?)

right wrong

black white

left right
 
red pill blue pill

choose the parameters just right

and decision becomes easy, obvious

we make machines that help unravel the weaving


navi to reduce all roads to the one we need

music to cover the wall of sounds assaulting

beating on the ear drums

tv to numb and provide perfected thoughts

social media to reinforce what i think i know

(rather, what i got from the show)

and yet there are woods and streams beyond the city


)there is always a forbidden forest near the castle(

roads beyond my current route

and up there, space.

rockets demonstrate the longing


kitchen cabinets and walk-in closets too.

in open floorplans, in every successful sales pitch,

there are signs. (like this one)

– erbiage








(aka Eric Erb. See the blog post here, where he also tells us the poem was 'partially inspired by' this very interesting article). 


Smile

Simple
Slap
A smile
On your face
You woke up
You ate
And now
Are writing
Privilege
Use it well
Or not
At all


- Regine

(blogging at R's rue).















Under the Couch

Under the couch
is a veritable treasure
trove of lost–or purposely
hidden–objects. I reach
underneath to retrieve
a paper clip. My hand
comes out clutching a pen,
plastic cap, earring
hook, and a vitamin pill.
I can make no sense
of some of these items,
but a certain dog sheepishly
looks the other way.


- Sarah McNulty

(writing @ purpleinportland for Rommy's prompt, 'All the Small Things').










Child of the Pairie

Freshly turned earth has a pungent
fragrance that takes me back
to my mother’s garden, which she tended
at the blush of day when the roosters
were announcing sun-up, and the dew clung
to the flowers before the sun burned
it away.

The smell of the rich, black earth
takes me also to the fields surrounding
home.  I close my eyes and see
my father, tall and strong in his overalls,
looking at me with love and a
chuckle as he takes me onto his lap
and lets me steer the tractor
toward home and suppertime.
***************

child of the prairie
unaware of world troubles
blessed with innocence

- indybev 


(A beautiful example of enjambment, for a recent prompt from Sanaa, by Beverley Crawford, blogging at Worditude).


A couple of these posters aren’t regulars here, and have not reappeared. Did they try us out hopefully, only to become discouraged by the lack of response? Perhaps they’re simply not prolific, and will be back eventually. (I’m sure Bev and Sarah, who are very much regulars, would have taken it in their stride  – but I still thought their poems so delightful in their different ways that I didn't want anyone to miss seeing them.)

Meanwhile, here’s another chance, not only to read but to go and leave a comment – if you’ve got a minute and you like what you’ve read. The links I’ve given will take you to the specific posts.

Material shared here is presented for study and review. Poems, photos, and other writings and images remain the property of the copyright owners, usually the authors.

31 comments:

  1. Thank you for this, Rosemary. I was just about to go back to see if I'd missed any posts, which I will still do. I have been writing so much, as well as self-publishing the paperback of my children's novel and picking up where I left off in a work in progress, that it is hard to keep track. it would be even harder if things were back to normal.

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    1. I'm sure you'll find more treasures, Kim. I only grabbed a small selection.

      Hey, that's a great way to be busy! Congratulations on all your ongoing achievements.

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    2. Congrats again, Kim! You make me want to do more...

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    3. Many many hearty congratulations, Kim!!💝💝

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  2. thanks, Rosemary, for highlighting these poems. now we know how much we have missed. 😁
    time is a tough master, and each of us have our own projects, chores and difficulties, and we prioritise our work and time goes on a tangent in whatever interest us at the moment.

    it is true that the poets who post later do not enjoy the readership numbers of fresh posts. i experience that myself at Poets United. Perhaps our main intent is to publish, but i still feel that a work should be read by a wider readership.
    Anyway, i really enjoyed the poetry of erbiage and Beverly.

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    1. Well I always think that our first impulse in writing, or any art. is the expression, but that it's very closely followed by the urge to communicate that expression. So yes, I agree with you: if we're posting our stuff on our blogs and furthermore sharing it in such communities as this, we obviously do hope it will be read by as many people as possible. It's one reason why we don't offer the opportunity on more days of the week. Of course, people do have the choice to save a piece for the following Sunday, if they respond to a prompt and finish it late – but it's natural to want to put it with the source.

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  3. Quite simply, if I post a poem I make every attempt to read and comment on others who joined that challenge. It's the right thing to do. Happy Day!

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    1. You are a blessing to us all, Helen! (In many ways.) And I think the crucial phrase is, 'I make every attempt'. I believe most of us do that, but it's still possible to be unaware of some latecomers. Just now, scrolling down to see if there were any prompts I had not participated in this year (there aren't) I saw that there's a late response I missed on Sanaa's Rossetti challenge of only two days ago. I'm off to rectify that now – but it could have been days before I noticed.

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  4. Like Helen, I try to comment on others in the challenge; but, as new challenges arise, that becomes difficult. Thank you, Rosemary, for choosing my "Child of the Prairie" and each of the other poems, special in their own right. And thank you for the time and thought you put into Poets & Storytellers. Were it not for the efforts of you and Magaly we'd not be able to share our poetic efforts!!

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    1. Thank you for noticing the work, Bev. Rosemary, Sanaa, Rommy and I take a lot of pleasure in doing the work. But like most mammals, we do like feeling appreciated (and by "we" I mean "me", all right them, too!). 😁

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  5. I read every entry in every prompt I join. And I comment on everyone who either posts before I do or who happens to comment on my own entries. It's my way of enjoying all the words and, like Helen and Bev pointed out, also doing the right thing.

    In the past, I used to comment on everyone's posts. Then, I realized that some people just post their words but read no one else's efforts. Thank goodness that is more the exception than the rule, so I rarely miss the work of anyone who remembers that this is a community and not just a place to link and run.

    I enjoyed the poem selection, Rosemary, especially Bev's... which makes me think of home and rich soil and growing things.

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    1. Ah yes, your first sentence reminds me that my habit, too, has been not to comment at all on prompts I myself don't participate in – partly because, if I haven't got time for the one, I sure haven't got time for the other either, and partly because I don't want to confuse the people who do reciprocate (nearly everyone) into hunting for a poem of mine that isn't there. But it's a rare occurrence, and I see it has not yet happened this year. (Smile.)

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  6. Beautiful poems I hadn't read yet. I try and read every post from the prompts I post in, but time gets away from me. I will do better. Word artisan's work is so precious. Thank you for sharing these wonderful poems.

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    1. You're welcome! Time does get away from us sometimes; also if a poem is linked very late, after the next feature is up, it's easy to miss it, even with the best of intentions.

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful collection of poems, Rosemary!💝💝 I make an attempt to read and comment on everyone's posts, if not soon then definitely by the next day (keeping in mind the time difference) I especially loved Beverly and Eric's poem!😃

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    1. Yes, the time difference affects me too, and I am sometimes slow to read every poem.

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    2. Er ... by 'sometimes' I mean 'often'.

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  8. Amrit and Sarah are two of my favourite poets. I am so pleased they are represented in the group

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  9. Re commenting.I don't give comments to get comments.I comment because I like the work. I prefer authentic response.Sometimes I only get a single response which is fine I do not expect that everyone will like everything I write. In fact considering I think it is wonderful to have the support of a few poets who seem to like what I write. Not everyone has popular appeal

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    1. Fair enough! I personally am always so thrilled with the comments I do get that I feel embraced by the community and don't really notice if anyone is missing. I greatly admire a number of the poets in this community, so it is a great compliment when they like my writing too. I particularly like that being part of a community like this enables me to appreciate the variety of ways there are of making poems and creating stories, and the range of talents that different people bring to us.

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  10. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Rosemary. Since adding my words to this community, I've appreciated everyone's feedback. Time seems to be an enemy that I struggle with. This interferes with reading, writing, adding to prompts and yes, being a more active member here.
    If at times the well is dry and the words aren't there for me, I should do better to be an active reader. No, I should be a better reader, period.
    Rosemary, thank you for this reminder of the spirit of community.
    Cheers to all!

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    1. Dear Joel, your writing and your warm personality have contributed much to our community since you became part of it. And I know farmers are among the busiest people there are. To do what you can manage is enough! I didn't do this to lay a guilt trip on anybody, which would rob us of our joy in sharing our work here. I only meant to increase our mutual delight in the magic of words.

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    2. Ha! Rosemary, I took this as a reminder, not as a chastisement.
      How many of us have put our souls into a writing, only to receive few visits and some of those being spam/trolls? I have.

      A community means engagement and I intend to do better. I think I can find time for my fellows here and to fill up on their words instead of the "news." (It's raining today and I have a little time back.)

      To clarify, I have a "paying job" for the mortgage but the important parts of my life is shared with the land. I've got a year or two before we can make it full-time.

      As always, Rosemary, your words are too kind.

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    3. Joel, I took this post in the same way you did. I, too, believe that some of us enjoy seeing others delighting in our inked efforts. And if my delight in theirs gives them half the pleasure I get, the makes my day better too--in times when disease pushes humanity apart, words can give the best hugs.

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    4. Thanks, both of you. I’m relieved to know I made you feel inspired to greater things, rather than chastised! And you are quite right of course, that the feeling of community here is a great joy in itself, and worth nourishing.

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  11. thank for words from community...
    Love to read about "Rumours" and "smile"

    Have a wonderful day

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    1. Thanks for your visit! Glad you enjoyed reading. You have a great day too.

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  12. I too write for readers, comments are one way to know how many are reading. Not every reader leaves comments. Blogger counts, sort of. There my ratio is one comment left per three "hits". Quite a few of my family read and some more Facebook friends do.
    Thank you for posting here some of the later to post. I like to see who all is posting and I'll leave a comment. On comments, I generally stop reading those who won't leave comments. For sure I don't leave one if they won't return mine.
    ..

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    1. Oh yes, to look 'under the dashboard' at Blogger and see all the hits from people who don't leave comments is very affirming. And if I share a post on facebook, it is nice to see the responses there too.

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