Hooray! A Bonus Poetry Friday
This weekend, I help move a college kid out of the dorms back to home base. College is great and all...but, I look forward to wrapping my hard-working kid in some TLC.
Matt at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme is hosting our round-up. What joy it's been to see his publication successes with poems in anthologies and books of his own. Keep writing Matt!
I've had fun reading poetry projects of others as prompts in April. Thank you, Susan, at Soul Blossom Living for providing a menu of doings. And, thank you poets for the inspiration.
Diane, at Random Noodling, inspires with her annual poetry month project of ekphrastic cherita from women's art.
I took a recent tweet about artist Faith Ringgold for more inspiration.
Story Quilter
Faith of a woman--
stitched in fabric, thread, ink, and paint.
Ancestral prayers quilted to hope unseen.
It’s easy to fly– all
you need
is somewhere you can’t get to any other way*
a gospel of truths covering our way ‘til amen.
*Faith Ringgold. Tar Beach (Crown 1991)
(c) Linda Mitchell
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| Faith Ringgold and her Story Quilt, Tar Beach. https://twitter.com/Studio24E/status/1384962905599324160?s=20 |
Linda at Teacher Dance is crafting poems of wabi-sabi. I love her poem and photo pairings.
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| Photos and Golden Shovel by me |
Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I cannot stop photographing Nature
--stills of my favorite woods. I always
return to this dying tree. She wears
a shrug of lichen in every season. The
gray boldly dressed in greens. Colors
her little seedling self pushed out of
her way as she once sought the sun. The
nerve of life, catches my lens-- my spirit.
© Linda Mitchell
More mailbox goodness...a poem in a pocket for Poem in Your Pocket Day from a poet friend is always good.
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| Poem by a friend in a Pocket from a friend, Jan G. Annino at Bookseedstudio |
Our friend Hamish plods on...this week with an ox that's a bit cheeky with the word, w.i.r.e. Hamish would love a good scratch behind the ears and a catch-up. Find him and his newest poem pal, Wire Ox.
Linda, it is exciting to see you branch out to various poetic forms this week. Even Hamish has another interesting poem to add to his oxen collection. I love this description, "She wears/a shrug of lichen in every season.
ReplyDeleteFaith Ringgold is an amazing artist! I love your poem, especially this line: "ancestral prayers quilted to hope unseen." I agree with Carol about "she wears/a shrug of lichen in every season." Perfect!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful golden shovel, Linda - catching this in one's lens is quite metaphorical, when there's so much to life. And thank you for the kind words!
ReplyDeleteI 'dig' your golden shovel, Linda! And how "the nerve of life, catches my lens-- my spirit." And yay for your college-aged chicka-a-dee returning to the nest for some momma TLC. :)
ReplyDeleteTwo fine poems--love "ancestral prayers quilted to hope unseen." And that shrug of lichen is perfect.
ReplyDeleteHave to echo others with my favorite line: "ancestral prayers quilted to hope unseen." Wonderful golden shovel - love "the nerve of life." Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow, Linda, I am grateful that I inspired you & your poem reflects so much that I, too, love, every little bit of nature. Like others, I love that "she wears/a shrug of lichen in every season." There's some quote I can't quite remember all, but something like giving a little kindness to the world. Your poem for your tree is that. Thank you for the touch of Faith Ringold, too. Every time we have one of her books donated, I feature it, want it to have a new home fast! Have a lovely time this weekend and on with your home-now child!
ReplyDeleteI was caught by the "shrug of lichen" as well. The diversity of your creations is inspiring!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a bonanza. I especially love your golden shovel. I like the form, but for me, many of them I see are too long, too forced...yours feels...wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the opportunity to revisit Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach in such a beautiful and original way. Your poems say so much with such well-chosen words.
ReplyDeleteI love "truths covering our way until Amen." Amen to that!
ReplyDeleteDANG, Linda! You are cranking out the goodness here! I reminded myself about what a cherita is and admired how you compacted the huge (and partial) goodness of TAR BEACH in 6 lines; you dug up genius wooden wabi-sabi with your golden shovel ("Colors/her little seedling self pushed out of/her way as she once sought the sun."), and look, there am I! And all without neglecting Hamish. Enjoy your little big one home again.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous and rich collection you gathered here Linda! You've created a menagerie of poems with words and images like one of Faith Ringgold's quilts, thanks for all and the link to her site too! <3
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