Day 31 - OctPoWriMo: Mysteriousness

Mysteriousness

Mystified, stunned about New

York, yet drawn to

See what the hell

Transpired. I wonder how we’ll

Explain to our children

Reassure them about this world

In which they must make a life

Of meaning, a life that encompasses

Unwavering goodness and love.

Squeeze them tight

Never let them feel our despair

Enable their childhood’s rightful

Sweetness, their trust undiluted, Help them grow

Strong     Sincere    Undeterred

Photo from Public Domain

Day 30 - OctPoWriMo: "Forbidden"

Photo from the Public Domain. npr.org 

Forbidden

Remember the days of Jim Crow

and lawful segregation?

I’d always lived in the north

in a jewel of a city, Detroit

the Motor City

Motown

where hundreds of thousands

of Black people landed

those who fled

the south during the Great Migration.

They carried their fears and truths with them

to the new land

passed them along to future generations.

And we quaked

though now we can drink

from any fountain

choose any trolley seat

shop in J.L. Hudson’s.

Until we look for housing

nothing is Forbidden.

Photo from the Public Domain.
priceonomics.com

Day 29 - OctPoWriMo: Breathtaking

Swinging Bridge. Photo by Annis Cassells (c) 2010

Breathtaking

Soul seeks adventure, heart fills with fear

But soon fear dissipates

I’m lucky to be right here

Ziplining in Juneau, with all proper gear

I’m tempting the fates

Soul seeks adventure, heart fills with fear

Head’s in the forest, air fresh and clear

Nature’s magic radiates

I’m lucky to be right here

Steeped in the beauty of all we revere

This impulsive caper delights and elates

Soul seeks adventure, heart fills with fear

I imagine returning year after year

Consider possibilities, future dates

I’m lucky to be right here

My quest for excitement is truly sincere

With thrill after thrill, it never abates

Soul seeks adventure, heart fills with fear

I’m lucky to be right here

Photo by Judy McDole (c) 2010 Used with Permission

Today's Theme: Breathtaking

Suggested Form: Villanelle - a 19-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme The first and last lines of the first stanza are repeated, in turn, in subsequent stanzas. This is my first attempt at a Villanelle. xoA

Day 28 - OctPoWriMo: Friends

Photo by Judy McDole (c) 2010

FRIENDS

All rise

To belong

Claim the title Friend

Know deep commitment

Connect with kindred spirits

“Earned their spot around the campfire”

Today's Theme: Belonging

For nearly 20 years, I've belonged to the best darn Relay for Life team in Bakersfield, Bob Miller & Friends Pull Together to Find a Cure. We shared many nights around the "campfire" as we stood vigil and walked the track during what was the largest Relay for Life event in the world. Kudos to our captain, Scottie Miller.

Suggested Form: Clarity Pyramid. A seven-line poem. Two triplets and one additional line. Syllable count: 1, 2, 3 then 5, 6, 7, then 8. The final line is in quotation marks because it is a quote that defines the title.

Day 27 - OctPoWriMo: Tulips

Tulips

Among the tulips

We rejoiced, beauty and hues

Coloring our world

Alaska Tulips,
2010 Photo (c)  Annis Cassells 

Today's Theme: Scent of a Flower (or Flower Memories)

Suggested form: Haiku

Day 26 - OctPoWriMo: Meditation, First Foray

Image from Public Domain
psychology.com

Meditation, First Foray

Our mantras chosen at random from a basket

It was my first time at group meditation

I was one of a dozen invited to attend

The leader modeled the mood, set the tone

Her velvet voice urged finding our way to say

Our mantras chosen at random from a basket

The mantra I held was Shan-ti

Each recited their unique phrase or word

It was my first time at group meditation

Energy emanated from the circle

I felt a peace I’d been seeking for so long

I was one of a dozen invited to attend

Today's theme: A once and unruly mind

Suggested form: An invented form called Cascade. Each line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the successive three stanzas.

Day 25 - OctPoWriMo: "Satisfaction"

Today's Theme: Taste of Satisfaction

Form: A pair of Cinquains

Public Domain Image

Satisfaction

Full of sweet pride

Squeezing between your teeth

Like cream from a cream puff

Contentment

Satisfaction

Just out of reach

Tantalizes, then fills you up

But only 'til tomorrow

Reparation

Day 24 - OctPoWriMo: Travelers

Arches National Park 2010

Travelers

The solo traveler

Sings adventure

not loneliness

Meets no strangers

as she makes her way

Unencumbered

Along roads well-worn

or not taken

Wanders

Encounters compadres

fellow seekers who

Momentarily connect

Become consequential strangers

or maybe friends

Their destinies

to traipse the world

Santorini 2015

Today's Theme: When Lovers Meet

The prompt asks us to consider types of lovers beyond the usual idea when we hear the word. I love to travel: alone, with one other person, in small groups, on tours. Discoveries and connections delight me.

Day 23 - OctPoWriMo: The Message

The Message

Shifty-eyed and timid, he stumbled

O'er the unwelcome news he’d break.

I requested he repeat.

The Home Ec teacher

Gets top English

Classes. Kids

Get the
Shaft

Unfortunately, this poem is autobiographical. 

Today's Challenge: Write a nonet, a nine-line poem. The first has 9 syllables and each successive line becomes one syllable shorter.

Day 22 - OctPoWriMo: Tell Me

Today's Theme: Purposeful Passion

Bandon, Oregon 2017

Tell Me

Tell me everything

Everything you want me to know

Know I will hear your words

Words that slice or soothe

Tell me everything

Everything to unburden, to free

Free your mind to live, to love

Love yourself and tend to your heart

The prompt asked us to write about something we’re passionate about. So I asked myself this question from Natalie Goldberg: "What is it mine to do?"

Day 21 - OctPoWriMo: Requiem for Justice

https://pixabay.com/en/scale-gold-weigh-balance-weight-1108316/

Requiem for Justice

Ancient memories thrust

beckon, tease

cast themselves forth

determined to intrude their

eloquent entreaties

force entry

go against my attempt to forget, they

hack into the present

ignore that everything is different now

justice lost its purchase, had the wind

knocked out of it with punches and blows

lead by the enforcers

masterminded by the spinners

no lawful recourse for

opening the system, no

peace

queries go unanswered

raised concerns

stomped down

traction of the idea of justice skids

uncontrollably          what’s

vital to restoration, to healing?

watch and wake

eXamine and act

you and I are the ones to change the course

zero in    then welcome ancient memories’ return

Today's Theme: Nothing Remains the Same

Suggested form: Abecedarian, a 26-line poem, each line beginning with a successive letter of the alphabet, A-Z.

Day 20 - OctPoWriMo: Braving New Land

Today's Theme: Desire and Remembering

Braving New Land

In rapturous anticipation I volunteered,

waved both hands skyward

Everyone who lives in Michigan

Wants to move to California

Leaving family and friends behind

Makes no difference, doesn’t matter

We dream 

expect movie life

Hollywood,

Malibu,

San Francisco

Never Bakersfield

Never the desert

Never thermometers reaching

such heights as one hundred twelve

And when faced with loneliness

Faced with strangers who dismiss you because of how you look

And the never-turning leaves of unfamiliar trees

My most ardent desire

became to go home

Home

Where my heart had stayed

Day 19 - OctPoWriMo - Homage to Redd

Today's Theme:  Fox or Foxy

Form: Florette

Inspiration: Jenni Astramowicz, who showed me how to step out of the box.

Photo from Internet

Homage to Redd

A story man, comedian, bard

Growing up, St. Louis proved hard

Born Sanford, he switched to Redd Foxx

And struggling out of a box, never dropped his guard

Early days his schtick was to shock

Racial issues were his to mock

A trendsetter paving  the way

Foxx ‘s  humor , his jokes, held sway, inspiring Chris Rock

Today we think of comedy

Recall Redd’s knack for parody

His genius entertained generations

Caught attention of a nation, his rhapsody

Day 18 - OctPoWriMo: Homeland

Photo by Judy McDole (c)

Homeland 

Children

taking care

the fact of matter

A homeland trait

Comforting, undeniably

--Loving--

Undeniably

Comforting trait

Homeland

A matter of fact

The care-taking children

Today's challenge was to write a Palindrome, a poem in which the second half mirrors the first half. A little tricky, but fun.

Day 17 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Knowing You

For today’s challenge: Choose 50 words. Write a poem using only those words, repeating and rhyming as you see fit. You can use the words as many times as you like, but limit yourself to just the 50 words.The prompt also mentioned a dragon. But they are not really my thing.

Knowing You

No one knows who you really are

Unless you show them true

The folks who love you, love you

The rest will watch and decide

Their views and yours may well collide

And when you show them true

Some still won’t know who you really are

But the folks who love you, love you

Don’t worry about the rest

Photo from Internet

Day 16 - OctPoWriMo: A Lifetime of Fear

A Lifetime of Fear

The fears of youth have long passed

Would I 
    be loved
       find meaningful work

           be solvent

The fears of mid-life have faded

Could I 
  retire in comfort

    afford to travel

         maintain my home

The fears of aging are present 

Will I 
   remain independent

      retain my good health

          be able to care for myself
             leave too much undone

                 become a burden

The fears of aging are persistent
   
  huge
      
     real
    

Today's Theme: Losing Your Fears and Tears

Day 15 - Fighting the Urge to Vomit

 Fighting the Urge to Vomit

There was so much I wanted to tell them

I had bullet points

diagrams

Words of Wisdom

all ready to infuse

into their fertile minds

There was so much I wanted to tell them

So much they needed to know

These brand new teachers

So much about classrooms

So much about kids

So much about parents

So much about themselves

There was so much I wanted to tell them

But I had been where they were

So instead of vomiting

My entire New Teacher 101 script

I thought

               All this can be saved ‘til later

I said

              Everyone take a deep breath

              We’re going to meditate

Photo from Internet

Day 14 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Word Collage

Word Collage

A collage of words

Bursts upon the plain white page

Turns it firey red

With words igniting

A firestorm of feelings frought

With desperation

What do I do next?

I won't know until I read

The words I’ve written

Day 13 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Wayward Minds

Wayward Minds

Drawn to the weird ones

Creativity unleashed  

Showed me to myself

Then I realized

I'd found my rightful people

Communed mind to mind

Day 12 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Imagination

Imagination

Radio and books

Ultimate imagination

Stimulation

of my youth

Whisked me away

from a neighborhood

some feared to visit

Opened new worlds

and sections of my mind

Built by books

primed by pen and paper

shaped by pursuing

and practice

It’s still growing

My butterfly brain

                  My Imagination

Day 11 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Blueprint

Trying out the Joseph's Star form today. This one's a double. Each stanza has seven lines with a prescribed number of syllables per line: 1-3-5-7-5-3-1

Blueprint

Live

Dance in wind

Uninhibited

Be like tumbleweed chasing

Ghostly sky riders

Across fields

Search

Seize

Each moment

Capture life. Each day

Dole out words of love and peace

Fetch smiles, radiance

And respect

Live

Day 10 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Power of the Pen

Power of the Pen

I understood the power of the pen

my eighth grade year

when I wrote that petition

on behalf of all the girls,

called for a school policy change.

We just want to have an opportunity

We just want to retain our dignity

We just want to have a choice

We just want to play soccer,

to have the chance to shine.

Writing meant speaking up

Signing meant standing up

Listening meant opening up

Saying "yes" meant evolution

And when the "yes" came

we felt heard.

.

We recognized our power, 

and reveled in it.

Day 9 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Transformation

Transformation

From ashes she rose

More wise than silence, transformed 

Curried to brilliance

Day 8 - OctPoWriMo 2017: How Could I Know

How Could I Know

How could I know

of her resolve, her tenacity

How could I know

of her perceptive powers,

her good sense of the world

and her place in it

I should have

when I looked

into my second-born’s face

that August morning at 2:22

when she grabbed the world

and me

her black eyes focused

taking stock 

Almost saying “Mama”

Day 7 OctPoWriMo 2017: If You Know What's Good for You

Today’s Theme:  And then I went too far

If You Know What’s Good for You

(A 4-Haiku story)

Back-pedaling now

Your sole response to my eyes,

Widened by your spew

But words can’t undo

My lurching, pretzeled stomach

The anger in my brain

Best course? Walk away

Let the cortisol subside

Get out of my reach

If you know what’s good

for you, run while I count slow.

One, Missisippi ...

Photo from Internet: (Vixen Daily 2015)

Day 6 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Pacing

Pacing

While I paced

the seaside labyrinth

Circles in the Sand*

Time evaporated

Serenity engulfed me

Cleansed me

Suspended

every negative thought

Bandon, Oregon 2017 

This summer, we made the early morning trip to Bandon, Oregon to experience the labyrinth on the beach created by labyrinth artist Denny Dyke. Known as Circles in the Sand, over 10,000 pairs of feet have walked his sandy paths. It’s truly a peaceful time in a beautiful setting.

 

 Both photos by Annis Cassells. (c) 2017

Day 5 – OctPoWriMo 2017: Revelation

Today's theme: Finally I Understand


Revelation

It took the birth

Of my first child

Her weight in my arms

Before I understood

Before I understood

The depth of my parents’ love

Before I understood

Their profound sacrifices

Their profound sacrifices

So I might thrive

Grow into the woman 

They hoped I'd become

Detroit, Michigan 1943

Day 4 - OctPoWriMo 2017: Where Poetry Hides

Where Poetry Hides

Poetry hides in my drowsing reverie

Leads me to wonder why

Peer within

Imagine peace

Unlock love

Stop hate in its tracks

Snaps me awake

To reality

But never far from what could be

Poetic Morning in Wallisellen, Switzerland

Day 3 – OctPoWriMo 2017: Cherita

Cherita

“Cherita” is a Malay word for "story,” hence the golden rule about a cherita is that it tells a story, usually untitled.

Cheritas are a stanza-based form containing three stanzas.

1 line stanza

2 line stanza

3 line stanza

The lines can be any length the poet chooses.

Today’s theme: The Taste of Metal

The flavor of platinum lingers

Cradled by my tongue

In remembrance

Of your vibrant laugh now silent

Of your skin encircled

By this ring, this testament to our love

Photo from Public Domain