Once: Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 13

• 

  Scarborough Harbour
  -John Law

• 

  Jane Cornwell

• 

  mysteries waving in every direction
  -Kerfe Roig

Once the harbor was a bustling place
of summer light, with salty tang– the sky a vivid blue,
all day and night, we gathered and chattered–of clouds no trace.
Once the harbor was a bustling place,
full of hope and sweet mysteries–our love was new,
but star-crossed by autumn storms–gone ship, captain, crew, you.
Once–the harbor was a bustling place
of summer light, with salty tang, the sky a vivid blue.

For Paul Brookes’ Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 13, I wrote a triolet based on all three works of art. You can read all the poems here. I haven’t written a triolet in ages, and I forgot how difficult it is to get so much in eight lines with the repeated lines and rhymes. But here it is. This will be my NaPoWriMo poem for the day, too.

Handprint: NaPoWriMo2020, Day 12

 

 

Once stars shimmered brighter in the night,

and you left your handprint, a symbol on the wall,

the red ochre now faded, but it was a brilliant sight

once. Stars shimmered brighter in the night

then. I wish I could see that light–

trace it–like your mark where you stood tall

once. Stars shimmered in the night,

and you left. Your handprint, a symbol on the wall.

 

The prompt for Day 12 of NaPoWriMois to write a triolet. I haven’t written one of these in a while, and it seems harder than I remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Search

“I see today that everyone on earth

wants the answer to the same question

but none has the language to ask it.”

~ Jim Harrison from Songs of Unreason

 

She gallops the globe, dawn to night

searching for wondrous words to say–

what are the sounds, what can be right?

She gallops the globe, dawn to night

seeking the language to bring light

to darkness—she questions the way.

She gallops the globe, dawn to night

searching for wondrous words to say.

 

To sway the world, what words are right?

What to ask, who knows what to say?

Still she journeys, circling through night

to sway the world—what words are right?

Perhaps they’re doomed, without the light

stuck, hope at bay—what is the way

to sway the world, what words are right?

What to ask, who knows what to say?

 

This is a double triolet (is that a thing?). I felt it needed a second stanza.  This is for Day 21, of Jilly’s 28 Days of Unreason. We are writing poetry inspired by the poetry and work of Jim Harrison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Country and King

 

Labeled Postcard from Miss Nördingen to her fiancé John Ostermeier and returns. He served in the first Army Corps, 1st Division, Second Infantry Regiment. Wikipedia

 

He wanted to fight for country and king,

To serve and have an adventure.

When life in the trenches was hard, he’d sing,

He wanted to fight for country and king.

But he’ll no longer see the wild woods in spring,

No longer will talk of legends or ventures,

He wanted to fight for country and king

To serve and have an adventure.

 

This is in response to Secret Keeper’s Weekly Prompt. This week’s challenge was to use these words: woods/legend/wild/hard/serve. I wrote a triolet.

 

© Merril D. Smith, 2016

 

 

 

 

NaPoWriMo: The Gull

 

I watched him soar and glide so high

I watched his tumble to the sea

Enraptured he rose, longing to fly,

I watched him soar and glide so high

Feathery wings, wax-fastened, fluttered in the sky

But he was not a bird, he was not like me

I watched him soar and glide so high

I watched his tumble to the sea

 

NaPoWriMo, Day 21 

Challenge: “to write a poem in the voice of minor character from a fairy tale or myth. Instead of writing from the point of view of Cinderella, write from the point of view of the mouse who got turned into a coachman. Instead of writing from the point of view of Orpheus or Eurydice, write from the point of view of one of the shades in Hades who watched Eurydice leave and then come back.”

I wrote a triolet.

 

NaPoWriMo: English Country Dance

 

V0049213 A country dance in a long hall; the elegance of the couple o Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org A country dance in a long hall; the elegance of the couple on the left contrasts with the ridiculous poses of the more rustic figures beyond representing “unidealized” humanity; straight, angular and round shapes. Engraving by William Hogarth. By: William HogarthPublished: 5 March 1753 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

He bowed, and then she took his hand

The fiddle played, the music started

Polite talking, each step planned

He bowed, and then she took his hand

Skipping steps, formations fanned,

Couples, twirl, flirt, lighthearted

He bowed, and then she took his hand

The fiddle played, the music started.

 

They danced in time, then two by two,

Progressing lightly down the line

Swirling gowns of white and blue

They danced in time, then two by two,

Hoping words not misconstrued,

Faces flushed from dance and wine

They danced in time, then two by two

Progressing lightly down the line.

 

And so they danced the whole night through

Round other dancers, they stole a glance

Past clapping hands, they sought a view

And so they danced the whole night through

Bow and curtsey, step fro and to

Meeting again, as if by chance,

And so they danced the whole night through

Round other dancers, they stole a glance.

 

NaPoWriMo, Day 10. I ignored the prompt and channeled Jane Austen instead in

a  3-stanza triolet because it was a long night of dancing, and one would not do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NaPoWriMo: Gone with Spring

The daffodils are gone now with the spring,

yet the robin cheers me with his song.

Though new buds form and birds take wing,

the daffodils are gone now with the spring.

Who knows of time, what will it bring?

Our lives soon end, we’re not here long.

The daffodils are gone now with the spring,

yet the robin cheers me with his song.

 

NaPoWriMo, Day 8. Today’s prompt: flowers. I wrote a triolet.

The Moon Embraced Her: Poetry Challenge, Triolet

My first attempt at a triolet for Jane Dougherty’s poetry challenge. I found it difficult to follow the format and rhyme scheme, especially using a painting prompt chosen by someone else. But, it was an interesting learning experience.

 

The moon embraced her in its light.

She yearned for love, but freedom, too.

Could she leave, could she take flight?

The moon embraced her in its light.

The castle floated, chances few

For her to leave. And yet tonight

The moon embraced her. In its light

She yearned. For love. But freedom, too.