I have been wanting to play with candles in my mirror world, so inspired by today’s prompt “burn,” I thought I would give it a try.
Burning Bright by Maria L. Berg 2021
November PAD Chapbook Challenge
Today’s prompt is to write a remix poem. It’ll be a fun day of looking back over the poems I’ve written this month and finding connections.
Burn Blue by Maria L. Berg 2021Burn Brighter by Maria L. Berg 2021
Burn to Memory
Memories are malleable innocently altered but upon condition I could finagle to enable a feeling of wild abandon:
as wild as a huckleberry after the first frost a crisp, tart-sweet burst as wild and fresh as raindrops collected in the yellow petals of a buttercup among ferns as wild and fresh and vibrant as light breaking through the thick gray. You won’t be as pleased as I am with my display
It’s not that you were unexpected or unwelcome, or unwanted we found a balance exceedingly vague Did you notice the gravity pulling you into orbit while it was there, or only after it was gone?
Memories are malleable innocently altered when recalled you’ll be at a loss for a cause.
Memories are malleable innocently altered they sit in corners lost in dark shadows because they are haunted by my touch.
Burn Hot by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
He likes to dig he digs potatoes he digs beets but he’s also just digging a hole. If it fills with water will it be a well? Or is it already a well full of ideas and potential that at this age doesn’t need refilling, but only deeper mining, a wellspring of rocky soil, worms and pill bugs that need to be excavated and piled in other places deeper and deeper he will dig until one day it is no longer fun.
Looking Deeper by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Today’s images were inspired by the happy accidents created by digital video stutters and glitches. This thanksgiving I am so thankful for digital bokeh photography. The instant images and limitless possibilities of exploration bring be so much joy.
uninterrupted time in new combinations of light captured and frozen to match images pre-seen once figments now creations to bring elation on repeat simple and healthy activity free except electricity and time, precious time rationed commodity of juggled priorities I give thanks to this place where there is space for creating worlds temporary, but not put away while still inspiring daily growth
Digitally Corrupt by Maria L. Berg 2021
NaNoWriMo
I’m very thankful for the inspiration NaNoWriMo is giving me on this re-write. I’ve come up with a lot of new ideas that make my characters more interesting and relatable, and connections between the characters that are fun and unexpected. None of this would have happened this month without NaNoWriMo. My most interesting ideas have come during the regional write-ins which is convincing me that I’m a more social (digitally social) human than I like to believe. Getting today’s words in might be a little tough, but there’s always tomorrow. Good luck everyone who’s trying to write around family gatherings today.
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Today I thought I would find a new palette for my new filters in the mirror world, so I strung some new lights and moved the mirrors, but by a happy accident, I found that I really enjoyed the effects I found with no filter at all.
Warm Web by Maria L. Berg 2021Cool Web by Maria L. Berg 2021
You never know what you’ll find when you unplug: today I found my neighbor who I haven’t seen in what seems like forever at the grocery store. Unplugged I found she’s been dealing with pain and change in diet and places and patterns, practices and expectations as if life mostly happens unseen. When I got home I plugged in to share a recipe and tell her it was so nice to see her when I was unplugged
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A New Palette by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Bent Bass The human animal desires pleasure in the form of escape clawing at his own senses to tear away reality’s pain bliss found in the kiss of death permanently polluting neurons and nerves, then rivers and streams making addicts of bass and perch junky fish forgetting to spawn swim to exhaustion for one more taste think of the eagle and osprey that dive their talons into that water to catch and fly away with meth-addict fish And let’s not think about the bears wading in those rivers to feast What a mess we make of this place once bountiful now a chemical waste
Bending Space and Time by Maria L. Berg 2021A Bent For by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Today, I finally got to another process I’ve had in mind. I used “crack” to come up with some Yes or No questions for my Oracle, and wrote the questions with oil pastels on butcher paper. It was sunny, so I thought I’d try my concept outside before putting it in the mirror world.
A Cat With All the Answers by Maria L. Berg 2021
November PAD Chapbook Challenge
Laughter Is the Answer by Maria L. Berg 2021
Today’s prompt is to write an ekphrastic poem. I chose to write an ekphrastic about today’s photographs.
I Opened the Door a Crack
Begging the universe to give me answers, we found a balance exceedingly vague. When I asked, Will I crack? I was answered, box which was no, but upon condition I could finagle, and when I asked, Is it too late? laughter was the answer which was yes, and with derision. As the ether laughed its mocking laugh at me, I crawled into my box, but left the lid open a crack and laughed back secure in secret wisdom.
Will I Crack? Box by Maria L. Berg 2021
*A little bit of fun serendipity occurred after I posted this. I went to MasterClass and took a look at the new class with Cornel West on Philosophy. The course discusses “What It Means to Be Human,” and Mr. West says we are “cracked vessels.” I thought that was a fun tie-in with my work today.
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
After yesterday’s fun discovery, I created a family of new filters to try.
Every Family Has One by Maria L. Berg 2021
Stream of Consciousness Saturday
Today’s #SoCS prompt,”black, gray, and white,” inspired me to take some rich black and white photos with my new filters. It changed how I perceived the shapes. I was more attracted to juxtaposing different shades of brightness and searching for depth.
Layers of Connection by Maria L. Berg
Shooting these filters in the mirror world was a very different experience. I’m glad this prompt inspired me to try it.
have taken the first bite (not to be polite) and have not been poisoned
have crossed the threshold and found safe haven
have stepped into the unknown and not been devoured
have leapt and fallen and not been broken
have immersed yourself but not drowned
have put your hand in the fire and not been burned
have put your head in the lions jaw and not been bitten
have experimented and proven your hypothesis that you are rubber and all others are glue
have left decency behind and faced no consequence
we can follow without fear the world demonstrated and made plain
All in the Family by Maria L. Berg 2021
NaNoWriMo
I have to admit I’m glad I decided to start completely from scratch on this novel. Last night during a write-in with my regional ML, I finally reached a scene from the original draft that I liked. However, even though I liked it, I still only kept a couple lines of dialogue. Turns out what I liked about the scene was the secondary character. She never even got a name the first time around, but I want her to have more scenes, maybe turn into a confidant or side-kick. She has a straight-faced dry wit, so she can add comic relief and she is full of inside information that can be useful for my MC.
Today, I’ll take her through my character creation spreadsheet, then brainstorm where she fits into the plot. I also have a new character who is a private investigator. I wrote his first scene last night as well, so I’ll take him through character creation and plan out his scenes as well.
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
I thought my idea for shadow wasn’t working. I created a paper shade for a lamp, thinking it would make cool patterns on the ceiling, but the paper was too thin. But then I used it over my lens hood and took it into my mirror world and got some really neat effects.
Future shadows shimmer through the darkest nights They tempt and trick with the pretense of knowledge But it is useless knowing pictures that can’t be changed once seen For a shadow is but a shape of blocked light
A Reflection of Future Shadows by Maria L. Berg 2021
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Grace introduced the poetry form the Wayra. A short, syllabic, non-rhyming form that is new to me. She also challenged us to use onomatopoeia which fit well with my notes of the sounds of this Thursday morning.
This Unknown Thursday
Lap–these weaving waves filled with golden light–slap rocks after the skier passes four heavy words travel here “making the right decisions.”
Diving Into the Unknown by Maria L. Berg 2021
NaNoWriMo
Yesterday I had my first free day to write and . . . Nothing. However, today I have ten scenes planned, so it’s not that I don’t know where I want the story to go. My internet is being spotty, so I copied “The Gang Does a Word Crawl (It’s Always Sunny) into a text document and I am going to have fun and write my novel! How’s everyone else doing?
November Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Experience Writing 