Tag Archives: homographs

No Contest for Content

Last week I missed my Sunday visual poetry due to a very fun and special family birthday party, so today I’ll be exploring two homographs: Content and Contest.

A blackout poem using purple sharpie on clear plastic over a random page from Rose Windows by Painton Cowen.
Dwelling Entirely in the Slime of the Earth by Maria L. Berg 2022

Content & Contest

Let’s start with a quick overview of the meanings of our homographs from dictionary.com. Each of these has two pronunciations as well.

Content (kon-tent): Usually contents.

  1. something that is contained: the contents of a box.
  2. the subjects or topics covered in a book or document.
  3. the chapters or other formal divisions of a book or document: a table of contents.

something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing, or any of various arts: significance or profundity; meaning: substantive information or creative material viewed in contrast to its actual or potential manner of presentation: that which may be perceived in something.

~That last meaning opens up content to be just about anything.

Content (kuhn-tent): satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.

Contest (kon-test) noun: a race, conflict, or other competition between rivals, as for a prize: struggle for victory or superiority: vigorous or bitter conflict in argument; dispute; controversy.

Contest (kuhn-test) verb: to struggle or fight for: to argue against; dispute: to call in question: to contend for in rivalry.

I’m feeling content to create content on this lovely, clear day. I won’t contest the results of my visual poetry experiments, and appreciate the poetic content equally. It’s not a contest.

The same image of the previous poem with a page of text from Man and his symbols by Carl G. Jung next to it.
Now the Experiment by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

The Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt yesterday was “clear” which got me thinking about the clear sleeve idea I started playing with “Combine.” I’ve been thinking about using the clear plastic to create blackout poetry. I thought it would be fun to print text in the same size and font and then use a blackout design from one poem on another piece of text.

Since I wanted to use small, uniform text, I photocopied sections from a few non-fiction texts I own. I started with Rose Windows by Painton Cowen. Choosing a random page from the introduction, I created the first image in this post.

Then I switched out the text to a page from Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung using the same blackout and got this:

The same purple blackout over a new text from Man and his symbols by Carl G. Jung, creating a new poem.
The Dream of the Unconscious Dreamer by Maria L. Berg 2022

I used this same blackout with two other random pages from non-fiction I own, and moved it up and down the pages. I highly recommend trying this as an inspirational tool. I’m loving it. It’s like creating a cipher to bring your own, new understanding to any text. I also like that it leaves the original text intact as I change it and make my own choices and meanings.

The Poem

Dwelling Entirely in the Slime of the Earth

Transfix us equally
unexpected feeling
elusive awe and wonder

this experience
accentuated by
interweaving tensions

poured light of
infinite shades
in the sun

glowing quietly
jewels and coloured
glass possessing

me dwelling
in some strange
universe which exists

entirely in the slime of the earth

An Impromptu Combination of Combines

Continuing my Sunday visual poetry, I’m abandoning my magnets for a new overlay idea that goes well with today’s homograph “combine.”

A Curious Combine by Maria L. Berg 2022

Combine

As you have probably noticed, I like to unite prompts for a common purpose; many prompts join forces to create one poem. I join many ideas into a close union, creating a new whole. But how will I simultaneously cut, thresh, and clean those ideas with my mental combine harvester; evaluate my prospective players, and which combine will use my results to create a self-serving monopoly (That last cabal-style definition of combine is unusual to me. I’ll have to look into it)?

Today’s new technique was inspired by yesterday’s search into Vispo, short for visual poetry. A description of a book mentioned transparencies which made me think about how I take a picture of my collages then more pictures after adding words. With transparencies, I could create this additive process over and over.

When I started my Words on the World project, I ordered two different thicknesses of colored Sharpies and a large amount of clear plastic sleeves to cut the filters from. Cutting open the sleeves creates pages for layers of transparencies. I printed out some of last week’s photos and tried it out.

Questionable Combination by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

For today’s poem, I took a look at my WordPress reader and found:

Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt #258 is “Impromptu” and to write a poem (or piece of prose) in exactly 48 words.

Pensitivity101’s Three Things Challenge #957 is TROUBLE, FLIGHT, TICKET.

Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) is “heat.”

Curiosity Kills Boredom by Maria L. Berg 2022
Curiosity Leads to Delight by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Poem

At the Poet Combine

This impromptu combination of light and words

I dream will take flight

layered to create heat

the heated air lifting

or get me into trouble

this brave trust

punch my ticket

above the troubles

to the improv

cut, threshed, and cleaned

to a shiny core of deeper meaning

Closing Out All the April Challenges

This Sunday is the first of the month, and all the challenges are over, but I thought I would close with a visual poem guided by a homograph.

Coming to a Close by Maria L. Berg 2022

Close

I really enjoy homographs that have different pronunciations. Close can be an adjective or adverb; a noun or verb.
Pronounced klohs
adjective – near in space or time: near in relationship: parts or elements near to one another: compact, dense (a close weave)
adverb – tightly: near or within proximity
Pronounced klohz
noun – the end or conclusion (the close of the day)
verb – to cover an opening; shut: (tr) to bar, obstruct, or fill up: to bring the parts or edges of (a wound, etc) together or (of a wound, etc) to be brought together, unite.

I think of: closing a lid; closing a door; cutting it close; That was close!; close ties; close friends; personal space: too close; closing in on a solution.

Closing by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

The April Challenges are over, but there are still plenty of prompts to be found. For today’s poem, I took a look at my WordPress reader and found:

Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt #257 is “Luminous” and to write a poem (or piece of prose) in exactly 30 words.

Pensitivity101’s Three Things Challenge #950 is CROWD, BUSY, RUSH.

E. M.’s Sunday Ramble Prompt #22 This one’s new to me. The Sunday Ramble is 5 questions about a topic to ramble on about. Sounds a little like Stream of Consciousness Saturday, which I enjoy. Today’s topic is “Random Questions to Trigger Imagination” and the questions are:

  1. If people get a purple heart for bravery, what do the other colors of hearts mean? (Make up your own heart meanings and colors.)
  2. If you were given $5 Million to open a small museum, what kind of museum would you create?
  3. if you could build a themed hotel, what would the theme be and what would it look like?
  4. What would the adult version of an ice cream truck sell, look like, and play for its song?
  5. What animal would be the cutest if it was down-sized to the size of a cat?

Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) is “remuneration”–money paid for work or services.

Closing by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Poem

When Staying at the Hotel Magique Réal

At my magical
realism hotel where
crowds rush to try
the strawberry pop-rocks
that make them sprout
wings and fly
the first to reach
the luminous-gold
heart that means
a dream will never die,
hanging in the
ceiling sky, is remunerated
an unimaginable sum
in magic hotel money.
And if that isn’t enough
excitement to keep
every patron busy,
they can visit the Museum
of the Fantastical and Silly
with a tank of whales
the size of cats and
giraffes the size of mice
that swish their tails
to swat at pesky
winged-humans
the size of flies.

Day Twenty-Four: Sheer Villainy

This is the last Sunday of the of the month, and there is no A to Z on Sundays, so today’s photo-challenge is a little different. I’ll be using the photos I took this week to create visual poems guided by a homograph.

A Sheer Lack of Respect by Maria L. Berg 2022

Sheer

Sheer has so many interesting meanings:

adjective – perpendicular; very steep; a sheer cliff

(of textiles) so fine as to be transparent

(prenominal: before a noun) absolute; unmitigated; sheer folly

noun – any transparent fabric used for making garments

verb – to deviate or cause to deviate from a course

(intransitive) to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc (swerve)

When I chose this homograph, I was thinking of “shears,” as in scissors, and to shear as in cutting or trimming like shearing sheep which is a homophone to this homograph (oops). However, I’m glad for my mistake. I like the visual possibilities of “perpendicular” and sheer fabrics.

Sheer Wilderness by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

NaPoWriMo

Today’s prompt is to write a poem with vivid similes.

Poem A Day

Today’s prompt is to write a superhero or supervillain poem.

Sheer by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Poem

Your Favorite Supervillain

Every word he says
is a lie designed
to manipulate
through fear

He dresses to intimidate
like an electric-blue
frog, standing out
in contrast to the
forest, announcing
its poison

He wails demands
and commands like
a siren calling those
lost in the fog
to crash upon
the rocks

He directs attention
to his misdemeanors
while committing atrocities
where no one’s looking
like a magician whose
vanishing cabinet doubles
as an iron maiden

He twists and turns
a truth to a question garbled
never finishing, so blanks
are forced to be filled
like the tendency of
a fluid in exosmosis
substance flows lower and lower
and lower

He sticks his long fingers
into dark, damp holes
pushing and prodding
until the vile emerge
to do his bidding
echoing lies designed
to manipulate
through fear

Day Seventeen: Mysteries of the Mind

This is the third Sunday of the of the month, and there is no A to Z on Sundays, so today’s photo-challenge is a little different. I’ll be using the photos I took this week to create visual poems guided by a homograph.

In Mind by Maria L. Berg 2022

Mind

Looking back at this week’s abstract nouns, my mind has been filled with: ideas, joy, kindness, luck, motivation, and need. That’s a lot to keep in mind, but I don’t mind.

For today’s visual poetry, I played with an old image of a phrenology map.

Of a Mind by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

NaPoWriMo

Today’s prompt is to think about dogs you have known, seen, or heard about then use those thoughts as a springboard for a poem.

Poem A Day

Today’s prompt is to write a mad poem.

I’m afraid today’s prompts didn’t work for me. Dogs, especially mad dogs brought up bad memories and made me unhappy, so I’m going off prompt (mostly, a little bit of a mad poem) today.

Minding Manners by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Poem

Sunlight = Chainsaw

It always does
The snow on the mountain
finally clear against the blue
and shining bright

\\–chainsaw–//

Each wave tip caught like
a star in the glare of a spotlight

\\–chainsaw–//

Each blade of grass gleaming
more yellow than green

\\–chainsaw–//

The warmth on my skin
eyelids closed and patterned
arms raised in ecstasy
trying to grab it all
and quicken absorption

\\–chainsaw–//

Through every bit
of possible pleasure
the mind is ripped,
torn, hacked
then felled.

Day Ten: Elaborate Tastes

This is the second Sunday of the of the month, and there is no A to Z on Sundays, so today’s photo-challenge is a little different. I’ll be using the photos I took this week to create visual poems guided by a homograph.

An Elaborate Expression by Maria L. Berg 2022

Elaborate

Elaborate is a homograph with two pronunciations and meanings:

adjective (ih-lab-er-it) worked out with great care and detail; marked by intricate and often excessive detail.

verb (ih-lab-uh-reyt) to add details in writing, speaking, etc.; give additional or fuller treatment

This will give me a chance to elaborate on my new thoughts on comfort, and the connections between goals and failures, hope and destiny. I included my magnetic poetry kits to create more elaborate expressions of the week’s abstractions.

Elaborate Destinies by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

NaPoWriMo

Today’s prompt is to write a love poem.

Poem A Day

Today’s prompt is to write a taste poem.

Elaboration of Comfort by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Poem

Love’s Many Flavors

Like thoughtful morning
sweet celebratory strawberry
preserves delineating layers
of comforting cream
with the patience of
delicate shortcake

Like rich euphoric
European milk chocolate
brought back in baggage
rewarding worry and wishes
while each melting square
mends the forgiving mouth

Like fresh fervent
new garden kale
crisp, crunchy leaves
that survived harsh winter
forgotten and left for dead
offering vitality freely



Day Three: The Cleaving Smell of Beauty’s Ambition

This is the first Sunday of the of the month, and there is no A to Z on Sundays, so today’s photo-challenge is a little different. I’ll be using the photos I took for Ambition and Beauty to create visual poems guided by a homograph.

Cleave

Cleave is an enticing word because it is both a homograph and a janus word. Cleave can mean to adhere, stick, or cling to, and be faithful. It can also mean to split or divide, to cut, sever, or to penetrate or pass through.

Cleaved to Ever Rising Ambition by Maria L. Berg 2022

The Prompts

NaPoWriMo

Today we have a form prompt. The challenge is to write a glosa, a new form to me. Because I’ve been studying Dylan Thomas for my Portable Poetry MFA, I chose a quatrain from “On a Wedding Anniversary.” This poem, and this final stanza especially, express both meanings of “cleave.”

Poem A Day

Today’s prompt is to write a smell poem.

The Poem

The Cleaving Smell of Beauty’s Ambition

Too late in the wrong rain
They come together whom their love parted:
The windows pour into their heart
And the doors burn in their brain.
~Dylan Thomas

Debarking holding hands
in a warm shower heavy
with hibiscus and gardenia
days bright as birds of paradise
they so quickly forgot
while finding daily worth
tarnished and scuffed by the grind
Their fingers and palms had fit
a comforting realization
too late in the wrong rain

It isn’t that they never agree
but perhaps that they are too alike
their campfires permeate
explosive summer nights
heat lightning sparks over
hot heads and sharp tongues
like thorns hidden in blades of grass
After storms, swarms, and scourges,
blame bandied and volleyed back-biting,
they come together whom their love parted

Petrichor signals the turn
along with dripping orange deciduous
skin dries and cracks as do voices
lips split easily as do all brittle husks
empty and lifeless leftovers
mildew seeps into spaces
like an intruder hiding in a closet
They close the doors and turn away
searching for sunlight through filthy panes
the windows pour into their heart

Odors accumulate
in a stuffy house
closed off from dreams
to snuff out those hard feelings
before they attack again
The ghost’s cigars continue
to surprise the wrinkled senses
each flavor of smoke
still yells fire
and the doors burn in their brain

Beauty’s Fool by Maria L. Berg 2022

#NaNoWriMo & #NovPAD Day 14: Tearing Out the Tears

An Afternoon Full of Tears by Maria L. Berg 2021

For today’s images I played with the homograph (words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings, and may be pronounced differently) of tear. Building on yesterday’s images and inspired by the work of Erica Baum and Tracie Morris from week 10 of ModPo, I physically put tears in some of yesterday’s oracle pictures.

Tear Along the Folds by Maria L. Berg 2021

November PAD Chapbook Challenge

Today’s prompt is “(blank) That” as the title.

I also took a look at Poetic Bloomings where the prompt is Absence.

Tear Into That

In your absence I will
tear into that
like the fangs of a bat
on the haunch of a donkey
in the dark

You won’t miss it
you won’t know
I’ll never tell

In your absence I will
tear into that
like a cat on a rat
pouncing and growling
then licking my lips
and leave bloody scraps as a gift

You won’t be as pleased
as I am with my display

In your absence I will
tear into that
like claws to a sofa
or brand new curtains
I will shred like a thresher
leaving only threads

You’ll be at a loss
for a cause

Tear the Lid Off the Box by Maria L. Berg 2021

NaNoWriMo

I made it to the regional Zoom meeting yesterday. It felt great to have my words almost done early in the day. I wrote the most words in a day so far this NaNoWriMo yesterday and hit 25K, the halfway point of the wordcount goal: All exciting milestones. However, in my story I’m about to write into Act II, so I’m also on track to create a 100k draft. The only thing that’s bugging me is my strange internal conflict of wanting a plan and having more fun winging it. I’m going to keep trying to map out everything I’ve set up so far and create some sort of map of how everything will come back into the story.

I hope everyone working on their novel is finding their groove and having fun.

Laughter and Tears 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.

Happy Reading and Writing!