It’s fun to have a mix of specific and abstract words for prompts. When I think of “bells,” I have a specific image in my mind of what bells look like, but what does “Goodwill” look like? I had fun exploring different ideas.
Creating Goodwill by Maria L. Berg 2021See No EvilHear No EvilSpeak No Evil
New Poems
Today I’m going to continue to explore Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation as a poetry prompt for the Changing Focus December project.
The Dream Harvest
I dream of reaping a deep sleep a sleep so deep that I can’t crawl out until morning
to make it deep I heap the blankets on the clean sheets on the queen-sized bed and fall in
in the room of perfect heat for my feet I’ll meet an ease in degrees of appeal
and a treat so sweet to keep sleeping through the stream of scenes that seep and leak through
the sheer veil I’ll seek meals of meaning there in my deep sleep when I’m dreaming
I also grabbed my Z-shaped filter and caught some Zs.
Catching Zs by Maria L. Berg 2021
If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. While you’re looking, please click the hearts to like the images on the RedBubble site. It will help my work get attention. Thank you.
Lifting Up by Maria L. Berg 2021
December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
This morning I finally tied up the other mirror and turned the mirrorworld into a triangle. This created some nice borders to attempt some light icicles.
Fresh cool pillows like fluffy clouds hold my head at odd angles, my neck sloped and kinked I fold the clouds turn and twist them violently Soft flannel plaid pajama bottoms bunch around my knees and heat my groin but leave a bare cold spot at the small of my back as if the top and bottom are magnetically repelled just there I tug and squirm trying to force their union Now the pillow clouds have changed shape and must be wrestled again I think about the computer something to distract me but it is no longer allowed in and it’s cold out there and I unplugged the internet anyway I roll onto my back I can’t sleep this way but a pillow holds my head for a brief truce and glimpses of colors and shapes behind my closed lids give me hope of fantastic dreams, so I roll to my side and rejoin the battle until the cat wants out.
Freezing Mist by Maria L. Berg 2021
Making a Poetry Collection: November PAD Chapbook Challenge
I’ve started working on my chapbook and wanted to share my progress. As with my poem revision process, my creating a collection process is already changing. I had Step 2 as doing the poem reviews, but while doing my read through, I found selection and organization came first. I am really glad that Step 1 was copying the poems into Scrivener, because I am finding that Scrivener is a great tool for this process.
Step 2: Rate the poems as Yes, Maybe, No – In my Scrivener template, I set up three sections. When I copied the poems into Scrivener, I put all of the poems in Section 1. Then as I read through them, the Yes poems stayed in 1, the Maybes went to Section 2, and the Nos went to section 3.
Step 3: Read for themes – In a brainstorming section outside the manuscript, I created a blank sheet for themes and noted the themes that stood out as I read. I noticed that many of my poems had a counterpart or pair which I found exciting. These pairs had kind of a before and after feel.
Step 4: Preliminary order – After discovering my poem pairs, I started moving my yes poems around and found a preliminary order. Moving the poems around so easily was a great aspect of using Scrivener. After I had a preliminary order, I opened the General Meta-Data and assigned labels and status. For my labels I chose: First draft, Revising, and Final. For the status labels, I changed it to form and labeled my poems as free form, rhyming, or specific structure. I may change what I use that for later, but during review it’s an interesting key.
Step 5: Review
Here’s my revised review checklist from my post Revising Poetry-a Demonstration Part Two: The First Redraft. I turned this into a template page in Scrivener and use the split screen, so I can see the poem while I review. I can make my notes for revision in the Notes section under the meta-data.
Identify POV, tense, form, voice
setting, narrative
themes, moods
identify sensory details
identify best lines
mark weak verbs & nouns
words to mind map
mark areas to expand
highlight cliche language
make easy cuts
choose what to edit to (theme, idea)
brainstorm alternate titles
make notes to guide re-write
do mind maps
free-write around best lines, character and narrative
do research
write a narrative poem
I’m making some progress with the review. Listing the sensory details is already pointing me toward some areas to explore. And choosing what to edit to is helping me focus on how I want the poems to work together as a whole. I’m also excited to start expanding the ideas through writing the narrative poems. This part of the process may take a few days.
As the Ice Forms by Maria L. Berg 2021
If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. While you’re looking, please click the hearts to like the images on the RedBubble site. It will help my work get attention. Thank you.
December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
atresia – noun: 1. absence or closure of a natural passage of the body 2. absence or disappearance of an anatomical part by degeneration.
To Fall Asleep
Every night I play this game
A habit now, a secret shame
Multi-tasking cartoon shows
Or re-runs burned out long ago
While refreshing games of solitaire
Win or lose I never care
I tell myself to fall asleep
Knowing I avoid REM deep where
I’m taken to the terrifying nightmare
The moment of ecstasy and desperate despair
When you still loved me
Would delight in my jealousy
Before the tearing
Before the discarding
As I grow weary
My red eyes go bleary
I wish for atresia
Through lack of sleep to amnesia
Every nocturnal, natural passage binding
Me to you degenerating, closing
Letting me sleep in peace.
I found a spark of inspiration this morning while reading “Love Is Like Sounds” from The Selected Poems of Donald Hall (Poet Laureate of the United States, 2006 – 2007).
(Poet Laureate of the United States, 2006 – 2007).
Experience Writing 