Poetpourri

January 27, 2017 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday round-up is with Carol at Beyond Literacy Link

Challenges can be fun. Challenges can be…well…challenging. Donna Smith posted a challenge to write a poem using all the lines given out by the visitors to her blog. She collected the following lines:

Buffy Silverman: ferocious women who never bring you coffee
Donna Smith: always leave a wild song
Linda Baie: dreaming women do art in poetry
Buffy Silverman: where wizards and wolves rush by in a blur of green and gold and gray
Kay McGriff: ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones
Linda Mitchell: waking the world to a new day
Margaret Simon: steam that climbs like smoke from a fire
Carol Varsalona: fearless women reach out, connect, and find joy in life’s intertwined moments
Tabatha Yeatts: little chest to put the Alive in
Joy Acey: wear loose clothing and a smile
Jan Godown Annino: I feel like there should be more stories out there for girls, and I try to tell them
Mary Lee Hahn: ferocious women do not exaggerate
Brenda Harsham: make a ferocious dinner that eats masks, drips truth and saves softness for dessert
Keri Lewis: radical at their core
Kiesha Shepard: ferocious women would rather drink the wind
Diane Mayr: out of endurance, exaltation

One of the rules was to break the rules, so I did. I didn’t use all the lines.

Here is my poem:

Dreaming women
wake the world
reach out
to find joy in life’s
intertwined moments.

They write stories
where wizards and wolves
rush by. Their stories
sing like steam
that rises, smoke from a fire–
a wild fire!

Ferocious women
never bring you coffee.
They make a ferocious dinner,
save softness for dessert
and a smile.

Take advice from us:
Ignore the awful times.
Dream on.
Leave a wild song.
Drink the wind.

To see other poetic responses, go to Donna’s site for the link up.

Now for a very important announcement: The winners of Here We Go! If you see your name here and you haven’t gotten an email from me, please send me your address by email.

1. Jane Whittingham

2. Joanne Duncan

3. Leigh Anne Eck

4. Linda Mitchell

5. Kimberley Moran

Posted in Poetry Friday, Writing | Tagged collaborative poem, Donna Smith | 20 Comments

20 Responses

on January 27, 2017 at 12:59 pm | Reply Brenda Davis Harsham

Congrats to the Here We Go! winners. Great job on the poem, Margaret. It’s tight and not wordy. I love the advice you offer.
on January 27, 2017 at 1:08 pm | Reply Donna Smith

Way to break the rules, Margaret! Loving it so much! I like that the flavor of all the volunteered lines still rings true. Thanks for “playing” today!
on January 27, 2017 at 6:47 pm | Reply Jane the Raincity Librarian

YAY!!! I never win anything, so this is so exciting!!! 🙂
on January 27, 2017 at 8:12 pm | Reply bjleepoet

Wow! I adore this poem! Thank you for sharing, Margaret and great job writing it!
on January 27, 2017 at 8:54 pm | Reply Linda Mitchell

First, woot! I can’t wait to get my hands on Here We Go! I’ve e-mailed you, and WOW! I love what you’ve done with those lines. Just amazing word crochet. I was completely daunted by the task and gave up early. I am applauding you and Linda Baie for the brilliant work. Bravo!
on January 27, 2017 at 9:50 pm | Reply Tabatha

Great job, Margaret!
on January 27, 2017 at 11:25 pm | Reply lindabaie

Love the terse words, but sweetly done, Margaret: “Their stories
sing like steam
that rises, smoke from a fire–
a wild fire!”
on January 27, 2017 at 11:52 pm | Reply Kortney Garrison

Sing like steam–such music in that line!
on January 28, 2017 at 12:30 am | Reply cvarsalona

Yes, I like your version of ferocious women, especially the advice. I send you #poetrylove tonight, Margaret.
on January 28, 2017 at 12:49 am | Reply Violet Nesdoly

Each one of these is wonderful in its own way! I love yours, Margaret!
on January 28, 2017 at 1:37 am | Reply Kay McGriff (@kaymcgriff)

I love seeing what everyone is doing with the same lines. Your poem is beautiful.
on January 28, 2017 at 1:57 am | Reply Leigh Anne

It has been fun reading what everyone is doing with this challenge. I love the line dreaming women wake the world! Like I said on Linda’s poem, these are such rally cries!

Thank you for the giveaway of Here We Go – I am so excited to receive it!
on January 28, 2017 at 2:30 am | Reply Buffy Silverman

I think I need to copy that final stanza and put it over my desk… thanks for sharing this, Margaret.
on January 28, 2017 at 11:00 am | Reply readingtothecore

Your poem is gorgeous, Margaret. Like Buffy, I will hold onto these lines:

“Ignore the awful times.
Dream on.
Leave a wild song.
Drink the wind.”

Thank you for this wise advice!
on January 28, 2017 at 1:27 pm | Reply maryleehahn

Love it, you rule breaker, you!!
on January 28, 2017 at 2:14 pm | Reply haitiruth

Nice! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
on January 28, 2017 at 4:00 pm | Reply Irene Latham

Dear ferocious Margaret, I love what you did with this. Thank you!
on January 28, 2017 at 8:21 pm | Reply jarhartz

This challenge has been so fun to watch. I love how you saw it.
on January 30, 2017 at 3:11 am | Reply Heidi Mordhorst

This one is lifted by your compositional restraint, Margaret. Go kick ferocious, loving butt this week in the classroom!
on January 31, 2017 at 1:40 am | Reply Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

It’s been so much fun reading all of these wild and joyful, empowering poems, Margaret. Absolutely love yours!