OctPoWriMo Day 31

This has been a difficult time for me and coming to the poetry page felt mostly impossible. I turned to art journaling instead. I was able to feel calmer as I scribbled and colored on the page. This was the only way I could find peace during the chaos of breakups and injury. I have trouble drawing faces though so I have set a challenge for myself to draw at least one face a day. This was my first one. I'm using Tamara Laporte's, Art, Heart and Healing class.

Art by MDragonwillow

I hope you enjoyed the prompts this year that I and the other volunteers shared with you. Whether you wrote a poem everyday or sporadically, it is all good. Every poem matters. Your words matter. Thank you for joining us and I hope you will join us again next year.

Poetry Prompts:

Where do you find peace in this time of chaos in the world. I find it in nature and in moving colors across the page. Write for ten minutes asking yourself where you find peace.

Word Prompts:

Peace

Chaos

Nature

Words

Safe

Calm

Music:

May your words fly to the page.

I will be sharing two different programs on my patreon which will include prompts beginning tomorrow throughout the year.

https://www.patreon.com/morgandragonwillow

I am setting up the Magical Mercury Retrograde booklet in Amazon Kindle today and should be available soon.

I still have at least four weeks before I can start working again so if you are able, please hop on over to - Morgan's Medical Fundraiser. Every little bit helps.

https://www.facebook.com/donate/420640718647918/

Peace,
Morgan Dragonwillow
Read.Dance.Write.Repeat.
.
Become a Patron!

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo & #PoetsonthePage. Please visit her Patreon page 

to discover more of her words, art, and prompts, including her uncensored self.

OctPoWriMo Day 30

Can you believe we’re almost done? Tomorrow is the last day in this year’s poetry journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed this experience and learned as much as I have.

Today’s Prompt: Me, or Who am I?

It’s the most important question, isn’t it? Some of us never really answer it, while for others, the answer changes as we grow and live.

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

“One thing that I have learned is that I don't think we figure out who we are all at once. I think it happens over a long period of time, piece by piece, you know? Okay, take me for instance. A couple of years ago, I get close with your dad, and I found a piece of myself in that. I meet your aunt and I found another piece of myself. Honey, I think that's sort of how it works you know? We go through life slowly but surely collecting these little pieces of ourselves that we can't really live without until we eventually have enough of them to feel whole.” -Kevin Pearson, This Is Us

Our identity is the core of who we are and how we see the world. It colours everything. And it isn’t simple. Every one of us has multiple intersecting facets of who we are. Family relationships, religion, career, art, sexuality—even what kind of pet you prefer—lends shades of meaning to the mosaic of you.

So, who are you?

Word Prompts:
Self
Identity
Heart
Soul
Innermost Being

Suggested form: invent your own!

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, and you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below.

Esther Spurrill Jones has been writing since she was very young. She has written in many genres, but poetry is her first love. She has a few collections of poetry available on Kindle. Esther enjoys introducing people who have little or no experience to the joy of poetry. To this end, she has written several articles on Medium on how to write and enjoy poetry. Esther lives in the Frozen North (Saskatchewan, Canada) with the love of her life and three awesome terrible cats.

OctPoWriMo Day 29

 Lightness of Being

Today I am posting the last of my prompts! My heart is heavy but at the same time there is a lightness, an elation that I did my job reasonably well. It is impossible to talk about lightness without a mention of Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being! But I want to keep the topic light and not get into the esoteric debate on weightiness versus lightness. Existence without weightiness may seem flimsy, without a lack of ultimate meaning in life but sometimes it is important to just live in the moment without worrying about the consequences. I can see some of you shaking your head in disagreement. Wonderful!! It would be so boring if we all agreed on everything.

So, what does lightness of being mean to you? A stress free, guilt free life or an ethical, by the rule book life or is it the same for you? Does being light literally means shedding all those extra kilos/pounds? Or shedding fears, guilt, shame and disappointments?

I would love to know what lightness of being means to you.

Word Prompts:

Float
Light
Burden
Free
Meaning
Sublime
Immoral

Suggested PoetryForm:

 During NaPoWriMo this year one of the prompts was to write a Sei Shonagon style of list of things in poetry or poetry prose which you can read here.
You could give it a try or write a free verse.

Please make sure to leave a link to your poem in the comments here so we can all visit and leave constructive/positive comments.

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media. 

I would like to thank Morgan for this wonderful opportunity to host the prompts. I am also grateful to the fellow participants for the love they have shown. I have met many old friends here and made new acquaintances. Thank you everyone for enriching my life. 

Punam

OctPoWriMo Day 28

Mending the Broken Places
 
Yesterday we celebrated Diwali, festival of lights in India. Today as I was gathering the used earthen lamps, one fell and broke. Of course all the lamps will be discarded whether whole or broken because they are of single use. What of broken relationships, broken souls and limbs? Sometimes we are able to mend them sometimes scars remain.

Each one of us has a breaking point. Pushed beyond that, something gives way. But we remain whole on the outside. Bones mend, skin regrows but what about the broken heart, crushed dreams or vanquished faith? How do we heal ourselves? Do we rely on others, outside factors to mend those broken places? Or do we tap into our inner reserve for strength to mend ourselves? Do we ever heal completely?
What helps you pull out of these dark times? Is it your faith/religion, is it the support of friends and family or do you turn to music to soothe and provide solace.

The kintsugi technique is the essence of resilience. We must look for a way to cope with traumatic events in a positive way. Negative experiences always teach something. We should take the best from them and convince ourselves that exactly these experiences make each one of us unique and special.

Share with us your healing mantra, if you have any. Or your struggle to come to terms with living with those jagged pieces still embedded deep within. Or how you evolved into a stronger and better person.

Word Prompts:

Discouraged

Broken wings

Healing

Strength 

Calm

Acceptance

Precious

Listen to this as you write about your healing process.

Suggested  Poetry Form : Pantoum

Our heart mends as our inner self—the central or innermost part of our identity—is wrapped around the Light inside of us, rather than around the people who have harmed us. This one small step changes the way we see things.

                                                                                                        Suzanne Eller

Please make sure to leave a link to your poem in the comments here so we can all visit and leave constructive/positive comments.

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media. Also do share how this journey into poetry is going for you.

Day 27 - How Did I Get Here?

Some may approach this question from a genetics or religious-origins point of view, especially if they are mapping their family tree. Some may approach it from a physical point of view: I took a plane, a train, and a bus, or How did I get to OctPoWriMo today? I got up and walked to my favorite coffee shop on the corner. Or some may be looking over a precipice and wondering how to step back. This question can stimulate so many ideas, but I wanted to touch on one of the big ones: destiny.

No matter how organized and prepared we think we are, life will throw some serious curve balls. There are plenty of philosophers that have argued whether or not we have any say in our existence at all. If you are interested in a super-quick physics-driven overview of the philosophies of determinism and free will, I found a Big Think video.

If you want more, I found a fun PBS video.

Whether you approach the "here" of "How did I get here?" as place, time, emotional state, physical state, mental state, or all of the above, give yourself 10 to 15 minutes to describe your "here" in detail. Is it the here you imagined when you were a child, a teen, a young adult? Is it a "here" you want to be in?

Think back to a singular event that you see as the precursor to being "here." Think about whether you played a role in that event, if you determined your destination.

While you think about that, I highly recommend watching this video for Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads:

Word Prompts: destiny, fate, rebel, choice, chromosomes, singularity

suggested form: Ottava Rima

Since this is my last prompt this OctPoWriMo, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some great news: Last week I received an acceptance letter for two of my poems. They have been accepted for publication in an Emerging Poets anthology coming out in December. It will be the first time my poetry has been published by someone other than myself. I'm very excited. Thank you for all of your supportive and kind comments. I truly enjoy this opportunity to interact with others who love reading and writing poetry.

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

 

Maria L. Berg enjoys brisk swims in the Pacific Northwest. Her short fiction has appeared in Five on the Fifth, America's Emerging Writers Anthology and most recently in Writer Shed Stories. She writes and photo-illustrates Gator McBumpypants picture books and plays many instruments. You can find her poetry at experiencewriting.com.

OctPoWriMo Day 26

Secrets held tightly can be toxic, depending on the secret. Our own truths have been swallowed on more than one occasion.

Poetry Prompts:

Art by
MDragonwillow 

What have you left unspoken?  What inner truth has you biting your tongue? Write for ten minutes diving into what is true for you.

Word Prompts:

Silence 

Biting your tongue

Speak you truth

What is unspoken

Suggested poetry type: Joseph's Star

Music:

https://youtu.be/U1s99UxNdZY

May your words fly to the page.

Peace, Morgan Dragonwillow
Read.Dance.Write.Repeat.

I'm so excited to let you know you can get, Magical Mercury Retrograde for free during my promotion on my patreon.
Become a Patron!

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo & #PoetsonthePage. Please visit her Patreon page 

to discover more of her words, art, and prompts, including her uncensored self.

OctPoWriMo Day 25

I was sick yesterday and I completely forgot I was supposed to write the prompt today. I’m sorry!

Today’s prompt: White

What does ‘white’ make you think of? Snow, cold, clean, racism? Take some time to think about how this colour or lack of colour makes you feel.

Image by Dorota Kudyba from Pixabay

Word Prompts:
Snow
Cold
Clouds
Death

Suggested form: Musette

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, and you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below.

Esther Spurrill Jones has been writing since she was very young. She has written in many genres, but poetry is her first love. She has a few collections of poetry available on Kindle. Esther enjoys introducing people who have little or no experience to the joy of poetry. To this end, she has written several articles on Medium on how to write and enjoy poetry. Esther lives in the Frozen North (Saskatchewan, Canada) with the love of her life and three awesome terrible cats.

OctPoWriMo Day 24

Welcome to Day 24! Today’s prompt is breathe. It comes at a perfect time for me. I’ve had nothing but computer issues lately, and for the first time since I started #OctPoWriMo I’ve missed several days of posting. I started getting stressed about it but finally decided that I have to keep moving forward. I’ll try to catch up and post the prompts I missed this weekend but if I don’t, I don’t. There are a lot of other things happening in my life at the moment that have made this month less than a happy one. I could wallow or I could let go and breathe. Letting go is the option I choose.

Have you noticed that when you are stressed, you tend to hold your breath? I once read that an antidote to this is to sing because you can’t do both at once. I am a terrible singer but do find it helps me relax. Music, in general, has this healing quality for me. Each time I write, I have headphones on and music filling my ears. It allows me to escape to another place. 

How do you deal with stress? Do you practice mindful breathing or meditation? Can you let go and see what happens?

Suggested form: Song 

Word prompts: 

surrender

empower

rest

song/music

breath/breathe

trust

wonder

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

Michele Vecchitto is a writer and former middle school teacher.  Her poetry has been published in literary journals and anthologies as well as in three self-published volumes. Michele read her poems at the Austin International Poetry Festival and was honored to be included in When Time and Space Conspire. 

You can read more of her work on her blog -

Writing and Reflections

OctPoWriMo Day 23

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” -James Herriot

Today’s Prompt: Fur Babies

Rufio

Some people hate the term “fur babies,” arguing that animals are nothing like “real” children. But those of us who have pets understand. We love our furry babies as if they were our own flesh and blood.

Do you have pets? That love is just as real and strong as any love. Have you ever lost a pet? The grief is just as real and strong as when you lose anyone.

When I was very young, I had a puppy named Lucky. We were best friends. He used to hold my hand while we ran around outside together. Yes, in his mouth. Yes, while we ran. No, he never hurt me. He used to love racing down the mountainside in the vacant lot next door to run across the road at the bottom. I still remember the sound of his yelp when a car hit him. The grief of losing him was just as sharp as the grief at losing my grandpa a few years earlier.

Dawn

I’ve lost two cats in the years since. Oliver and Dawn will always be in my heart. Oliver had a tumour in his mouth. The vet could have operated to remove it, but the recovery would have been miserable, and it would have come back. The choice to let him go was the hardest choice I’ve ever made. Dawn slipped out the door one night, her black fur blending into the darkness, and we didn’t notice. My husband found her broken body on the side of the road when he got home from a night shift. I spent the next day crying.

I have three cats right now: Toby, Rufio, and Rolly. Rolly came to us a pregnant stray, and we will soon have kittens too. We are excited for them (but will definitely spay her as soon as they’re weaned).

Toby

Word Prompts:
Cute
Furry
Cuddly
Love

Rolly

Suggested Form: Ode or Acrostic

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, and you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below.

Esther Spurrill Jones has been writing since she was very young. She has written in many genres, but poetry is her first love. She has a few collections of poetry available on Kindle. Esther enjoys introducing people who have little or no experience to the joy of poetry. To this end, she has written several articles on Medium on how to write and enjoy poetry. Esther lives in the Frozen North (Saskatchewan, Canada) with the love of her life and three awesome terrible cats.

OctPoWriMo Day 22

Sometimes the only way to really experience something is to smash it apart and examine all the broken pieces. Sometimes perfection is not as truthful as imperfection. Sometimes it’s necessary to tear apart that which we hold dear to discover its true power. We’ve all had transitions in life, moving from one phase to another. These times can be filled with beauty and pain or both.

But what if it’s more than that? How many of us have felt broken - mentally, physically, spiritually? Our stories live in the journey back with all the broken pieces in tow. Share yours. Let’s inspire one another.

Tackle today’s prompt from any angle. What was broken and how did you deal with the aftermath? 

Word Prompts:

broken

whole

heavy

accepting darkness

embracing light

strength

Suggested Form:

Loop Poetry

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

Michele Vecchitto is a writer and former middle school teacher.  Her poetry has been published in literary journals and anthologies as well as in three self-published volumes. Michele read her poems at the Austin International Poetry Festival and was honored to be included in When Time and Space Conspire. 

You can read more of her work on her blog -

Writing and Reflections

OctPoWriMo Day 21

Photo by MDragonwillow

I went to the orthopedist on Friday and the doc says, at minimum, I have sprained/torn my MCL and maybe also my meniscus. He said I won't be able to work for at least six weeks unless the MRI shows the meniscus is torn and then I'll need surgery. Yeah... Oh, and I have a new fancy brace. Without working the medical bills are piling up. I decided to create, Morgan's Medical Fundraiser on Facebook. Tomorrow I have to call around and see about a wheel chair because my right knee can't take much more of having to do all of the work. I hope last week went better for you than it did for me.


My frustration level has increased tenfold so this prompt is quite fitting.

Photo compliments of Public Domain Pictures
By Dawn Hudson

Poetry Prompts:

Frustration wells inside, what do you do? How do you handle your frustrations when they stack on top of each other until you feel like you are going to scream? Write for ten minutes while thinking about those questions. Pull one sentence out and write some more, getting to the meat of it. 

Word Prompts:

Screaming into the wind

overwhelm

enough is enough

letting go

Suggested Poetry Type: Shape poetry

Music:

Dance it out, I wish I could. Maybe I will crank the music and dance in my seat.

How are things going for you? Have anything interesting happen last week? Good news? Bad news? Poetry flowing? Tell us about it.

Peace,

Morgan Dragonwillow
Read.Dance.Write.Repeat.

Become a Patron!

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo & #PoetsonthePage. Please visit her Patreon page 

to discover more of her words, art, and prompts, including her uncensored self.

Day 20 - Mountains or Oceans

I live in the Pacific Northwest with a view of Mt. Rainier. I live in awe of this sleeping volcano that could wake up at any time. It is majestic and beautiful and deadly. I also live near the Pacific Ocean. When I was young, my family would backpack out to the ocean and camp for a week every summer. We would play in the waves until we were completely numb, salty and exhausted then sunbathe in the cold while sand fleas jumped all over our feet. I wanted to be a mermaid. Once, my sister went out too far in an out-going tide and couldn't get back in. Luckily, my father was a strong swimmer and was able to pull her back. The ocean is vast, and beautiful, and deadly. 

Many people see a mountain and need to climb it, an ocean and they have to cross it, the ultimate physical challenges to overcome. Others like, skiers and surfers, use their unique qualities for sport. Others find peace admiring the view.

                                                    Ain't No Mountain High Enough

                           (for this prompt think ocean when they sing river if you so choose)

Word prompts: awe, strive, conquer, majestic, vast, bold, brisk, exhaustion (the happy kind)

Do you remember the first time you touched a mountain, or an ocean? When was the last time you were on a mountain? When was the last time you were at the ocean? Remember the sounds, smells, textures and tastes. Do you only imagine mountains and oceans, but have never experienced them yourself? How do you relate to these giants of earth? Do you stare in awe, actively interact, or need to conquer?

Suggested form: Haibun

You can find more examples at Contemporary Haibun Online

If you enjoy this form, I suggest checking out dVerse poetry pub's Haibun Mondays

 

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below. Let us know how this journey into poetry is going for you and if this is your first year or if you have been with us from the beginning.

 

Maria L. Berg enjoys brisk swims in the Pacific Northwest. Her short fiction has appeared in Five on the Fifth, America's Emerging Writers Anthology and most recently in Writer Shed Stories. She writes and photo-illustrates Gator McBumpypants picture books and plays many instruments. You can find her poetry at experiencewriting.com.