OctPoWriMo Day 1

Welcome to the 8th annual OctPoWriMo poetry journey of 31 poems in 31 days. Every year people from all over the world come together to write poetry. Some have been writing poetry for years, others are just barely getting their feet wet. This is a place where all are welcome and there are very few rules.

OctPoWriMo Rules:

1. Be kind
2. Don't give advice (We just want to be heard)

Seriously, those are really the only two rules we have.The rest is optional. You can write poetry offline or online, you can choose to use our prompts or find your inspiration elsewhere, you can share your links in the comments of that day's prompt if you would like participants to be able to read your poetry, you can write about anything you want (please let us know in the comments with your link if it is not suitable to be opened at work), and we hope you play with your words until you breathe life into them.

Once again I have chosen a theme and this year it is - Mining the Gold in the Shadows. As some of you already know I'm going through a breakup and I'm trying to make sense of my life. What better way than through poetry, right? 

Poetry Prompts:

“The journey of the dark night of the soul is where we learn who we are, without people telling us.”
― Adèle Green

Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net by JL Field

That is exactly what I'm trying to figure out, who I am without other people saying who they think I am. You'd think at 55 years old I'd know by now. Free write about your, "Dark Night of the Soul" either an experience or what it means to you. 

Word Prompts:

Pitch Black

Soul fire 

Chaos

Awakening

Music for your poetry journey.

I am doing things a little differently this year. I am releasing my poems first to my patrons on Patreon and then to the public.

Peace,
Morgan Dragonwillow (Yes, I changed it back)
Read.Dance.Write.Repeat.

Become a Patron!

Please explore poetry without rules, and not try to fix anyone. Some of us love to explore the darker side and we just want to be heard. If the words you read touch you in some way, share what you love about the poem, what speaks to you, what makes you feel deep in your bones, but no giving advice or words of wisdom. That isn't what this is about.

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 13: If I Were You

Almost halfway there! Today is Day 13 and the prompt is If I Were You. Are there things you sometimes need to get off your chest? When was the last time you felt strongly that someone needed to see things from your point of view? I think this prompt lends itself perfectly to a Blitz Poem. This is one of my favorite types to write, especially when I need to rant. Don’t be discouraged by its length. Once you get into the groove, it all falls into place and usually leads to a powerful piece. Give it a try!

Photo by lalesh aldarwish from Pexels

Suggested poetry type: The Blitz Poem

Word Prompts:     should

            might

            consider

            absolute

            discover

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions. Where you find inspiration for your poetry is up to you.

During OctPoWriMo, if you want to make sure that we know you have written something new, comment in that day's post with your link to your blog and/or share your link on Twitter with the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo.

If you would like to leave an active link in the comments:

<a href = "your link">your title</a>

You have to put the link to your post (same link you would put in the comment section) in the "your link" space within the quotations and the title to your post in the “your title” space.

Our link would look like this:

<a href="https://poetsonthepage.blogspot.com/">OctPoWriMo</a>

Once you hit publish on your comment it would look like this (only with the name of your post):

OctPoWriMo

I hope that helps. You don't have to do this. It is only if you would like to make your link an active link.

Remember to visit two or more OctPoWriMo participants and leave encouraging and supportive words along the way.

Day 11: Falling Through The Cracks

“Your soulmate wasn't supposed to be perfect. You were meant to see the cracks in her soul and fill them with what you have and she was meant to see yours. Together you would be complete.”

― Shannon L. Alder

Welcome to Day 11! Today’s prompt is Falling through the cracks. Nothing is perfect and sometimes, things do slip through those pesky cracks. I found the quote above on Goodreads and love the idea that when we blend our imperfections, we create something beautiful. How do you deal with things that slip through? Is it ok to reveal our flaws? Do you need to be brave to fall?

Suggested poetry form: Cascade

Word Prompts:        unexpected

            imperfection

            slipping

            with new eyes

            begin again

Remember, these are only suggestions. Follow your muse.

Don’t forget to read and comment on the poems of other OctPoWriMo participants. Happy Writing!

Day 6: Conquered

photo: Pexels

Welcome to Day 6! Today’s prompt is conquered. Virgil said, “Love conquers all things.”  What does that mean to you? Do you believe you can face anything as long as you have the one you love by your side? “Conquered” implies a battle of sorts. Is love just a battlefield?

Suggested poetry type: Rondeau

Word Prompts:    worth the fight

            victory

            battle

            forever

            together

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions.

During OctPoWriMo, if you want to make sure that we know you have written something new, comment in that day's post with your link to your blog and/or share your link on Twitter with the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo.

If you would like to leave an active link in the comments:

<a href = "your link">your title</a>

You have to put the link to your post (same link you would put in the comment section) in the "your link" space within the quotations and the title to your post in the “your title” space.

Our link would look like this:

<a href="https://poetsonthepage.blogspot.com/">OctPoWriMo</a>

Once you hit publish on your comment it would look like this (only with the name of your post):

OctPoWriMo

I hope that helps. You don't have to do this. It is only if you would like to make your link an active link.

Remember to visit two or more OctPoWriMo participants and leave encouraging and supportive words along the way.

Day 3: Insecurity

Welcome to Day 3! Today’s theme is insecurity. Most of us have experienced a moment in which we were unsure in love. Feelings, sometimes disguised as butterflies, create experiences akin to riding a rollercoaster. Was your inner voice whispering in your ear, urging you to take a step back or was it encouraging you to let go and just enjoy? How do you harness that power and chase away all doubt?

photo: Pixabay

Suggested poem type: Florette

Word Prompts:    doubt

            trust

            overcome

            embrace

                               secure

Our prompts are only suggestions, where you find inspiration for your poetry is up to you!

During OctPoWriMo, if you want to make sure that we know you have written something new, comment in that day's post with your link to your blog and/or share your link on Twitter with the hashtag, #OctPoWriMo.

Remember to visit two or more OctPoWriMo participants and leave encouraging and supportive words along the way.

OctPoWriMo Day 1 - Surrender

Welcome to the 7th annual OctPoWriMo poetry journey of 31 poems in 31 days! Every year, since 2012, we come together with our shared love of words and play with them until we breathe life into them. This year I chose to create a theme for our prompts instead of randomly picking them. Some of you may know I am in a new relationship of almost five months. Love, and all of its messiness is constantly on my mind; the good, the bad, and everything in-between. New relationships aren't all roses... for some of us it is filled with landmines that can explode at any moment. The prompts I chose, and Amy helped me with, reflect all aspects of love. You can choose to dive into what they mean to you or find your inspiration elsewhere. No matter where your muse leads you I hope you will share your poems with us.

Prompt: 

Surrender has never come easy for me. I would rather suffer than surrender in the past. In previous relationships I often felt I was right and if they could just see it my way... 

Surrender
into love,
into being,
into feeling,
into loving myself,
into allowing another to love me.

Of course the definition of surrender is to give up, but that isn't the type of surrender I'm talking about. I'm talking about that moment when you realize that you are fighting just to fight, that you are fighting yourself even, that you can't see if you only would surrender into the moment, things might look differently. If you surrendered into no-mind, into being in the moment and just feel, life might become glorious. What does surrender look like to you?

Image created by MDragonwillow

Suggested form:

Let's begin with a free verse, allowing the words to fall, and space them how you may.

Word Prompts:

Open
Feel
deep
be
Self love

You know I love to share music to get you in the mood for writing and to get you moving to shake things up. ZZ Ward is my new favorite singer and paired up with Lindsey Stirling, well, it is nirvana for me.



We have a great group of volunteers this year and you can learn more about them on our contributors page. Make sure you find your way to their blogs and share word love with them for all of their hard work making OctPoWriMo the best it can be!

Peace,
Willow
Read.Dance.Write.Repeat.

Please explore poetry without rules, and not try to fix anyone. Some of us love to explore the darker side and we just want to be heard. If the words you read touch you in some way, share what you love about the poem, what speaks to you, what makes you feel deep in your bones, but no giving advice or words of wisdom. That isn't what this is about.

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. 

 

Willow a.k.a. MDragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo & #PoetsonthePage. 

Yes, she is on Google+ too!