A King's Domain - #WDYS #dVerse #Quadrille #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today, I will combine two prompts. The first is dVerse-Poets Pub's Quadrille #230. Kim invited us to write a quadrille, a poem of exactly 44 words (not including the title), using the word rumpus.  

The second prompt comes from Sadje's What Do You See? prompt where she shares two images to inspire our writing. I chose the photo below.

(image credit; Eugenia Pankiv @Unsplash)

A King's Domain

heavenly perch

throne of kings

patiently waiting

for the perfect moment

when a traveler

leaves his tithe of leftovers

a worthy offering

he divebombs toward the prize

intruders invade territory

a rumpus ensues

the king gets the glory

and flies away with biggest prize

Would you like to write for either of these prompts? Click the links below:

dVerse-Poets Pub's Quadrille #230

Sadje's What Do You See? prompt

Jive Hive - #FFFC #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Last week, I didn't have enough time to participate in all the poetry challenges and missed out on Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge, so I decided to make hers the first one of this week, especially since this is her 100th challenge post! 

This week's picture depicts a futuristic cyberpunk, but my mind went back to the past. Lol! So, I threw a little of the present into it and wrote a tanka.

(image courtesy of Nick Fancher on Unsplash)

chaos surrounds me

threatens to pull me under

neon-hued glasses

invite me to let it go

and join 'groove to the jive' hive

Would you like to write a poem for this image? Join us here.

Cerulean Dreams - #W3 #haiku #ekphrastic #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

 

Hello, beautiful readers! My kitchen is almost complete! It has been three and a half months of dealing with a horrible contractor. The cabinet guy has been wonderful, though. He was at my house for about eight hours, installing the shelves and doors. He wasn't able to finish and says he will be back on Tuesday. This project is almost over, and I cannot wait to have my house whole again.

Today, before I begin cleaning and pulling items from boxes and putting them on shelves, I decided to partake in the Wea've Written Weekly (W3) prompt. Ange shares two pictures and invites us to write an ekphrastic poem. Part of the instructions is to incorporate the word blue into our poem and to not exceed 15 lines. I chose the image below and wrote a haiku.

cerulean dreams

coasting on soothing, blue waves

worries drift away

Would you like to write an ekphrastic poem? Join us here.

Puddle Fun - #WDYS #haiku #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful people! It has been a very busy week, so I haven't been able to write as much poetry as I would have liked. My classes are wonderful. Unfortunately, I took a pay cut this year because our enrollment has dropped and the state is giving less money to public schools, so I'm teaching only seven classes instead of eight right now. It's a hard cut, especially with a son in college who will most likely need financial help, but it is what it is, and I will readjust my budget as I've done in the past. I've become a pro at it. It's a good thing I choose to live within my means and save as much as I can for rainy days (or years). 

Today, I've chosen to focus on Sadje's What Do You See? prompt. It's been a rainy day, and this prompt fits perfectly. Sadje shared two images and invites us to use one (or both) to inspire our writing. I chose the photo below and wrote a haiku.

(image credit; Nathan Dumloa @Unsplash)

splashing in puddles

sun after a summer's rain

unfettered laughter

Would you like to write a poem for this photo? Join us here.

On another note, if any of you have the means and would like to donate to my Donors Choose project, I would be forever grateful. You can check it out here.

Home Away From Home - #TankaTuesday #taiga #tanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I am hosting over at #TankaTuesday today, so I'd love for you to pass by and participate. Today, we are exploring words with multiple meanings and writing a tanka form for the poem. I have chosen the word current. Here are the two definitions I chose to use:

• a flow of water
• something that is happening now

I've chosen to write a taiga, which is a tanka embedded in an original photo. This photo is a bit blurry because I captured it from a video my son sent me after I dropped him off at his university this past weekend. I concentrated so much on not bawling like a baby that I forgot to take all the photos I had planned on taking.

It was an exhausting weekend, both physically and emotionally. Friday night, after I taught all day, we packed up our cars and drove two and a half hours to my parents' house. The next morning, the four of us made the 4.5 hour trek to his new home away from home. The drive is usually three and a half hours, but we encountered two accidents (and rubberneckers). We took all his boxes up to his apartment and then left to have a late lunch. Afterward, I helped him set up his room and bathroom. We met two of his three apartment mates. They both seem like great guys. 

By 8:30 pm, everything was put away. All that was left to do was say goodbye to my baby. I did not cry until that last hug, but it was a quick cry because I know he's going to be just fine. Then, I drove back to my parents' house with my dad as copilot and my mom passed out in the back seat. We arrived at their home a little after midnight. The next morning, I drove the two and a half hours back to my empty home. 

My son and I have spoken every day and will continue to do so, just like I speak with my mom every day, even if it's a quick, "Hi. I love you." I miss him already like crazy, but I am so excited for his journey. The countdown to his visit in November has already begun. Lol!

Would you like to write a tanka with a word with multiple meanings? Join us here.

Fata Organa - #W3 #dVerse #FFFC #Quadrille #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today is going to be a really long, emotional day for me. I'll be gone all weekend, so I don't know if I'll be able to respond, and I won't be able to read all of your beautiful poetry, which I truly love doing. This week has just been really rough for many reasons.

Today, after work, my son and I start our drive up to his university. We will stop tonight at my parents' home, which is about halfway there, and spend the night. Then, Saturday morning, we will all drive up to his university and set up his apartment. Once everything is ready, we will have dinner, and my parents and I will drive back to their home, leaving my son to begin the next phase of his life's journey. I'll spend the night with my parents and head home alone Sunday morning. I am beyond excited for my son, but I know I will be an emotional wreck. Both emotions can equally exist within me, and they will. 

I'm combining three prompts this time. I enjoy these challenges so much and hate missing out on any of them. Luckily, these three seem to merge well with one another. The first is Wea've Written Weekly. Violet invites us to borrow a word from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and use it as our title. Then, our poem should use the word directly or capture its essence within the poem. I chose the word phrase - fata organa. The short definition is a "a flash of real emotion glimpsed in someone sitting across the room." You can find the full definition here.

The second prompt comes from Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge where she provides the picture below as our inspiration. The third prompt is from dVerse's Poets Pub - Quadrille #229 - Shall We Jabber On? De Jackson invites us to use some version of the word jabber in our Quadrille, which is a poem of 44 words. 

(image courtesy of Nellie Adamyan on Unsplash)

Fata Organa

I watch you in your new apartment as we organize your belongings and wonder, will our phone calls be filled with jibber-jabber or quick I-love-you's? I just hope to hear from you every day.

fata organa

little boy becomes a man

right before my eyes

Would you like to write a poem for any of these prompts? Click the links below:

Wea've Written Weekly

Melissa's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge

dVerse's Poets Pub - Quadrille #229

Love's Power - #WDYS #dVerse #PoetsPub #haiku #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today is the first day of school in my part of the world. I'm excited to meet my new students. The first two days of school are always exhausting, so I thought I'd try to get in a quick poem written before I begin the day.

I'm combining two prompts today because I will not have time to partake in all the prompts I enjoy completing this week. The first one is the What Do You See? prompt. Sadje provides us two photos, and I chose the one below. The second prompt is dVerse's Poets Pub prompt, where Lisa invites us to focus on the idea of power. I've decided to focus on the idea of strength, a synonym for power. I've written a haiku for these prompts.

(image credit; Johan Siggesson @ Unsplash)

mother's protection

love's strength provides safety net

cubs survive and thrive

Would you like to write a poem for either of these prompts? Join us here.

What Do You See?

dVerse's Poets Pub

Sanctuary - #TankaTuesday #CreativePerspectiveChallenge #GarlandTanka #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! It's been a difficult four days, and I'm taking one moment at a time. I'm honestly surprised at how well I'm coping with so much being thrown at me at the same time. My therapy is definitely working. I won't go into details to provide privacy to those who need it, but it's been an emotional roller coaster. I am also back at work. The official school start day is Thursday, and I've been preparing my classroom and attending workshops. My house reno still isn't done. Deep breath...

I've chosen to combine two prompts today. The first one is the Creative Perspective Challenge where Denise provides us with an image to inspire us. The second one is from #TankaTuesday. Colleen encourages us to write an experimental tanka. I decided to write a Garland tanka. 

(courtesy of Stephani-Elizabeth from Getty Images)

Sanctuary

sun glistens on lake

a tropical oasis

crystal clear water

I plunge into pure beauty

muscles relax instantly

echoes of bird song

through the canopy of trees

sweet, soft symphony

serenades me as I swim

strokes match its rhythm

palm trees sway in breeze

Spanish moss hangs from tree limbs

I see paradise

private cenote for me

shutting out worldly worries

lush vegetation

provides shelter from all storms

Zen space created

an invitation to peace

that I gratefully accept

divine elements

closed eyes focus my senses

nature's jubilance

I inhale serenity

all my worries melt away

sun glistens on lake

through the canopy of trees

I see paradise

an invitation to peace

all my worries melt away

Would you like to write a poem for either of these prompts? Click the links below.

Creative Perspective Challenge

#TankaTuesday

Only the Worthy May Enter - #W3 #ghazal #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I have seen more progress on my house. It's still not done, but it's coming along. This week's Wea've Written Weekly (W3) was a complicated one. D. Avery invited us to write a ghazal, which is five or more couplets of the same length where each couplet has a repeating refrain and rhyme in the second line. I'm not really sure I did it correctly, but it's all I could come up with.

(courtesy of @analogicus on Pixabay)

Only the Worthy May Climb

I protect my heart with a guarded wall.

Before love can start, one must face my wall.

Lowering my guard's not an easy feat.

One must be quite smart to enter my wall.

Few have almost been allowed to enter.

When we grew apart, I rebuilt my wall.

But I have never given up the search

For one to take part in climbing my wall.

When someone worthy finally arrives,

Our love will break charts; I'll lower my wall.

Would you like to try to write a ghazal? Join us here.

Seek Happiness - #FFFC #kimo #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today is my first day back at work. It's an optional teacher planning day, but since they pack our official planning days with meetings, today and tomorrow are my only real days to set up my classroom and prepare lesson plans before the official start of school next Thursday. 

For this week's Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge, Melissa shared the photo below and asked us to let it inspire us. At first, I couldn't see anything but the giant rubber duck. Lol! Then, it dawned on me that no one else paid it any attention. I decide to write a kimo, which is a poem of three lines with a syllabication pattern of 10/7/6.

(image courtesy of Vitaly Mazur on Unsplash)

weary crowds, heads down, focused on next task

hamster wheel of exhaustion

stop and seek happiness

Would you like to write a poem about this image? Join us here.