Shades of Gray - #margins #dVerse #poetry #tanka #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity #perception @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! This poem was inspired by Dora at dVerse! It's challenge is called Diving into Margins. Dora encourages us to write a poem about margins. She shares many examples of margins such as the margin between transitions, the margin of a stream or seashore, the margin of shade and light, the margin of time, and so many more. 

While looking through her beautiful inspiration, the first two lines of my poem below came flowing out of me, so I went with it. I decided to write a tanka poem for this prompt.

(courtesy of @geralt on Pixabay)

Shades of Gray

the truth lies within

the margin of perception

skewed reality

separate fact from fiction

accept thoughts aren't always true

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

Life's Reset - #dVerse #Quadrille #moonwashedprompt #whatdoyousee #WDYS #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry #poem @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I'm blending poetry challenges again. The first challenge comes from Moonwashed Musings, where Eugi inspires us to use a word or phrase from the following:

simplicity

in an uneasy world

praise unforgotten calm

The second challenge comes from De Jackson over at dVerse. The challenge is called Quadrille #215: Ready for Liftoff, and we are asked to write a quadrille with a variation of the word lift in our poem. A quadrille is a poem with 44 words and is focused on a word. 

The final prompt comes from Sadje's What Do You See? prompt. She provided the image below and challenged us to write a poem about it. 

As time is always limited for me, I found a way to blend the three together into one poem. 

(Image Credit: Pavlo T @ Unsplash)

Life's Reset

oftentimes, I seek solace

a place of reflection

always in nature

where life continues just because

away from manmade contraptions

I ground myself

giving Mother Earth what no longer serves me

finding my simplicity in an uneasy world

lifting my spirits to begin anew

Would you like to write to one of these prompts? Click the links below.

Moonwashed Musings

Quadrille #215: Ready for Liftoff

What Do You See?

Dark Temptations - #CreativePerspectiveChallenge #writingchallenge #poetry #writingcommunity #tankaprose @dlfinnauthor @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! D.L. Finn has started a new monthly challenge called the Creative Perspective Challenge. Every month, she will share an image to inspire us to write a poem or flash fiction. I've posted this month's picture below.

I've decided to write a tanka prose, which is a paragraph of prose and a tanka poem. While the person is holding light, the darkness seems foreboding to me, so I went with it.

("Person Standing and Holding Lamp Inside Cave" by Jeremy Bishop)

Dark Temptations

I peered into the vast, dark cave. My lantern's power only illuminated that which was right in front of me. A fraught silence surrounded me. My sense of adventure hammered my heart, or was that fear? Taking a few steps back, I scrutinized the entrance of the cave, contemplating my next move. From this vantage point, it resembled the gaping mouth of a demon. An eerie, soft whistle exhaled from the mouth. Trepidation crawled upon my skin. Shaking my head, I slowly retreated from the opening. Tomorrow, I'd seek a different adventure, one that seemed more welcoming.

danger in darkness

not all risks are worth taking

listen to your gut

recognize fragrance-laced lies

champion enlightenment

Would you like to write a piece for this picture? Join us here.

Winter's Kiss - #FFFC #haiku #ekphrasticpoem #snow #poetrycommunity #writerthreads #writingcommunity #writingchallenge @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! This morning, I saw a post from Melissa Lemay encouraging us to write a flash fiction piece or poem inspired by the beautiful image below.  Immediately, a haiku came to mind, so I'm sharing it with you.

no hunter in sight

winter's kiss provides freedom

pure serenity

Would you like to write a piece connected to this picture? Join us here.

Bird of Paradise - #tanka #syllabicpoetry #poetry #ekphrastic #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity @bakeandwrite @robbiecheadle.bsky.social @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Robbie Cheadle has begun a weekly activity to practice syllabic ekphrastic poetry. She's calling it "Spin the Bottle" poetry. She will be using images of South African flora and fauna. The one above is a beautiful watercolor painting that she painted. It is in the inspiration for this week's poem.

I first came across Bird of Paradise flowers when I lived in Panama in my tween years. They were everywhere, and I found them so interesting. In Florida, these flowers also thrive. The flowers themselves don't last very long, but the plant thrives and blooms again. I've chosen to write a tanka poem, which consists of five lines with a syllabic pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. The third line tends to be a pivot point, creating two poems in one.

flower's short life span

shows vulnerability

bird of paradise

vibrant colors attract all

embrace and cherish beauty

Would you like to write a syllabic poem to this beautiful painting? Join us here.

Welcomed Transformations - #dVerse #ArtInNature #MTB #moonwashedprompt #butterflies #transformations @YvetteMCalleiro

 

Hello, beautiful readers! It has been a typical, busy week for me, so I didn't have much time to write as much poetry as I had wanted. I have a moment now, so I thought I'd try to combine three different poetry challenges into one. 

Two of them come from dVerse. The first dVerse prompt is called Art in Nature. Melissa Lemay shared a few photos taken from Michael Sammut and asked us to write a poem about one of the photos. 

The second dVerse prompt is MTB: New and Old in a Palinode, which encourages us to write a palinode about one of three themes connected to old and new year ideas. A palinode is a poem that contains two verses, where each verse has an equal amount of lines with a minimum of nine lines in each. The two verses should have contrary views.

The third challenge came from Moonwashed Musings. This prompt encouraged us to use her chosen image or any of the given words (bittersweet, enchanting brew, or unidentifiable) within the poem.

So, I decided to write my palinode with a double inverted nonet. This poetic form has 18 lines with a syllabic count per line of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9, 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. It reminds me of butterfly wings, and since the two images have butterflies, it feels like the perfect form to use. When I think of the concepts of old and new year, I think of shedding that which no longer serves us. So, that led me to the idea for my poem.

"The Old Year's gone away / To nothingness and night" ~John Clare

Welcomed Transformations

i.

harsh

struggle

bittersweet

drawn to the flames

enticing façade

desperately needy

of others' confirmations

not realizing self-value

stuck in loop of insecurities

ii.

discover positive energy

embrace warmth of enchanting brew

choose to ignite fire within

transformation begins

chains of reliance

wither away

beautiful

happy

free

(Meadow Argus / Photographed in Solomon Islands / Michael Sammut)

If you'd like to participate in these writing prompts, see the links below:

dVerse - Art in Nature

dVerse - MTB: New and Old in a Palinode

Moonwashed Musings

Create Yutori - W3 Prompt #141 #Yutori #tanka #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #naturewalks @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! This week's We'ave Written Weekly challenge is being hosted by Suzanne! She has asked us to write a poem using the theme of Yutori. Yutori is a Japanese words which means "elbowroom, leeway, room, reserve, margin, allowance, latitude, time (to spare)."

When I read the definition, I connected with several words - elbowroom, allowance, latitude, and time to spare. Immediately, I thought of a place where I do not feel rushed, somewhere that I can just explore and exist without any expectations. That led me to two places: the beach and the nature trails where I go camping. Since I have written several poems about the beach, I chose to go with the nature trails this time.

Part of the instructions included using any Japanese poetic form to create the poem, so I've chosen to go with a tanka. For those of you new to poetry, a tanka is a five-lined poem with a syllabic pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. The third line tends to be a pivot point, essentially creating two poems in one, with the third line belonging to both.

(taken at National Everglades State Park on my most recent camping trip)

endless rugged path

free to explore, no deadlines

create Yutori

escape from mundane routine

discover world around you

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

Brave - Saturday Six Word Story Prompt #6WSP #119 #brave @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! I discovered a new challenge by Shweta after seeing it on Sadje's site. It simply requires you to create a six-word story using the chosen idea for the week. You can either include the word in your story or have the story capture the essence of the word. This week's word is brave. So, here is my contribution.

Only the brave find hidden treasures.

Do you want to create your own six-word story? Join us here.

The Tightrope Within - dVerse Haibun Monday #haibun #burninghaibun #selfesteem #selflove #negativetalk #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity @dVersePoets @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today, I'm trying out dVerse's Haibun Monday challenge. This week, Lisa introduced us to a burning haibun. This form begins as a normal haibun, but the poet creates the haiku/senryu by slowly "erasing" words in the prose until a hidden message evolves with the remaining words. Lisa describes it better here.

This week's challenge is to write a burning haibun based on an interior journey you've taken. The directions state to show "all of the incarnations, from original prose, to first erasure (or bolding words...) to the second erasure verse using the chosen bolded words, to the final haiku or senryu...)." Here is my attempt at this new (to me) form.

(courtesy of @Carol-Burley on Pixabay)

The Tightrope Within

I have lived most my life pretending to be strong, silently struggling as the negative voice within me repeatedly assaulted me. For as far back as I can remember, she has taken residence in the depths of my subconscious, an observant lingerer, nitpicking at nuances and miniscule moments, waiting for the right time to wreak havoc on my life. My self-esteem withered, causing me to withdraw and suffer in silence. I hid behind labels like shy and wallflower, hesitant to draw any attention my way for fear of providing her more power over me. Giving her the reins led to depression. Trying to control her led to anxiety. Yet, I refused to let her win. Meditation and mindfulness brought awareness and understanding, cloaking me with a weighted blanket of grounding and acceptance. I have learned to practice self-love, though it isn't easy. It's a delicate dance, the ebb and flow of awareness and acknowledgement, shedding judgment and fear. Now, I accept that I am perfectly imperfect, an exquisite masterpiece ever-evolving, and that creates calm within me.

strong negative voice

havoc on my self-esteem

self-love creates calm

Would you like to create a burning haibun? Join us here.

Winter Haiku #Whatdoyousee #WDYS #haiku #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity @YvetteMCalleiro

Hello, beautiful readers! Today, I'm participating in Sadje's WDYS (What Do You See) Challenge #270. The goal is to write a creative piece based on the picture that is provided. I've chosen to write a haiku.

(Image credit: Dmitrii Shirnin @ Unsplash)

cold, lone wanderer

wintry escapade complete

warm home in distance

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