#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge #ThemePrompt #Choka #Tanka @ColleenChesebro #poetry #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poems #themes

Hello, beautiful readers! During last month's #TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge on theme prompts, Colleen Chesebro chose my poem to highlight, giving me the honor of choosing the next theme. After playing with a few themes, I chose to go with beginnings and endings. I knew the poets who participate in her challenges would each bring his/her own perspective to this theme, and they did not disappoint. You can read their poems here. 

Even though it was my theme, it took me a while to sit down and allow the words to flow onto a page. Since the pandemic began, I've found myself on a journey of healing and growth. Part of that journey has been about shifting perspectives. For as long as I can remember, I've had a strong negative inner voice. I used to try to suppress and ignore her, which only made her stronger. So, now I listen and then offer myself a new way of seeing things. It isn't always easy, but I'm celebrating my successes. So, I chose to focus on the beginnings that come after the endings.

This week, I tried my hand at a choka poem. In her poetry cheat sheet, Colleen explains that a choka uses couplets of an alternating 5-7 syllabic pattern with the last two lines having seven syllables each. She also explains that they were followed by a shorter poem called a hanka. For my hanka, I've added a tanka poem. Enjoy! :-)

(courtesy of @JoshuaWoroniecki at Pixabay)

Mother Nature sheds

old skin and begins again

each and every spring

after sunset comes sunrise

new moons bring full moons

raging fires foster growth

matter finds a way

nothing is gone forever

even love will be reborn

  

how do you see it?

perspective is everything

one must choose whether

to focus on loss and grieve

or to celebrate the new

#TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge #EkphrasticPoetry #poems #poetry #PhotoPrompt #Tanka #dolphins @SyllabicPoetry @ColleenChesebro

Hello, beautiful readers! It's been a busy week for me, and it looks to be an even busier weekend. I'm just getting around to Colleen Chesebro's #TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge. I didn't want the weekend to arrive without having participated in this week's prompt. 

D.L. Finn honored us with a beautiful picture of majestic dolphins for this week's photo prompt. I have always loved dolphins and have seen them often in the ocean. I've ridden on boats many times in South Florida, and dolphins will sometimes swim alongside the boat. They always seem so jovial and playful. They exude positive energy every time I've seen them. 

I chose to write a Tanka poem this week. I've become more comfortable with this form after using it a few times. Since I haven't had much time to write, this felt like an easy fit for this week.

oh, to be carefree!

to twirl and dance with laughter

to hear and be heard

if only people could be

as light-hearted as dolphins

Have you ever seen dolphins in the ocean? What was the experience like for you?

#TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge #SpecificForm #TankaProse @SyllabicPoetry @ColleenChesebro #trackandfield #athletes #perseverance #race #races

Hello, beautiful readers! Today's #TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge is all about the Tanka prose. This format includes a prose paragraph and a Tanka poem with the syllabic pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. You can learn more about it here.

I decided to write about my son's athleticism. He has been playing sports since he was three years old. He started with peewee soccer and t-ball. He played soccer for three years and baseball for nine years before moving on to flag football, which he played for six years. This year, he joined his school's track team and will begin tackle football in a few weeks. He was born to play sports. In fact, 23-and-Me says he has the muscle composition of elite athletes (a fact he's quite proud of...lol!). Recently, he pulled his groin in an event, but that isn't keeping him from pushing himself to be his best. So, this poem is for him.

(My son is in the center on the right, wearing black and white.)

I stretch my fingers across the track, placing them perfectly along the starting line. My spikes wait restlessly, eager to tear up the synthetic rubber digging into my knee. The official calls for us to ready ourselves. Every muscle is taut; electrical impulses race through my veins waiting to explode. The blast from the gun ricochets off the stands, but it's already a distant memory because my body and mind are hyper focused on the lane in front of me. They have one singular desire - cross the winning line first.

adrenaline rush

carries me past opponents

until my groin pulls

I won't give up - I'll prevail

perseverance breeds winners

Have you ever played sports? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

To join us in the fun, check out Colleen Chesebro's page here.

#TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge #TastetheRainbow #ColorPoetry @SyllabicPoetry @ColleenChesebro #Inchworm #gray #poetry #poems #poetrycommunity

Hello, beautiful readers! This week's #TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge asks us to choose a color and a syllabic form to write a poem. Immediately when I saw this prompt, the color gray popped into my head, so I went with it. 

I chose to a new form by Jules Page called Inchworm. This form consists of any number of stanzas with four lines each, following a syllabic count of 2-4-6-8.

(courtesy of @Pexels on Pixabay)

A Life of Gray

have you

ever noticed

diversities in gray?

the in between - not bright or dark

not fixed

but flexible

where most see black and white

I want to live in worlds of gray

What color resonates with you?

If you'd like to have some fun writing poetry, you can join us at Colleen Chesebro's page for weekly challenges. I'd love to see what you create! :-)

#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge #ShareYourDay #haiku #fire #campfire @ColleenChesebro @WestgateRanch

Hi, beautiful readers! Colleen Chesebro's #TankaTuesday poetry challenge for this past week asked us to share a photo we have taken and write a syllabic poem. It's been a busy week for me, so I'm just getting around to this. I decided to share a picture (and video) from last weekend's camping trip.

My sister and I love to take our kids (now teens) tent camping twice a year. It's a time for us to reset and rejuvenate our souls, get the kids to detach from technology, and just enjoy nature and family for a bit. We tend to go to state parks, but this time, we went to Westgate River Ranch. They have a ton of great activities like skeet shooting, an Escape Room, a rodeo, horseback riding, archery, swamp buggy rides, and a jungle queen ride. There are plenty of ways to glamp (glamorous camping) on site, but we prefer our tents. 

We tend to spend the day bike riding. This past trip, we rode bikes for 12 miles on Saturday and around 8 miles on Sunday. The boys enjoyed some basketball time, and we all played card games. But at the end of the day, we love to sit around a fire, make s'mores, and enjoy the calmness of the night.

And that leads me to my poem for this week's challenge. I chose to write a haiku, using a 5-7-5 pattern.

flames crackle, flicker

capable of destroying

provides warmth instead

Thanks for joining me today. Have you ever gone camping? What is your favorite part? I'd love to hear from you. :-)

If you'd like to participate in the poetry fun, click here.

AllAuthor Cover of the Month Contest #bookcover #bookcovercontest #allauthor @YvetteMCalleiro #RRBC #RWISA

Hi, beautiful readers! I'm excited to share with you that the cover of HYPE was selected by AllAuthor to be a part of their Cover of the Month contest for April 2022. There are four different rounds of voting. The first round has already started and lasts until April 7th. I'd love for you to show some love to HYPE's cover by voting and sharing it with everyone you know. Click here to vote! And thank you for helping me out! :-)