Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Vicarious Life - #stackedEtheree #dVerse #W3 #MoonwashedWeeklyPrompt #poem #poetry #poetrycommunity @YvetteMCalleiro



Hello, beautiful readers! The next two weeks are going to be a bit stressful for me. The marking period is coming to an end, so I have a ton of assignments I need to grade. I'm also working on a course I'm taking for renewing my teaching certificate. I'm also still celebrating my birthday with friend outings. And in between, I'm trying to fit in the gym, edit my novel, and write poetry. So, I'm prompt combining again.

For W3: Wea've Written Weekly, Sally encourages us to write a story in the form of a poem with fewer than 500 words. 

For dVerse: Poets Pub, it's all about The Romance of the Open Window. Dora encourages us to give our take of the romance of an open window. One of my favorite paintings is Young Woman at a Window by Salvador Dalí. I fell in love with the painting during an art exhibit at a museum in Spain, so much so that I bought a copy of it and have it hanging in my house.

Over at Moonwashed Weekly Prompt, Eugi provides us with a picture and the poem below and encourages us to allow it to inspire us. I chose to use the word oblivious from the poem.


I decided to write a stacked/double Etheree. It felt like a great form to use to tell a story. A stacked/double Etheree combines two Etheree poems. The lines follow the syllable pattern of 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1.

(Young Woman at a Window by Salvador Dalí)

Vicarious Life

she
leans there
quietly
window watching
creating stories
of strangers on sidewalks
passerby oblivious
as she weaves tales of romance
little boy plucking flowers for girl
young couple planning their future marriage
pregnant wife dreaming of husband's massage
old man hobbling home to wife
baker gives free croissant to crush
girl bats her eyes and blushes
lovers tenderly kiss
while she watches all
through her window
all alone
her love
gone


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

dVerse: Poets Pub

57 comments:

  1. This took my breath away. The form is so perfect for the story. The story itself is haunting. Great job. Beautiful poem.

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    1. Thank you, Sally! I appreciate your kind words. :-)

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  2. Yvette, I love how this flows so naturally while painting such vivid scenes. The contrast between connection and solitude feels especially poignant.

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

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    1. Thank you, David! I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  3. Das ist wirklich ergreifend.... danke

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  4. Oh.. that ending so sad (and terse with the fitting form)

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    1. Thank you, Bjorn! I didn't know the poem would go that way until the very end. :-)

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  5. What a sad irony, Yvette, that the open window gives glimpses of love and companionship, but the observer herself has been left alone. A deft use of the etheree form to surprise us with the end.

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  6. I love your poem, Yvette, with all of its tender moments!

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    1. Thank you, Dwight! I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  7. Oh that is a sad ending, and the form works well for this poem as you say. Solitary to all that life and then back to one.

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  8. I love this! 😊👏🏾❤️

    Wishing you the very best in the season of yours. May you come out ever brighter! 🫂

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    1. Thank you, FK! I appreciate your warm wishes. Right back at ya! :-)

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  9. Such beautiful moments, too bad it takes that pain to see them.

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    1. Maybe it brings her comfort to see others enjoying what she once had. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

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  10. Poignant and full of unspoken yearning.

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  11. Snap shots of a life. Something I think we all do at times and yet never so enough. Delicate writing. I love this.

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    1. Thank you, Violet! I tend to be a people watcher and then create stories of their lives. I appreciate your visit. :-)

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  12. Oh my gosh. What beauty you created Yvette. Gorgeous. Thank you. Xo Selma Martin

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  13. I could imagine any one of them seeing her in her window and imagining what it might take to bring her happiness.

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    1. Wouldn't it be lovely if they waved at her? Thanks for visiting, Ken! :-)

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  14. Yvette, such a beautifully flowing poem. Your masterful double etheree captures tender moments and the twist at the end reels in the sad side of life. - Eugi

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  15. Beautiful poem. The watcher sees brief happy snapshots. I wonder if the people's sad moments are played out in. public.

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    1. I'm sure there are. Maybe that will become another poem. Thanks for visiting, Cai! :-)

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  16. This is so beautiful, and the sad ending took me by surprise. Wonderful writing, Yvette! 💕

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  17. I often window watch and wonder at other people's lives, letting my imagination follow them home and eavesdropping on the thoughts that I put into their minds.

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  18. Watching others enjoying is also fun. Great poem, Yvette.

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  19. This poem has a desperate loneliness about it. Beautifully done, Yvette. Robbie

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  20. I enjoy people watching... and it is fun to make up stories about them.
    Thankfully I also have a life :)

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  21. You combine the prompts amazingly Yvette, your poem captures so much in such a small space - and I feel I see and feel it all 💞Suzanne

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    1. Thank you, Heather! I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  23. It 's sad when imagination is your only friend. A touching poem Yvette.

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  24. The etheree form worked really well here - the swell up with the fun imagining while people watching, but then the decline towards the revealed truth of the character's situation. Well written, Yvette!

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    1. Thank you, Nicole! I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  25. Stunning piece, truly, and so well composed...

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  26. Such a good job using all the prompts to create such a beautiful piece, Yvette!

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  27. hi, Yvette 😃

    I just wanna let you know that this week's W3, hosted by our beloved Jaideep, is now live:

    W3

    Enjoy❣️

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

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    1. Thanks, David! I'll head on over to take a look. :-)

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  28. hi, Yvette 😁

    Just wanna let you know that this week's W3, hosted for the very first time by our delightful Anupama, is now live:

    W3

    Enjoy❣️

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

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I love comments, so please share your thoughts with me! :-)