Carpe Diem is the Latin expression that means ‘seize the day.’ Carpe Diem poems have a theme of living for today. It is a form in intent only; it is solely based on a theme.
MARIE ELENA SEIZES:
GET TO IT
The next 1440 minutes
Will vanish
In a New York minute.
Copyright © Marie Elena Good – 2012
WALT’S SEIZURE:
TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS (Triolet)
We live with what this day will give us
for that is all we’re assured.
So there’s no need to make a big fuss
we live with what this day will give us.
There’s so much of life that’s a plus,
to look past today is all blurred.
We live with what this day will give us
for that is all we’re assured.
Copyright © Walter J. Wojtanik – 2012
Over at POETIC ASIDES with ROBERT LEE BREWER, Robert writes:
“For this week’s poetry prompt, I want you to take one of the following lines and make it the first line of your poem. All these lines are taken from my personal notebooks, so they’re not especially wonderful–just some random places to start. Feel free to take liberties with these openings (the important part is the poeming)”.
- She’s been thinking about things that don’t need thinking
- I’m not sure who I am or what I want
- The world, a helicopter seed spinning
- Burn the want out of every moment
- My bed is a planet
- Trees hide the better views
POETIC BLOOMINGS 
Responses
QUOTE:
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:28 KJ
Sorry – Psalms 118:24 KJ
SUPER BUSY WEEK – sorry I have not been back to respond to comments, and comment on the other posts. What I have read are wonderful (and diverse) expressions of the poet-form.
Hope to be able to comment later.
Glad that the above quote is meaningful to so many folk.
Good quote, Marjory.😄
Yes… love this!
One of my fav’s!
Certainly one of my top 10 favorite verses…
The root of learning to love the moment…thanks, Marjory!
Yes! One of my favorites. Memorized it in a little tune many, many years ago. THE best way to seize the day!
Why Worry About the Future?
I’m living in the present,
Devoting myself to this time.
Because why should I worry about the future?
Why should I fret about what’s to come?
I cannot, by any amount of worry,
Add one inch to my height, lose one pound of weight.
See how my God has clothed the lilies
In beautiful snowy splendor?
And see how He feeds the birds,
Who neither grow their own food
Or gather it for the winter?
See how He has done all this for them,
And ask yourself, why should I worry?
And why should I live in the past,
Those haunting vaults of memory that only cause me pain?
So I will live in the present;
I’ll devote myself to this time,
Serving my neighbors, family and friends.
What greater joy is there?
Oh, Beautiful truths, Erin!!
All reasons to rejoice, Erin. Lovely interpretation of a calming truth.
Wonderful counsel, here.
Thank you, Damon, Henrietta and Kelly!
I seize October’s
falling leaves; my arms full of
red and golden fire.
Lovely! I absolutely adore fall. The leaves are beautiful!🍁🍂
Yes!! I was out and about with my new camera journalizing some very beautiful trees the other day… It was Wonderful!!! 🙂 !
yes! Jacqueline, this is delightful!
LOVE this!!
What a picture! We are still waiting for that autumn fire here in the deep south.
I love October and love how you captured it.
Oh yes! My favorite month.
Walt, beautiful! Meg, yes!
I agree!
Getting in on this comment. Walt and Marie: you outdid yourselves on this one.
Mirage
In this moment,
four months later…
you remain…
Like a picture you can’t forget…a picture that can’t forget you.
Sweet, 7… I have missed your voice!! Thank you. 🙂 !
AWAKENING
I know it’s still dark before I open my eyes,
my limbs witness to the loom of winter.
Keeping eyes shut, joints creaking, I test for pain.
The day’s success depends on feeling less than yesterday.
With thoughts autumnal, words tumble in my head,
demand their freedom to sweeten the day with poetry
before the mundane demands of toiletry are met.
The whirling stops, my thoughts unfurl. A good day ahead.
Second stanza… Lovely…
Vivian, your idea of thoughts unfurling as joints creaking, as the morning-before-rising stretches, the tests for pain, laid on my mind this morning when I woke. It was especially lovely, and prompted me to roll over, turn my light back on and write my entry below.
And it was a good day.
Viv, the title itself says so much. I especially love “words tumble in my head, demand their freedom to sweeten the day with poetry”
Me too, Kelly. That line tugged at me. Nice piece, Viv.
Viv, I love `thoughts autumnal, words tumble.’
Just For Today
There are days, like today,
when I’m hanging out limp, wet
bed sheets on the line, and the air
is more soggy with fog
than the sheets are damp,
that I think that Dada woman,
Baroness Elsa von Freytag Loringhoven,
might’ve had the right idea.
Just go a bit wild and be a bit
over-the-top and be everything
that we shouldn’t be. At least
….. just for today.
Inspired by a post written by JLynn Sheridan of Writing on the Sun http://writingonthesun.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/crazy-poet-or-genius/
!! 🙂 !!
Misky,
ah! Loved that…the image of the wet heavy air is tangible.
Very nice, Misky. Yes, the mundane often brings us to that “be everything we shouldn’t be” moment. Also loved “soggy with fog”.
The weight of wet sheets and fog is so nicely counter-balanced with the buoyancy of freedom to do as one pleases. A lovely poem, Misky.
[…] written by JLynn Sheridan of Writing on the Sun and Poetic Bloomings Wednesday Form prompt for a “Carpe Diem/Seize the Day” poem. Rate this:Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInPinterestEmailLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. […]
This is so wonderfully descriptive that I lived it for a moment. Awesome, Lynn.
Thanks everyone for your kind comments!
Moment
A moment is
the when
between the now
and then.
It was born in the now
but somehow
you weren’t aware
you didn’t know it
until when
it could be framed
by other moments
and made a when.
It was in the
camera’s flash,
and as the pupils
of your eyes
returned to normal
the moment fled.
Gone from now,
it was then,
it became a when.
You cannot grasp it.
It is gone.
It is a butterfly
that’s flown out of
your childhood’s laughing
leaping reach.
You can only frame it
with the now
and the other many nows that
have fluttered around you,
flashes in your days.
You can grasp it
but only in your mind.
You can seize it
but only with the heart.
A moment is only
lovely colors in the air.
Damon, this is absolutely beautiful!!!!
Agreed. Beautiful, clever and true. A new classic, I think.
YES!!! Loved: “…You can seize it but only with the heart. A moment is only lovely colors in the air.”
So, SO enchanting! Beautiful food for thought:)
Absolutely wonderful! … “It was born in the now but somehow you weren’t aware you didn’t know it until when it could be framed by other moments and made a when.”
Very well done.
My poem at POETIC ASIDES plays into our Bloomin’ Prompt, and I wanted to share it here as well:
SHE’S BEEN THINKING
She’s been thinking about things that don’t need thinking;
thinking about years I had spent drinking that were wasted
on swill often tasted with ill effects. It reflects on my will
and still, she’s been thinking about things.
Things don’t need thinking when that sinking feeling sets in
and she grins to hide her pain that again, I am afflicted.
Inebriate with the trappings of this fleeting life. And my wife,
has been thinking our time has been too short, time spent
cavorting with my mistress muse, words are like women
always just out of reach, but teaching lessons best served
to strengthen a resolve once solvent but very repetitious of late.
But words when needed, never let you down and I’ve found
that she’s been thinking about things that don’t need thinking.
Why does life need to change when once estranged souls reignite,
only to put you in the fight for your life? And I’ve been thinking
the best thing I could be thinking. The gift of this life that has given
two extraordinary daughters and an outstanding wife, is cherished
more as it slips from grip, wanting to reclaim its embrace.
It is in the face of mortality that our vision clears, and one hears things
such as “Live for today”, “One Day at a Time” and “Seize the Day!”.
It’s not to say that we ignore these in the goodness of times,
but, she’s been thinking about things that don’t need thinking,
and she has me thinking she’s right. I might not live forever,
but whatever time we have is best spent in pursuits that touch
as many hearts as we can. And touch each other. I’ve been thinking
how much I love my life. My Daughters. My wife, even though
she’s been thinking about things that don’t need thinking.
Visit POETIC ASIDES for more, and please post your own poem as well!
http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/wednesday-poetry-prompts-196
Walt
“She’s been thinking about things that don’t need thinking;”
A wonderful beginning to a thoughtful poem. I need to stop wasting time thinking about things that don’t need thinking. Love it!
Yes… this happened to us as a couple also, Walt; we learned just exactly “what really matters” in love and marriage when all is said and done… I will Never forget those lessons!!!
‘Inebriate with the trappings of this fleeting life.’
Wow, this is so good, but this line esp. tugged my heart-strings!
Walt! Loved this…it almost took on a ‘rap’ rhythm in my mind as I read it, and the repeating realization was a deeper and deeper sway.
Very moving, Walt.
“But words when needed, never let you down”
Powerful, important poem to see in print, and read aloud.
(mine goes along with Robert’s prompt, too)
FLIP-FLOPS
Burn the want out of every moment,
every second turn into gratitude;
an inside out mental perception
douses desirous attitudes.
Love it Laurie!
Laurie,
Love that, especially the first line. I want a shirt that says
“Burn the want out of every moment…”
SO much in a few short lines. “every second turn into gratitude”…I need to dwell on that one.
Quick Limerick
We worry and scurry and hurry
until all that we do becomes blurry..
We must take time to see
what a real life can be
when we quit living in such a flurry.
…yes…
Agreed! “Quick” is a blinder to life.
so true.
Pep Talk
Apprehend the opportunity.
Behold the moment.
Grasp the chance.
Absorb the experience.
Snatch the minute.
Capture the time.
Seize the day!
© KED 2012
Yes! Brilliant:)
Kelly,
great multi-dimensional view!
I had to write about my pet peeve:
PUT DOWN THE CELL PHONE!
It seems that when your cell phone
is in your ear or even in your hand,
you cannot see your daughter jumping rope,
that your sister is sitting beside you,
that your car is veering off course.
You cannot participate in real life
because your are in a virtual one.
Put the cell phone down.
Turn the damn thing off.
It will still be there later when I am not,
when others are not, when life is not.
Use your ears, eyes, nose, and hands
to experience what life is giving you,
not to mess with the cell phone.
When your cell phone is on
you don’t even notice that you have a life.
If one died, which would you miss?
ooh.. Great question!
Standing ‘o’ for you, Linda! Hear, hear, all ye…
Linda,
Hear! Hear! What a critical question for us all. Dare we answer honestly?
Well said!
Great ending, and I so agree with you.
My poem for Poetic Asides also feels quite ‘immediate’ so I’ll post it here, too.
Spin Me One More Time
My world
is a helicopter seed spinning
and caught in a double twirl,
a ribbonous helixed curl
of my inherent imperfections.
I can but only hope
that the seed after next
takes hold and sets anchor
to my feet, but not quite yet
as my heart is set
to spin a bit more.
Misky, I needed to read this over a few times, it is so purely delightful.
So much magical motion in this!!! A delight indeed!!
Misky,
Identified with your perception, and felt your pause as well.
Thanks for reading it guys!
This works beautifully anywhere, Misk. Love the language.
Carpe Diem
Yesterday is sealed in the archives
Tomorrow is nothing more
Than the hope of something we cannot see
Today is worth living for
Today is the cup we are holding
Touch it to your lips; draw it in
Be imbibed with His goodness and mercy
Dripping recklessly from your grin
Seize the moment before you
Wring out every wonder of it
Let not one measure be wasted
Today is a beautiful gift
Beautiful !!! I’m working on one with the same title…
“Today is the cup we are holding
Touch it to your lips; draw it in”
Love this and ALL, Janet!! Beautiful truths indeed!
Janet,
truly we spill half our life turning back and forth between yesterday and tomorrow.
“…Let not one measure be wasted…” !!!
Just lovely, Janet. Loved it all, esp: “wring out every wonder of it”
More
Today I will not be content
Today I want more, more, more
More awareness of His love for me
That too often I blindly ignore
Today I will not be satisfied
Today I desire to know
More, more fully His plan for me
And where He would choose me to go
Today I want more, more hunger
For things not of flesh, but of Him
More gentle loving kindness
Before this day-moment grows dim
Today I refuse to be content
But I will not lust after things
I want more of what earth can’t afford
But knowing Him more fully brings
Today Lord, give me holy hunger
Oh my God, I beg and implore
For more compassion for my fellow-man
Oh God, give me more, more, more
Janet,
reminds me of a chorus we sing, ‘Yearn.’
Sometimes I can sing it honestly, sometimes I must beg for the yearning He loves for me to have.
“…More gentle loving kindness…” yes…
Truly a “prayer” worth repeating daily.
Swift Slipping Time
Seize the day,
leaf slips from limb to ground,
loosened by cold drops of rain
weighed down by water,
foliage falls from branch to soil;
seize the day.
Copyright © Hannah Gosselin 2012
Hannah,
simple and solemn, makes me long to linger in the moment, treasure the sap and the sun.
Yes, Hannah…! “… treasure the sap and the sun…” Lovely, 7.
Beautiful….a poem in this comment, too…thank you so much!
Read this one several times, and I feel like there is a heavy weight that one needs to get out from under.
Yes, it is quite somber..thank you for reading, Sarah. 🙂
[…] In-Form-Poet-Wednesday-Carpe Diem […]
So I added two lines to this one above and also paired it with an image that my interest some…it may be my favorite Fall image thus far. :)’s to the poetical peeps!!
Let me clarify…a favorite of the Fall images that I”ve photographed this year…because I’m certain if I looked on the giant world-wide web I’d find one I like more! 😉
🙂 !!
I had a couple of takes on this one, so here goes:
Morning
I like how the edges of night
curl away from the day
like leaves turning before rain,
how deer and early birds
nibble at the corners of day,
foraging light into being,
how they nuzzle for acorns
in the dew or peck seeds open
against tree limbs,
how sunlight rouses
the drowsy world into
reaching and taking hold
of time as if it is a staff
to mark our walking here.
Carpe Diem
If I don’t tell you
I love you now this minute
There’s no tomorrow
Oh, Jane,
How I love morning poems! This is lovely, I was there. Favorite phrase, “how sunlight rouses the drowsy world into reading and taking hold of time as if it is a staff to mark our walking here.”
Ooops….”…reaching…” not ‘reading’..
How beautiful and pure!!
Both are splendid. I love “…nibble at the corners of the day…” and your Carpe Diem really resonated with me!
Thanks, Seven, Hen, and Kelly, for the kind comments.
Beautiful words, Jane.
A sedentary woman watches the leaves shake
After the first hard frost
the bright wind has blown the mosquitos away.
Waving off the arms of their vegetable homes today,
this is the day the leaves begin to become birds.
A sedentary woman could
wheel with the starlings, too, and sing.
Open your arms, woman, open your mouth,
wave off your vegetable status and fly.
I finished this wanting to help her go….to help her get free and loose and fly. This was beautiful, Barbara.
Yes!! Beautifully magical!
Set Yourself Afire
Burn the want out of every moment
We’re all only allotted so many …
Nobody knows just when they’ll run out
No-one wants to reach the end, still wishing,
Still wistful for things left undone – instead
Of fire in the belly – you’re left with ashes
On the tongue…
(my Poetic Asides poem worked here as well… good thing too as I’m singularly uninspired today)
This was great….the last lines so wistful.
“No-one wants to reach the end, still wishing, …” !!!!!
great marching orders to DO NOW!
`ashes on the tongue’ is brilliant, as is the rest of this poem, Sharon.
Mysterious Life
My bed is a planet
in a distant galaxy
where a mysterious life
is lived so vividly
behind the rapid
eye movements while
semi conscious logic
cannot discern which is
better or when the other
will continue or end.
By Michael Grove
YES!!!
[…] set to spin a bit more. . . Inspired by: Poetic Asides Prompt #196, Wednesday Poetry and Poetic Bloomings In-Form”Carpe Diem” prompt Rate this:Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInPinterestEmailLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. […]
Blazing New Day
Hand me those tongs,
Because there’s no way
I’m seizing this day
Barehanded.
It’s livid, wild,
And on fire
If you only stop
To notice.
We may get burned,
True,
But hand me those tongs
Anyway.
We’re going to seize
This red-hot ember
Of a day.
Loved your take on it, Miss R. I’ve been burned by many a day 😉
Loved the gumption in this…no matter what lies ahead…”hand me those tongs”.
Oh! I LIKE This!!!
nice…that’s the way the day should be viewed, too hot to handle but hand me those tongs anyhow!
I’ve not done one of these before. Here goes.
Tomorrow
Tomorrow waits for no man
Since such has no existence.
All that is or could be
Exists within this breath,
Filling lungs with this moment’s
Air; air that did not exist in
A past already dead to now,
Nor to a future which can
Only be when it’s forced
Into a new moment by life’s
Passage through this exhalation.
All that we are or can be
Is defined in this one moment.
!!!!! YESSSS !!!!!
Thanks, Hen. Glad you liked it.
beautifully put claudsy – just beautiful ….
Thank you so much, Sharon. I’m so glad you liked it.
Just stunning, claudsy.
I’m so happy it’s so well received. Thank you so much.
In Form – Carpe Diem
Do not seize new day
when your eyes
open at dawn.
Darkness may follow and rain ensue.
Check your forecast first.
That ‘ol unpredictable weather….. 🙂 !
😀 Here it’s Fair to partly Thunderstorms!. Walt
sweet Sara … indeed – check the skies …
Thanks ladies!
Yes, sometimes those are the days to just stay in!! Fun one, Sarah!
Burn the Want
Burn the want out of every moment
‘till nothing is left but the need.
Wash each hand of covetousness
until there’s no more greed.
By Michael Grove
Beautiful, Michael!
Thank You Hen!
Well stated.
[…] six suggested first lines to create “What’s New”. The “form” is for Poetic Bloomings In-Form Poet Prompt: Carpe Diem. Also posted for Day 99 at “100 Days of Summer” on […]
INHALATIONS OF CONTENTMENT
Burn the want
out of every moment,
for when we want
we forget what we have.
2012-10-12
P. Wanken
Yes, 🙂
Oh, so Yes!!
Little Things
How shall I seize this day,
When I’m tied to tedium?
Seems like there’s no highs or lows.
Life’s set on medium.
So I’m like a metronome
Plodding out my time,
Setting about the dailies
Far from the sublime.
But wait, God is near
Sublime to the max.
Don’t need a telephone,
Computer or fax.
Just a whispered prayer
Directed up above.
And he responds personally
In His eternal love.
His Spirit assures me
And my heart sings,
Till I see adventure
In even the little things.
Absolutely!
BURN the WANT…… (Nonet
Burn the want out of every moment
as you step within its set frame.
Fill it with what is good,
what is helpful to heart
and can give some joy.
Or unaware
you will find
that it’s
gone.
Yess…
[…] In-form Poet Wednesday – Carpe Diem (poeticbloomings.com) […]