PROMPT #235 – MOTIVATION: DETERMINATION

Have the will to succeed and overcome obstacles

They say to “keep your nose to the grindstone.”  There’s a “stick-to-it” mentality that works hand in hand with the ability to achieve your goals. George Carlin once said, “Ya gotta wanna” to succeed. Do you wanna? Only you can determine if you have the gumption to attain the pinnacle. Are you driven? Write of the motivation pursuant to determination. “Never give up, never surrender!” ~Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen’s character in the movie Galaxy Quest) Keep on, keeping on and write your poem! 

MARIE’S DETERMINATION:

My words are complete
-ly determined to not end
short of praising God.

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

#seventeeninnineteen

 

WALT’S DETERMINATION:

THE SEEDS OF IDEAS

Inklings of a thought
meant to flourish into something bigger.
The formula is time-worn!
A dash of inspiration,
a jigger of determination,
a teaspoon of perspiration
and a whole lot of time
for it to germinate and grow.
You know what you want to do,
now the rest is up to you succeeding.
Your cartoon is one light bulb too short
to be seen. But your ideas are driven,
they continue to feed your dreams. 

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2019

PROMPT #234 – MOTIVATION: AMBITION

Strive to climb higher and go farther!

We all have an idea where we’d like to be in this life. But how badly do we want to get there? Do you have the ambition to achieve that which you desire? Ambition is a great motivator, but does it come at a cost? Does it tread on the toes of another to get what we want? If we can gain a better place and in the process, lift others up (instead of dumbing everyone down), we can indeed climb higher, go farther, all for the betterment of the human condition. Get fired up, stoke your ambition, and write your poems on how you believe your ambition motivates you!

“BRIGHT AS DAY”

It’s the meaning of her name,
and I claim there is something to it,
as in days of old testament.

But multiple impediments seized her
mind

energy

sight

voice.

Her very soul.

The whole of her,
splintered.

The light of her,
wintered.

But her God is not flawed,
nor silenced.
As her spirit returns
and yearns to be,
I see her flame ignite,
and hope shines
Bright as Day.

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

 

BLIND AMBITION

Call it obsession; compulsion,
a drive that keeps me alive to do what it is
I am meant to do. What I am bound to.
I’ve wanted for so long to belong
to a group of like minded minions
expressing the things that live within us.
Nothing and no one can take that away.
Not a soul can control what I am to do!
There is no obstacle that can stand in
my path paved in my intentions.
Blindly committed to my ambition,
a condition to my compulsion,
my obsession. No roadblock to my success.

 

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2019

PROMPT #233 – MOTIVATION: ENVISION

New Imaginings… Great Possibilities

Inspiration, they say, is the mother of invention. But before you can be inspired, you must have a vision, a sight of what you want to do or where you want to go. An imagination can feed your idea to full growth, for everything is possible if you believe it. Even the thought of building “a better mouse trap” becomes a variation of a familiar theme, yet is a possibility once imagined. Where does your vision lead? What do you see as possible. What wide-eyed wonderings could you see coming to fruition? Use your intuition and imagine the possible. Then write your “vision” poem.

MARIE’S FORESIGHT:

I
glance
back
at
that
child
whose
eyes
gleamed,
and
I
seem
to
dream
what
she
dreamed.

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

 

WALT’S VISION:

SCHEMERS, DREAMERS AND VISIONARIES

“You see things; and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’”
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

A schemer looks for the easy angles
getting the most from the least effort.
He plans quite underhanded,
but never gets his hands dirty.
Flirts with danger, and yet
lets a stranger take his fall.
All his futures are right now,
a get rich plan is all he can stand.
All he can do is scheme
and as such he has no real dreams.

A dreamer holds ideals.
She feels a need to think beyond;
a year, or month, or day from today.
She’ll say, “The world would be
a better place if we face our problems.
Her Utopia sounds nice but
will bore you twice as badly
and drive you mad when nothing get done.
All promises of tomorrow are borrowed themes
and yet the sorrow is, a dreamer only dreams.

A visionary is a scary individual; always
in motion with a devotion to fix what needs fixing.
His contempt for inaction breeds his need
to succeed. No wide-eyed guy is he,
he is focused and undeterred, he’s heard it all
before and swore it can be done. His words ring
true. Imagination and inspiration,
fueled by initiative give him the upped hand.
A visionary is always in demand.
He sees the future and makes it happen. Why not?

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2019

PROMPT #232 – MOTIVATION: STRENGTH

Smile through trouble and grow though constant effort!

Through our lives we learn what we do best. And we also come to know what drags us down: our strengths and weaknesses. We can choose to breeze through the good times; we might struggle through the not-so-good times. But we find it is always better to deal from a position of strength. Give it your best shot, with your best shot. Be it physical, spiritual or mental, use your strength as motivation and pen your poem!

MARIE’S STRONG TOWER:

“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him —  my father’s God, and I will exalt him!”  (Exodus 15:2)

My Strength and My Song

When weakness takes me to my knees,
My Father’s arms will lift me.
When terror causes me to freeze,
His truths set all my fears free.

My Father’s Son became my Lord
When I was just a child.
To Trinity’s melodious chord,
My soul was reconciled.

I feel His might.  I hear His voice –
Astounding grace extended
From One whose love compelled His choice:
From Heav’n above, descended.

He is my strength.  He is my song.
I hear His vict’ry ringing!
He’s held my heart my whole life long –
How can I keep from singing?

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

Cadence and final line are both from the Christian hymn “My Life Flows On,” often attributed to Robert Lowry (1826-1899)

WALT’S BIT OF WIT LIFTING:

WHEN FIRE AND WATER GO TO WAR

Meeting adversity well is the source of your strength.
for the person on the top of the mountain did not fall there.
People do not fail… they give up trying.
Trust that your skill will accomplish what the force of many cannot.
One who climbs a ladder must begin at the first step.
You see, the race is not always to the swift,
but to those who keep on running.
Every today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday
So, do not worry. You will have great peace. Remember,
when fire and water go to war, water always wins.

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2019

 

PROMPT #231 – MOTIVATION: DISCOVERY

A new destination can provide great opportunity!

On a recent trip to visit my daughter up Ottawa way, I was reminded more times over that the motto of the province of Ontario is “YOURS TO DISCOVER.” How does a discovery motivate you? What discoveries have you made, or would like to make? It doesn’t have to be an earth shattering revelation. It could be as simple as finding out that you truly can stick a square peg in a round hole (if you hit it with a big enough hammer!). Take us on your exploration, and together we’ll discover what you uncover. Poetry is your Ontario. It is yours to discover.

MARIE’S TREASURE:

MAJORLY SIMPLE

I discovered the simple life I lead
does not lend itself to major discoveries. 

Or so I thought.

Then I discovered something major
in leading a simple life: 

Contentment.

Not as in settling.  As in
being settled.
No big dreams, met or unmet.

Then I discovered contentment
does not breed motivation.

Or so I thought.

But lo and behold,
contentment inspires thankfulness.
Then thankfulness – praise,
and praise – a relationship with my God,
and relationship with my God – contentment,
and contentment – thankfulness …

And I am content
with this

simple,

major,

inspiring discovery. 

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

 

WALT’S FINDINGS:

NATURAL DISCOVERY

Listen. My own natural voice speaks.
It was discovered quite by accident.
Far and wide have I searched
grateful for these unexpected blessings.
The moments could never be forgotten;
the search will be over and
it took only a lifetime of reaching to realize it.

Ponder the vision beheld and decipher the message.
A poet’s heart believes in all things,
the divine beloved had been waiting inside me all along.
I write to discover new worlds, to unearth buried emotions.
This is nothing new, no surprise;
I want to uncover, slowly discover
slicing through silence with clean, cold precision.

These moments of discovery are revealed at a slower pace
rife with love, they become a new reality,
a million tiny pearls; golden treasures.
I have learned buried treasures await to be found,
if only I could see the secret majesty
hidden among the azaleas with their purple blooms.
There are times that I’ve missed all that is around me.

Now without a moment’s hesitation,
I will long to find the far end of every rainbow,
peaceful natural beauty unfolding in a peaceful and natural way.
Loving freely, shared with new found friends.
The earth is filled with such glory.

THE POETIC BLOOMINGS READING ROOM #24

This next segment of the Reading Room will feature past poems (selected randomly) from our contributing poets at Poetic Bloomings and all of its subsidiary sites. In true garden style, we had started with a seed to spur our growth as poets. Back in May of 2011 Marie Elena and I embarked on this journey to provide a place for poets to propagate their poems. We’ve come far in nearly eight years of service. In that span, we had ventured into different re-incarnations of this site, going from POETIC BLOOMINGS, to CREATIVE BLOOMING. From PHOENIX RISING POETRY GUILD to POEMS OF GARDEN GNOMES. But Marie and I have proven, you can go home again. We had come to agree that it was time to kick start the original site in (most of) its glory.

So for this piece to ponder in the Reading Room, I offer Marie Elena’s first attempt for our very first Sunday prompt at POETIC BLOOMINGS – “It Starts With a Seed – Prompt #1”. Her poem is entitled: OF DANDELIONS AND MANICURES

OF DANDELIONS AND MANICURES, by Marie Elena

One edges, tidies, snips, and trims,
Who knows nothing of dreams and whims.

One scatters dandelion seeds,
Who understands a daydream’s needs.

 

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Again, I ask all contributors to confirm our permission to re-post your poem. A simple “yes” or “no” response in the comments here will suffice. As always, you retain all rights to your works. We only serve to help promote it. A link to your current blog/website would also be appreciated. Thanks, Walt.

 

PROMPT #230 – MOTIVATION – WHAT GETS YOU (KEEPS YOU) ON TRACK?

We talk of muse. As poets, it can be our best friend. Muse is a kind of motivation. It gets us writing. So let’s get motivated. For the next thirteen Sunday prompts we’ll be inspired by various nudges of motivation. It can be the featured concept, or you may be inspired by the accompanying quote about the subject. Or come up with a quote of your own and expound on that motivation.

As long as we’re on the subject, what motivates you? Write a poem about what moves you to write. Then we’ll delve into the different concepts of motivation.

WHAT MOVES MARIE:

THEN AND NOW

“So you write your novels, if that’s what you do,
Or scholarly texts, or cerebral world view,
While I write my lighthearted, fun-to-write rhyme,
Then do it again for the ten millionth time.”  ~ Marie Elena Good, 2009

Now sometimes I write some political stuff –
Some downers and bummers, and, oddly enough,
It isn’t dependent on what’s in the news,
Nor spotting and schmoozing with some obscure muse.

What moved me back then and still moves me today
Is the awe of my God – and to this end I pray:
That whatever I write, be it witty or grim,
It will honor my God, and point others to Him.

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

 

WALT’S WORDS MOVE:

WORDS FOR ALL

I share my words.
They have become my passion.
I would fashion my thoughts into poems.
But I would never show them to anyone.
No one would ever know my heart
and I would start to doubt the power
that lived in my linguistic pursuits.
I felt smothered under the weight
of their gravity. I felt this need
to dispatch my words into the cosmos.
I would feed my poetic beast,
a feast of the rhymes I would prepare.
And it is there I get my fire.
I have this desire to share my words,
no longer one of my fears,
it brings me to joyful tears.

(C) Walter J Wojtanik – 2019

PROMPT #229 – IN THE MOOD (NOT YOURSELF)

Sometimes we’re full of fire. And every once in a while, we’re just not in the mood for something. (Or we are!) Things don’t seem right. (Or they do!)You don’t feel like yourself. (Or you’ve never felt better) Go on that track and write your mood or your anti-mood poem. Things will get better. (Maybe) But for now use this space to release your angst. Get in the mood.

MARIE’S MOOD:

IN NO MOOD

When the weather’s nice and sunny
but your nose is kind of runny
and you’re feeling rather funny
that’s a bummer.
Then your honey calls a plumber
for your runny nose in summer
but you’re simply in no mood
and so you sit there and you brood
and then you get into a tiff.
*sniff*

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

WALT’S MOOD:

MOOD INDIGO

Am I blue?
It may be true.
In my view
I eschew what I choose,
a coup on my resolve.
I could solve new problems
(I’m well over due)
But, there are few
who do that voodoo
that you do.
When I’m down, my hue
is something I rue.
It may be true.
I might be blue.

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2019

 

PROMPT #225 – RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL

Build a better mouse trap, they said. Think outside of the box, they said. There has to be a better way to…

We’ve heard it all before. Someone always comes up with a new way to see an old stand-by. Most times it’s an improvement. Sometimes the disaster that results puts you back into the middle ages.

Re-inventing the wheel … there’s another saying that applies here. So let’s do that. Take an object and give it new life as something else. We all have a drawer full of butter knife screwdrivers, for example. And don’t limit yourself to inanimate objects. There’s a whole great big world out there. Explore its possibilities. Have some fun, and re-invent the wheel.

MARIE’S NEW THING:

Welcome

Toast in the toaster
Ham in the roaster
Hot tea or coffee
Cinnamon toffee
Soup in the stockpot
Ribs in the crockpot
Cheesy potatoes
Fresh-canned tomatoes
Bread in the oven …

Smellin’ the lovin’?

Foods meant for eating,
Scents for love’s greeting.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

 

WALT’S NEXT BEST THING:

OPENING THE LOCK

Security comes in all shapes,
and the size may matter, but
the latter doesn’t make it safer.
Losing the key is a disaster,
and the faster you come to a solution,
the quicker you’re in. Begin
with a twenty ounce hammer,
and slam her until the latch breaks.
That’s all it takes to unlock it.
(But make like a rocket to get a new one!)

(C) Walter J Wojtanik – 2018

 

**COMMENT: “Foods meant for eating, Scents for love’s greeting.”

Wonderfully re-purposed, Marie!

 

PROMPT #224 – PAINT ME A PICTURE

We’ve all heard the phrase, “A picture paints a thousand words.” We as poets know this medium very well. And we know the artistic terms: Portrait, landscape, still life, seascape … Paint a picture in words. Pick an aspect of one of these terms and use it as your inspiration for your poem. Use it as part of your title. An example for one of my poems could be “Walt in Still Life.” “A Portrait of my Muse,” or, “Purple Mountain Majesty: A Landscape” are other ideas in this vein. So, set up your poetic easel and paint me a picture.

MARIE’S ART:

Still Life

Life may be art, but
it’s still life. Don’t brush it off,
and don’t hang it up.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

 

WALT’S RENDERING:

MAN IN WATERCOLOR

Not outstanding by any means
he gleans some satisfaction
from the attraction. He gathers
his senses and mends the fences
he has left to decay. They say
he is faded. Jaded by life.
But this is his canvas.
He is rendered in soft colors,
muted pastel shades,
awash with the hues that
are his alone. He sees his flaws
even if others are unaware.
Others may stop and stare,
analyzing the amazing lifelike
reproduction sans heart.
Addition by reduction.
He calls it art.

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2018