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 #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

PROMPT #223 – “AND I QUOTE” – INSTALLMENT #4

Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.

~ Walt Whitman

This inspiration from American poet, Walt Whitman, plays on the concept and contrast between sunshine and shadow; between light and dark. We’ll use these as our starting point. Write either a sunshine poem or a shadow poem. Or light. Or dark. Either definition of each is acceptable, as in gradations of luminescence or lighthearted or darkly mooded words. Even something black or white can satisfy this prompt.

MARIE’S SHINING LIGHT:

SONLIGHT

In darkness of cave
Defeater of Grave was born –
a King, unadorned.

In stillness of night,
as prophets did write, a birth –
The Light Of The Earth.

In grayness of sky
and depth of blue sigh,  dear one,
delight in The Son.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

 

WALT’S SHADOW:

THESE SHADOWS

Silence does befall this place,
and in the night I see your face.
Every feature haunts my mind
in the darkness of this room I find
your piercing eyes, your turned up nose…
these shadows offer no repose.

This stillness in my heart does ache
and I can tell, make no mistake
the love I carried, I carry still.
For surely I’ll carry you until
my own eyes finally close,
these shadows offer no repose.

But, until that fateful day
I’ll still have so much more to say
to fill the vacuum of this night
and keep your visage in my sight.
For in spite of how our ending goes,
these shadows offer no repose.

(C) Walter J Wojtanik

PROMPT #220 – RUSHING THE SEASONS

As we near the holidays, a lot of people seem to be in a hurry – rushing here, rushing there, rushing the holidays, the hustle and bustle is a major tussle and they complain when the seasons zip by. Well, let’s put a stop to all that. We will enjoy family and friends and be thankful before we go headlong into Christmas.

It seems year after year, manufacturers and advertising companies bypass this most important day in November. And believe me, we have more than plenty for which to be thankful. Think of an aspect of the day that brings you joy. The gathering of friends and family is top of the list. Maybe the televised parades, or the multitude of football games. The food always takes center stage, so that may be your inspiration. Even if you wax on the post-turkey nap, it’s all good. (But I will thumb my nose at Thursday evening “Black Friday” excursions!) After it’s all over, we can turn our sites to the next big thing (Christmas music will start playing the day after in some locations.) You may think it’s a little early to offer the Thanksgiving prompt, but I think it’s about time it got equal time!

 

MARIE GIVES THANKS:

Lucky, lucky me
Log cabin nestled in pines
My name on his lips

 

WALTER’S APPRECIATION: 

GIVING THANKS FOR ALL I HAVE

For all I have I give thanks.
I have amassed some material things,
some necessary, some out of want.
But I can’t be thankful for all these,
as pleasing as they might seem.
And along with that, I’ve gotten things
of which I had dreamed for a while
for all that I have I give thanks.

A family that started with two and grew
with the addition of two more.
A roof and a floor, and what’s more,
daughters who have learned the values
into which they were instilled.
Strong willed and not taking crap
and still be soft and caring and daring
and for all that I give thanks.

Two men who have been added to that
who are exactly what I had hoped for my girls.
Respectful and loving, passionate about life
and compassionate to others. Brothers
than neither of my girls ever need
but accept as such and so much more;
the core of two more that started with two,
and for all that I give thanks.

Speaking of two, We’ve been through a lot,
and we’ve got more coming down the pike.
But that has only caused a spike in the love
that we have shared as we care for each other
through afflictions and sections of rough road.
It served to goad us into being better people
to each other and our gathered children.
For all that I am thankful.

And the best blessing has been announced
for a June arrival and the survival of
familiar love is assured. And my word,
this grandpa to be can see great things
in this kid’s future. Love and nurturing,
learning the skills needed to make a life,
to be respectful and loving and passionate.
For all that I give thanks.

For this poetic life and the ‘family’
who have accepted me with my weirdness,
and treat me with respect and reverence,
(although I don’t know why.)
And I mentioned life, in spite its strife
and speed bumps, taking my lumps
when deserved, take my word,
for all that and more,I give thanks!

(C) Walter J Wojtanik – 2018

 

PROMPT #219 – THE RISE (AND FALL) OF POETRY

We’ve all heard of the rise and fall of empires and sports “dynasties.” We know what goes up, must come down. In “Fiddler on the Roof,” they sang “Sunrise, Sunset.” 

But, by now you may be getting a little tired of fall. So, today I’m looking to get a rise out of you. Let’s write a “RISE” poem. Be it getting up in the morning,or going up or expanding like bread dough, tell us of your rise in poetry. Or even write of your rise to poetry. Look up and see where poetry takes you!

MARIE’S REASON TO RISE:

Spirit bestows it –
Worship swells from the Wellspring.
Oh my soul, take part!

Would that this poet
rise up and sing like the king
after God’s own heart!

© Marie Elena Good

 

WALT’S EXPANDING UNIVERSE:

THE JOY OF POETRY

poetry becomes my joy 

it takes me to exotic places

quixotic spaces and

lifts my heart bringing smiles to faces

as I struggle with an amusing muse

it is something I’ve gotten used to

I refuse to be down when poetry is around,

writing or reading, I’m not needing 

anything more to lift me off the floor. 

Poetry has been my joy.

 

(c) Walter J Wojtanik -2018

PROMPT #218 – SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY

Here we are in the early stages of October. We anticipate the fast-approaching holidays and the end of another year of life. And in the process, we invariably have to deal with the weather inherent with the autumnal times at hand. Right now, rain is the order of the day. Nuisance and heavier downpours fluctuate and we wait for it to end. It reminds me of the phrase, “save it for a rainy day.”

So, we’re saving something. But what and FOR what? We could be seeding a nest egg to buy something. We could be building good grace to save our souls. Scraps of fabric for a patchwork something or other? Tell us what it is and how you plan on disposing of it.

And if you’re feeling ambitious, give us a rainy day poem, or rain, or reign all over your page. Don’t save any words for the next poem. Use them now! (You’ll find more!)

MARIE’S SAVINGS:

SAVING SOUNDS

They’ve not been gone long.
Just a few month’s time.
Sometimes I hear her laugh.
His voice, singing,
“I don’t buy sugar  —
Just touch my cup.”
Her coffeemaker’s sizzle.
His, “Go Bucks.”
Her, “I love you.  —
You know that.”
His drums.
Her sigh.

I clutch these sounds —
Secure them to my heart,
And listen to its beat.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

 

WALTER’S REIGN: 

SAVE YOUR WORDS, Walter J Wojtanik

Sir Edmund Hillary had it pegged. I scale my mountain of poetry because it is there. I write poetry because I can. I write poetry because I can’t sing or dance. I had given my voice a chance to entrance and entice others to emotion. I reach into my heart and write how it feels. It is as real as breathing. I am seething with the life force of words.

Who brought me to rhyme is a mystery. My history with words stemmed from a debilitating shyness in my youth. The truth is I would stammer and stutter, but my words seemed to flutter on the page. At that stage, it was my saving grace. I’d never lose face unless my words failed me. From romantic to farce to fantasy, I would fancy expressing my soul with words. Neruda thrilled me. Langston Hughes was my soul. McKuen and Lennon spoke in emotions I could only imagine. They were mentors all. I save my words for poetry’s call!

Sparrow whispers in sweet song
long after nightfall,
Mountain shadows slumbering 

 

##

 

THE SLASH OF RAIN, Walter J Wojtanik

The sun flashes in bright glimpses
between misted clouds
and tendrils of barren tree branches.
The slash of rain cuts deeply,
seeping into serenity’s slumber. 

PROMPT #216 – PANDORA’S BOX

Photo: Shutterbox – Public Domain

Hey Pandora! What’s in the box? Good or bad, there’s something in there dying to come out. It could be a blessing. It might be a curse. The photo itself may inspire a totally different thought. Use your ekphrastic abilities to let us know. What’s in the box?

MARIE’S REVEAL:

LOCKED

Out of fear
(or worse  —  indifference)
she waited too long
to unlock the trunk she daily
(habitually)
avoided. Tripped over. Pretended wasn’t there.

Summoning the courage, she unlocked it.
Discovered a long-lost page.
Dulled.  Faded. Not easily read.
Less easily understood.

For times had changed,
and, therefore,
the truths that had shaped them.

Right?

As she tried to examine
and understand,
she began to question

everything.

Perhaps wrong paths had been taken.
Destructive habits had formed.

Perhaps what was true, then,
was no less true, now.

Perhaps times change,
but truths remain.

Perhaps it was up to her
to unlock

release

embrace.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

 

 

WALT’S EXPOSURE:

SECRETS KEPT AND HIDDEN, by Walter J Wojtanik

No one knows.
And the best-kept secret remains as such.
How much is it worth to know things
that your heart can confirm,
but you cannot communicate,
this declaration of fact lies hidden.
Distance spanned and water
under the bridge between then and now.
How do you live a life with this burden?
They couldn’t know; you gave no indications,
your stagnation and debilitating fear
brought you here with nary a lead.
But indeed, you have known.
You will carry it until you’ll have grown
feeble and cold, just an infarction from
the chill’s permanence; it hides in residence.
Do you declare to the world and hope the rooftops
can handle your exuberance,
your happy dance long buried?
This fact prompts you to wonder
that if under this guise you can reprise
what your heart conceals, the real feel of its mystery,
your history until now untold and you let the story unfold.
Touching secrets with probing fingers,
the memory lingers. You held the best vantage point
in the room to see all before you,
a chance at a glance always revealed.
Though you were in close proximity,
you chose to let fear dictate and seal your fate.
Never a clue did you expose. You chose to fade,
finding comfort in your invisibility. Indignantly,
you held your nerve and your secret this long.
It can’t be wrong to release your burden and breathe again.
No one knows.
You wonder if your existence evaded detection then.
You are certain that it does now.
Unseen for all these years, no one could know.
Your memories melt flowing onto a page
as you engage your feelings.
Poems written of your smitten past,
and at last you come clean.
It’s not as if these poems will ever be seen.

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2018

 

PROMPT #215 – “AND I QUOTE” – INSTALLMENT #2

Here’s the quote:

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m Possible!”
~Audrey Hepburn

How is the impossible even possible? We wonder if we are capable to achieve great things because they seem daunting, haunting our every thought and action. “What’s the use?” we ask. We think we’re setting ourselves up for failure.

But, take this quote from Audrey Hepburn, star of the silver screen and a World Ambassador. From humble beginnings, she rose to her status in films such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “A Nun’s Story,” and “My Fair Lady,” to name a few. Once retired from acting, she took on the challenge presented by third world countries, focusing on the starving and sick children. Always charming, always a loving soul. For Audrey Hepburn, she made the impossible, possible.

So, what’s possible for you? What do you consider out of your league? What have you or do think you can achieve?? Write a “possible” poem. Or an “impossible” poem. Or a hopeful dream … something you’d like to do but haven’t yet. Something “bucket list” worthy. Impossible? Positively possible!

MARIE’S “POSSIBLE”:

CURIOSITUNITIES

Castoff the conception that curiosity
killed the cat.
Inquisitiveness is
the origin of opportunity.
Actually, cultivated curiosity
converts to curiositunity,
and curiositunity
attracts astounding actuality.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

 

WALT’S “POSSIBLE”:

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO A WILLING HEART

I started writing at thirteen,
lyrics for a song I hacked out
on the old organ we had at home.

Melody first, a little loop
of sound full blown into a
song, my first attempt.

Looking at the words
scratched onto a page
of spiral notebook paper

tattered and lined
random thoughts
of a future love long gone.

It had form and meter,
it had rhyme, my reason,
a poem of sorts on my page.

A poem never to see 
the light of day for years,
dead ended in a rusted file cabinet,

along with every other lame attempt
of poem and prose that
had me believing I had talent.

Maybe talent, but nary a whiff
of confidence to show the
work that was even at this early

date, very personal, a glimpse
of my inner self, the now me
in miniature, immature,

but with a dream.
To see my words light up
the pages of this book of life.

The flesh was willing,
but the spirit was weak,
my ambition was a wishful thought.

I wanted to write in the worst way,
and that was what I did,
in the worst way.

As the years passed,
I still tried to convince myself
that I was a writer, a poet

a composer, an untapped
resource in a disconnected
reality, a dreamer

working for his hearts desire.
Hard work, hard words
mired in the muse of my mind.

But determined to live
according to the dictates
of my nightly mystic visions.

I dusted off my file cabinet,
shooing the dusty webs from the 
hidden treasures long buried.

I sent my words into the world
unsure of their worth,
afraid of their power.

Given to the eyes of
others of a write minded bent, 
sharing similar uncertainties

of their own. They labeled me,
tattooed me with an identity.
They called me poet.

The name I wanted;
the name they offered.
Nothing is impossible.

(C) Walter J Wojtanik – 2018

PROMPT #214 – YOUR NUMBER’S UP

As you have seen, you can always count on me to challenge your muse every now and then. And it all adds up. I wouldn’t ask you to go out on a limb without testing it myself as well. The equation is simple: Prompt + Inspiration + Perspiration = a formula for a near perfect poem. There are no wrong answers.

What do numbers have to do with poetry, you ask? We use meter and rhythm to pace our poems. We count syllables in Fibonacci and Haiku/Senryu/Boketto. We number 14 lines in a sonnet. But that’s still not the point. Again with phrases and compound words, we will find our inspiration in the inclusion of numbers.

Think in Numeric Poetics and secure your title. Examples? Two-by-Two, A Hole in One, Three Times a Lady, 76 Trombones … That is the basis of our poems this week. Think of a phrase with a number connotation and write your numeric poem. You do the math, or your number’s up!

MARIE’S ENUMERATIONS:

“And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”  ~ Ecclesiastes 4:12

A Cord of Three Strands

They began, young.

Lovely and in love
Healthy and hopeful
Playful and promising
To have and to hold
From this day

Forward, fast
Furiously fading
As Alzheimer’s attempts
To dilute and damage
Life and love
Strongly seduced.

Still,
Promise prevailed.
“All my love, and love me always”
In illness and health,
Held by God’s hands
And the cord of three strands,
Stands

Against all
Ashes to ashes
Forever co-mingled
In the perpetual presence
Of the One who,
Singly, and synchronously,
Breathed life
And an always love.

© Marie Elena Good, 2018

Forever my love to Mom and Dad, now eternally at rest, in the presence of the One.  

 

WALT’S (GO FIGURE):

IN THE LINE OF THREE

I was born the third child on the third day, the third Walter in the line of familial redundancy. Not a junior, not a numeral, and after my father’s funeral, the last Walter standing. No three-star General commanding multitudes of minions. Just a man with a penchant for poetry, be they tercets or haiku, I am true to the test of three.

A third birthday was ushered in by the death of three, rocking my world at an early age. Holly, Valens and Richardson – mother’s sons all, taking the fall in a stormy Iowa sky. I can’t remember if I cried, but the music died all the same. Later the same year we saw the first of three Walter’s falter and perish and a cherished name was diminished by one, survived by two “sons”. Three seems to be my number, lucky or not, but it’s gotten me this far in the line of three.

The trinity guides
and provides me a purpose,
three steps onward

© Walter J. Wojtanik – 2018

PROMPT #213 – YOU COME TO MY SENSES

When last we met, we had a play on parts of the body. And an interesting prompt to say the least. And as always, your poems were the most!

But this week, we will use these parts in a different way and in a way none of us have imagined them. Most of them are used in a very defined way. We see through eyes (some through the eyes of a poet’s heart – shameless plug), we hear through our ears, our hand (and in many ways our skin) have the sensory pleasure of touch. Our mouths taste; noses smell. The five senses come to mind.

Disney’s Pocahontas

Here we will be putting our minds to the task. A few years back, Vanessa William had a hit with the song “Color of the Wind,”  from the soundtrack of the Disney film “Pocahontas.”  Hard to visualize, isn’t it? So here’s finally the rub. We want you to present a poem that uses the senses in a totally different way.

What is the sound of sunshine? What is the taste of your thoughts? How does tree bark sound? Do you get it? Choose a sense and twist it in a way we would not imagine. And if it starts to make sense, go with it. Bring it over. Come to my senses.

MARIE’S SENSE ABILITIES:

TIME IS OF THE ES-SCENTS

Too much time to toil
smells like coffee break.
Too much time to broil
stinks of ruined steak.

Too much time spent mowing
smells of outside, in.
Too much time spent crowing
reeks of haughty din.

Time spent giving speeches
hints of stage-fright sweat.
Time spent strolling beaches?
Stale outlook reset.

Wasted time on druthers
leaves stench day-to-day.
Time spent loving others
breathes in sweet bouquet.

© Marie Elena Good

 

WALT’S NON-SENSE:

DOGWOOD

Trees rustle and sway
and make a day of it.
Leaves, cut by the winds of change
rearrange, only to rediscover
home again. Nestled and rested,
the best place to recline.
But I find it annoying,
a noise toying with me.
It is there, somewhere
near the patch of saplings,
rapping an echo as of rabid canines.
It’s fine, but it hearkens to me,
this bark of the dogwood trees
unleashed. Their bite’s not so bad!

© Walter J Wojtanik – 2018