Friday, March 30, 2018

Challenges!

It's Poetry Friday and there are so many things going on!  I have my grandchildren and daughter visiting. Got up early to squeeze in this post!

Took a walk yesterday with my grandson and looked at the roots of a spruce uprooted in the windstorm in early March.  The ledge it was perched on was fully exposed, along with its shallow root system.  Sad but interesting!  What a challenge to live with shallow roots on a granite ledge!

I think Pickles may be sneaking in to make some jello later today!
What a challenge to be able to make sneaky Jello...


Tomorrow I will have my grandson pick a Bear poem's author out of an Easter Basket or Bonnet to see who gets the jelly beans!  So it you were planning on writing a poem for this fellow, please do so and get it posted on his Padlet by bedtime tomorrow!  I challenge you to write one if you haven't yet!

On Sunday, the A to Z Blogging Challenge begins. There will be over a thousand bloggers attempting to blog each day, excluding all but the first Sunday of April, starting with A on April 1, B on April 2, and so forth.
If you want to join the fun, the sign up is still open until tomorrow night...like Solar Bear's poem drawing...
Just go to http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2018/03/master-list-sign-ups.html for more information and the links to sign up.  It is lots of fun, and you can post as little or as much as you want about each letter.  I am doing a combination, of a vanity license plate for each letter, plus a poem in a form that starts with that letter (hopefully...if the letters and inspiration both work for me!).

Here are two sample poems from previous years' posts:

From 2012 on the 6th day (more of the post is here):

Font: FutureFont
Tagxedo Theme: Fresh
Poem style: Free Verse


F
ish
silently
weaving
between
green
ribbons 
tying two
worlds
together
they struggle
in the light
and breathe
in the dark
as a mirror to
our world of
breathing 
in the light 
and our
struggle
in the dark
unknowingly
gliding amid
the green
fingers
touching
both
worlds -
land
and 
sea,
    water
       and
               ai
                  r

© 2012 Donna J.T. Smith
And this was from 2015 (more of this post here):
Today I have a Rondeau (for R) for my R sign:
A Rondeau has 15 lines in all, arranged as three stanzas: first a quintet (5), then a quatrain (4), and a sestet (6).  Its rhyme scheme is: aabba aabR aabbaR. The R (refrain) is short and is a phrase from the first line.  All the other lines are longer and have the same metrical length.



Reserved Parking for Sweet Dreamers

Sweet dreamers may park here to sleep,
A vigil we will gladly keep;
Relax, repose, with closing eyes -
You’ll be surprised how fast time flies
While you enjoy your rest so deep.

As round the dial the clock hands sweep
And sun retreats for moon’s slow creep,
The stars call out with shiny cries,
“Sweet dreamers!”
 
Don’t be alarmed if you count sheep,
For as they leap, sweet dreams you’ll reap;
It will not take too many tries
Before succumbing to the prize;
When you awake the birds will cheep,
“Sweet dreamers!”

©Donna JT Smith, 2015 
So those are just some previews. I have been quiet for responding to Poetry Fridays lately, as I have been busy preparing for April...
I took pictures all year, from May 2017 through April 2018 for this next round of poems, and have been scouring parking lots for a few missing letters the past couple of weeks. I have cropped and resized the license plate images, researched poetry forms, written many of the poems, scheduled all the posts (even the blank pages!) so SOMETHING will be up there on the scheduled day, even if I forget to finish or post!
Hope you can join the fun in April! 

I haven't been getting around and commenting nearly enough!! I'm going to try to do much better today if I can squeeze in a few minutes between grandchildren and doing this amazing puzzle with my daughter today!  I love puzzle challenges!


Now off to try to visit a few poetic posts myself! (Right after I make coffee!) Heidi at my juice little universe has more poetry links to visit...stop by when you get your coffee!  Challenges are always easier with a cup of coffee!

7 comments:

  1. Oooooh, I love the whole idea of an alphabet journey! How playful. I might need to try it in a different month....unless I win the lottery and can write full time. My daughter and I love the 🐠 poem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should drop by the AtoZ Challenge and read some of the fun blog posts in April.

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  2. I really enjoy your photos. My Easter vacation started today and your puzzle photo reminds me that I have a week off and a puzzle in the cabinet. Yay!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, we finished THAT puzzle and a second. Starting a new one today (Saturday) to do before she heads home again on Sunday.

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  3. I am overwhelmed just reading about the challenges you have set yourself! Go, Donna! You should make sure that Jama knows about your A-Z plans. Can't wait to follow along!

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  4. You have been busy, Donna! Wow! I tried the A to Z challenge a few years ago and failed miserably. I think it was after my first year of Slicing and I just couldn't keep up the pace. I love the idea though and I especially love how you've incorporated your own theme. I also like Linda's idea of moving this challenge to a different month for myself. Your fish poem is fabulous! Wonderful language and form--especially the final flip of the tail. Happy writing!

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  5. Wow! I am impressed with how organized you are. I am still debating (I know, time is running out) about how I want to participate in National Poetry Month. I will be writing every day, but I think I may stick to sharing on Fridays. We'll see how it goes. I look forward to seeing your license plates and poems.

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