by Nicole | Mar 21, 2015 | Creative Writing, Poetry, Writing
In honor of World Poetry Day and the celebration of Spring, I wanted to share this poem I wrote a couple of years ago. Collecting dust in an old blog and journal, I felt it would be better-served if I posted it here.
vernal equinox
spring out of
winter, let the
sun’s warmth fill
your soul up
with the dawn
of this brand
new day. it
makes your heart
rejoice, clearing out
the thoughts that
have been collecting
dust in the attic
of your mind.
letting the bitterness
of this dreary
season wash away,
just as the
blanket of snow
disappears, leaves the
bare earth exposed,
anxious for the
daffodils to bloom.
thoughts are pushed
out – bullied so
far back that
they instantly become
a distant memory.
empty, bottomless thoughts
have gone away.
you find the
dark winter vanished,
with a fresh
season in bloom.
not looking back
provides every reason
to move forward
as the seasons
begin to change.
Did you pen anything for World Poetry Day? Share it by putting it or a link to it in the comments section. And get prepared, because National Poetry Month begins in just over a week. Happy writing!
by Nicole | Apr 18, 2014 | Past Blog, Poetry, Writing
It’s National Poetry Month! Now is the time to celebrate our poet roots and refine those writing skills by creating new work or refreshing/revising some of your previously-composed poems. If you’re a regular reader, you know I love asking if a poem is ever complete… but really, is it ever complete?!
There’s just shy of two weeks left, and I’m going to continue making the most of it by jotting down short poems and attempting to generate fresh lines to work with. Grab your journal, open up Word or your blog, and get some words on the page. Feel free to try the form I’m about to share with you!
I recently discovered Cinquain, which is a form of Japanese poetry. It’s a short poem of 5 lines and 22 syllables. The pattern is like so: two, four, six, eight, two (2-4-6-8-2).
American cinquain, created by Adelaide Crapsey, was influenced by both the popular Japanese poetry forms haiku and tanka. She imposes a stressed iambic pentameter on the lines in the following pattern: one-stress, two-stress, three-stress, four-stress, one-stress. Here’s an example of her poem, Niagara. Read it aloud to yourself and try to add the stresses to gain the full effect.
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by Nicole | Mar 17, 2014 | Poetry, Quotes, Reflections
Listen, real poetry doesn’t say anything, it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through anyone that suits you.
. . . and that’s why poetry appeals to me so much – because it’s so eternal. As long as there are people, they can remember words and combinations of words. Nothing else can survive a holocaust but poetry and songs. No one can remember an entire novel. No one can describe a film, a piece of sculpture, a painting, but so long as there are human beings, songs and poetry can continue.
If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it’s to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel. – Jim Morrison
by Nicole | Jan 8, 2014 | Reflections, Writer Wednesday, Writing
Is a poem ever complete? This question is one I have struggled with through most of my years of writing poetry. As much as I love revision, it’s worth locking things away or sending them off as complete, because I might go back in and change things again. I have works I considered final at one point or another, only to find myself revising it yet again, years after the fact. I learned that it is okay to do that with poetry; however, we must come to a point where we feel it is time to share with peers and colleagues. Most of the poems I have posted here are considered complete – but I cannot guarantee that a year or ten from now that will still be the case.
A few years ago, I began to assemble a tool a toolkit of sorts that is comprised of tips, tricks, and suggestions from poets I have read over the course of my education, to help my poetry become more complete. In this toolkit, aside from revision techniques, I have added ways to draw more substance with my words, by way of freshening language and creating vivid, tangible images for my readers.
Now that I have the basics for this toolkit, I can take a better look at my work after the fact to see if I created a better poem by following the advice of my peers and the experts. A mantra I use when composing poetry goes like this: “Create. Freshen. Revise. Repeat.” It gets me through the process from start to finish. (more…)
by Nicole | Aug 28, 2013 | Life, Personal, Poetry, Writing
Sweet slumber is now
upon me; the moonbeams cast
shadows on my bed.
Clouds of lavender
lure me into the abyss
and I fall ever
so swift into a deep dream.
The stars lead me through
darkness to a world that seems
to only exist
within hidden thoughts.
Memories that once seemed vague
flood my subconscious,
only to be lost at dawn.
