NaPoWriMo, Yay!

March 6, 2016 by leximagines

I adore spring.

The birds are waking me once again in the early morning. We can open our windows to fresh air. There are thunderstorms and rain to soothe my soul and water Earth.

And soon-to-be-here April ushers in two ways of celebrating this all of this wonder –
National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo
(National Poetry Writing Month).

National Poetry Month is a time I celebrate poetry in many ways, but one of my favorite is with my first graders. We listen to poets, hip hop, the classics, and watch poems that have been
made into videos. They are intrigued enough to write their own
poems and start down the road of the bard.

One of my greatest inspirations, not only this month but all
year long, is Tweetspeak Poetry. I receive an Every Day Poem
in my inbox each morning. Check them out. They also have a
myriad of ways to inspire and share word. They even have poems
to color. And maybe even a free e-book of poetry? Take a look,
especially at their Top 10 Sites To Follow For National Poetry Month
to further entice you into poetry.

And….Yay!!!!!! NaPoWriMo!!!!

This is the month long challenge of writing a poem every day. For each day of April, the fine folks at NaPoWriMo list a prompt and a poet. You take it from there. Join me?

I will post my poems each day – a brave thing to do, maybe silly and foolish – but it is a wonderful way to release and quiet that inner editor.

AND, I hope to partake in the Big Poetry Giveaway 2016. Check back April 1st for more information on how you can win a free copy of my book of poetry, Filters, and one from one of my favorite poets!

In the meantime, sharpen your pencils, dust off that keyboard, get some really yummy snacks and some coffee, lots of coffee. (Oh, I know many of you are tea totes, but that’s okay. You can play, too.)

Let’s get ready to rumble!!!!! And tumble. Maybe even bumble and mumble a bit.

And the winners are……

May 1, 2014 by leximagines

First of all, happy first day after NaPoWriMo. It was a wonderful experience that I hope to continue at
least a few times a week until next April.

Thank you to all my wonderful visitors!

Now for the winners of my books for The Big Poetry Giveaway 2014.

Drum roll please!

Yay to Simply Darling! Love, Etc. by L.L. Barkat

Hurrah for clbeyer! Inside Out Poems by L.L. Barkat

And a What Ho! to rachelthomson24! The Alphabet Not Unlike the World Poems by
Katrina Vandenberg

I will be contacting you to get your addresses.

Then your lovely books of poetry will be winging their way to you very soon! Please drop me a note when you receive them.

Thank you all. Please keep in touch.

Farewell

April 30, 2014 by leximagines

I introduced myself

and offered you

a rose

a red, red rose

the color of my heart

I offered

cotton candy words

and bitter coffee

tinged with cream

You graciously accepted

Now I must

step away

for the heart

does grow

somewhat fonder

with absence

I will not forget

your sweetness

your voice that

brightened my day

your touch

of comfort

I am

stronger

because of

you

I will not

disappoint you

on my travels

far, far away

In my heart

I carry

that red, red rose

now

just petals

scattered

Author’s Note:

Today’s prompt from NaPoWriMo: A goodbye poem.

I did it!

30 poems in 30 days!

Thank you NaPoWriMo for the challenge.

I vow to keep up writing everyday and posting several times a week, maybe more.

I Am Cold

April 27, 2014 by leximagines

I can hardly keep my eyes open

I hear the wind
as if in a far tinned tunnel
voicing its distraction

I can’t answer questions
step onto the platform
I have no answers

I am cold

I am going to take a nap
under a soft blanket
and when I awake maybe
I will have felt your warm breath
and know

I am dream

I walk the labyrinth
hedged by clean scented lavender
my step takes me back
upon itself
weaving round and around
and back again
as I step nearer
to your sweet invitation

I long as each curve bends
my step closer
to your whisper
curving me
back to reflection
circling close
to what seems the beginning
a start over
yet drawing me nearer

I reach for your hand
to hold me near
but I know
this is my journey alone

I keep hope you are there

Author’s Note:

From NaPoWriMo Day 27: And now for our prompt! Our early-bird prompt this year (on March 31) was an ekphrastic poem. This is something similar — a poem written from a photograph. There are four below, one of which I hope will catch your fancy. But if you’ve a particular photo in mind that you’d like to use, go right ahead. Happy writing!

Lines and Patterns

April 26, 2014 by leximagines

I grab
reach for straws
try to find a place
to fit in

Hands pretend
to care
but lines are thrown
out on their terms
only

I look
for somewhere
I can slip into a
pattern

Where I can be part
of a weaving
formed into one
piece

There are signs
that I may be allowed
welcomed
to stay

But only
within the
box of their own
design and
not allowed
to color
outside the line

Trust must be
given away
meted out
carefully
and not with
too much hope

It is better
to build

your own brick
house
where doors
can be locked

and windows
barred
safer to be alone

than teased
into thinking
you are worthy

Author’s Note:

Day 26 – NaPoWriMo – almost there.

Part of Me

April 25, 2014 by leximagines

Part of me has been erased
as I walk bare foot in the sand.

The place where my heart once
stationed itself, that
part of me has been erased.

Silence barrels through
that part of me that is now gone.

That part of me that is now gone
feels no more.

That part of me
no longer yearns or waits.

It no longer dreams,
that part of me.

That part
has been erased.

Author’s Note:

NaPoWriMo’s Day 25 (optional) prompt. Anaphora is a literary term for the practice of repeating certain words or phrases at the beginning of multiple clauses or, in the case of a poem, multiple lines. The phrase “A time to,” as used in the third Chapter of Ecclesiastes, is a good example of anaphora. But you don’t have to be the Old Testament (or a Byrds song) to use anaphora. Allen Ginsberg used it in Howl, for example. Thispost by Rebecca Hazelton on the Poetry Foundation’s blog gives other great examples of anaphora in action, from Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech to Homer Simpson. So today, I challenge you to write a poem that uses anaphora. Find a phrase, and stick with it — learn how far it can go. Happy writing!

The Big Poetry Giveaway, 2014, Part 2

April 12, 2014 by leximagines

Good day, all!

I’ve decided to add another book to my giveaway. Yay!

L.L. Barkat is launching her new book of poetry, Love, Etc., this coming Monday, April 14, 2014. Stop by Tweekspeak Poetry and see all the happenings. What fun! They are on Facebook, too.

It is such a lovely work, I decided it needs to be added to my giveaway list. Check out my review by Lex at Amazon and buy a copy for yourself or to give away.

Want to win a free copy? Go to my original post, The Big Poetry Giveaway, 2014 , just leave a comment with your e-mail or blog address so if you win, I know how to contact you. Drawing will take place the first week of May.

Need more information? Visit The Big Poetry Giveaway, 2014 at their page. It’s a fun thing to do this National Poetry Month.

And while you’re here I cordially invite you to scroll around my page. I am participating in NaPoWriMo in celebration of poetry this month.

Enjoy!

Vespers

April 11, 2014 by leximagines

1.

It is a dove.

She thought it was an owl.

I heard it. It’s an owl.

We have doves in
our trees. Grey blue dress
for every day.

We have owls. At least one,
but it doesn’t show often.

I picked up a rock that
had fallen from a bed
encircling the chokecherry.

Quartz?

A hum joined in chorus.

Citrine, a bit, and some clear.

I reached to her face
holding it to her cheek.

It’s cold.

Ancient Greek names crystal
icy, cold frost.

Glass will warm. Crystal stays chill.

Molten earth, deep inside
fires and flows, cools and
hardens. Hearts, too.

11.

Owl visited. In
spring eventide, it came.

I heard it. It’s an owl.

Vespers to the Holy.

Author’s Note:

NaPoWriMo. Day 11.

Haiku for NaPoWriMo

April 9, 2014 by leximagines

Lone coyote dashes across grass-

Waning suburban moon,

The nights are getting shorter.

Author’s Note:

Today’s Poetry Prompt from the Facebook page of NaPoWriMo: It’s haiku day! Pen up a haiku as an animal enjoying its favorite activity.

Perfect for a busy mid week. Actually, haiku is not child’s play at poetry. Below is an infographic I love using from Tweetspeak Poetry when attempting to write a haiku:

Don’t forget to stop by my post – The Big Poetry Giveaway 2104. I am participating and giving away two books of poetry – for free! Who would not want a free book of poetry? You could win either a lovely copy of
InsideOut: Poems by L.L. Barkat or The Alaphabet Not Unlike the World by Katrina Vandenberg.

All you have to do is leave a comment and a blog address or e-mail!

I Will Die

April 8, 2014 by leximagines

I will die, not in a place or at a time I know.

Someday I will die on a threshold
not of my choosing.

I will die, when it is time. I need
not remember to take off my shoes
or lift my skirts or comb my hair.

My bones will chatter as they clatter
in remembrance of a life well lived.

I will die embraced in gentleness and welcome
for I have tasted death
or at least have gotten close enough to
glimpse my eternity.

Lexanne is dead. And there will be no
need to remember, not me, not myself,
not the life I lived.

For we are all dust of stars, one and the same,
Molded and shaped by a hand so dear,
within us placed one cherished heart
shared.

I will die at a time I welcome in gratitude.
I will dance across the threshold
not in slippers or well heeled,
I will die in spirit freed.

Author’s Note:

Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt: ” Today, let’s rewrite a famous poem, giving it our own spin. While any famous poem will do, if you haven’t already got one in mind, why not try your own version of Cesar Vallejo’s Black Stone Lying on a White Stone? If you’re not exactly sure how such a poem could be “re-written,” check out this recent poem by Stephen Burt, which riffs on Vallejo’s.”