Thank you for following my blog and leaving me comments. Thank you for your likes here and on other sites. Thank you for your shares on other sites. Today’s prompt was “yesterday” which is funny because I posted yesterday’s poem today. Don’t forget to scroll back and look through my poems from the weekend.
yesterday was clouds all shadow no shine no joy but today there is sun
Today’s prompt was dazed and confused. Apparently last week’s prompts were song titles, maybe this week’s have been movie titles. I wonder what next week’s prompts will be. Follow me to find out, or visit the Facebook page yourself.
hopping in circles
trying to remember where
the walnut is buried
Native American Bird Effigy Necklace
the shiny things
that we decorate with
crow’s nest
10-17-2019
We aren’t all that different from the animals. That’s why I love haiku, it’s a poetry form that connects us directly back to nature. The relationship between humans and nature is layers deep.
burning wood
a fireplace full of ash
sacrifices keep us warm
10-17-2019
So this year for National Blog Posting Month, Team Tiny Peppers who do Nano Poblano are mixing it up a little. Instead of following prompts or encouraging us all to write and blog every day, they are setting forth a different challenge or idea. Participants are committing to 30 days of blog activities: 10 days of making posts, 10 days of reading/commenting, and 10 days of sharing posts through any other platform.
I think this is a great idea. And I think that even if you aren’t blogging you can support blogs this month by reading 10 different bloggers and sharing 10 different blog posts throughout the month of November. If you are going to do that leave me a comment below. There is a name for those who encourage us, and I will tell it to you if you comment. If you are going to blog for 10 days in November, use the tag #NanoPoblano2019 so that we can find you and support you. Also, follow the links in the first paragraph.
10-12-2019
I hope you all enjoy your Halloween. Whether you’re taking an adorable child house to house, volunteering at an event, or handing out candy at your door, I hope you embrace how fun the day can be. Sometimes Halloween is cold and rainy, I am hoping against that for my area because my son loves Halloween.
Also, today’s poem is about how everyone says they love the fall, but I do not get why rain and darker days are funner than summer or spring when everything is bright. I did some wordplay with “dog days” because the prompt for day 12 was “dragon.”
10-9-19
Thank you to all of my new followers. I am glad to have you. I hope you will like what I choose to do for National Blog Posting Month or #NaBloPoMo. I am hooking up with the Team Tiny Peppers group again. I am toying with the idea of writing some flash fiction this year. The shortest that a story can be, and be considered flash fiction is 500 words. I may do that for half of the month as I still have a lot of haiku to share with you. I miss writing for Friday Fictioneers, but I can’t always pull a unique story out of a photograph. I found a list of sentences that are meant to be prompts for flash fiction pieces. I may do that for the last half of November.
What would you like to see me do? Long poems, haiku, flash fiction? Leave me a comment!
winter geese think
our hardest months are easy
traveler’s perspective
January 27, 2018
Today’s prompt was “something far” so I am sharing a winter haiku a little bit early.
I have learned that getting up in the morning and randomly posting every day is not for me. I much much prefer to take a day like Monday and write out 5 or so posts when I have some alone time. Then I can take my time looking for a photo, and play with the formatting. When I like how they look in the preview, then I schedule them for a day that feels right. This process may take 3 days or 30 minutes per post.
I think I need to go back to setting dates on my calendar where I sit down and write at least 3 posts every week, for the next week. That is what I like about these challenge months that I sometimes do; they remind me of what I like about blogging and what methods work best for me. What do you think of my blogging this month? Leave me a comment.
You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook. If you like haiku and want to learn more, then go to my What is Haiku? page. Many people think they know what haiku is, and many are wrong.
I think part of the reason that I am able to churn out post after post during a challenge month, but not in other months, is because I pick 1 picture for the month and use it in almost every post. Finding a picture that’s complimentary is a big obstacle to blogging regularly. If you are a blogger, what do you think your biggest obstacle is? As a writer, in general, what do you find your biggest obstacle to be?
Today’s prompt is “something silly.” Here is a piece of prose that I reworked about 10 times before I gave up on it. I wrote this about 12 or so years ago.
Telltales of a Country Life
You can tell who’s country and who’s not. Those country folks are weird! And stand out in a crowd. Here are some telltale signs to help you spot those country people:
They are loud – due to having to yell over swarms of kids, mooing cows, barking dogs, and adults enjoying themselves at “get-togethers.”
They dress funny- often found in denim cut-offs, cowboy boots, and hats.
They talk funny- “ya’ll” means you all, “thankin” means thinking, “sumthin” means something, “yessum” means yes ma’am, “come and get it” means dinner is served (not an obscenity), a “holler” is a shout or a valley in which one might find a deer.
Instead of minding their own business; if they see a car broke down, or a tractor stuck, or someone carrying a heavy package, they most usually interfere and have to help you out.
They are always saying: good mornin’ how are ya, howdy. They just can’t walk by you quietly.
They smile like idiots when happy, cuss like sailors when mad, and pass babies like collection plates.
Yep, it’s pretty easy to spot a person from the country.
Strengthen
so many people wilt
the moment pressure is applied
there’s nothing strong inside
they are hallow
ghosts with no backbone
does each task with a moan
dig for iron
add resolve to your will
your weaknesses kill
6-16-2018
Nanopoblano is a group of bloggers who write every day during National Blog Posting Month. They encourage you to find prompts wherever you want. I am doing the Somethingist Challenge and “something repaired” is today’s prompt. This poem was first written on Twitter for a #WrittenRiver prompt.
You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow me by email when you scroll all the way to the bottom of this post and click follow, or by WordPress Reader when you click follow in the bar at the top.
I always publish a few blog posts late in the day when I do a month-long challenge. Today I need to post a poem about “something strong” for the Somethingist Challenge that I am doing for National Blog Posting Month. Give me your thoughts on this piece, in the comment section below.
Badges and Battles
She wore her scars like badges
like an army captain wears ribbon bars
they told of the wars her body
had fought and won
of the battles waged
that you forgot about
1-21-2018
This poem was inspired on Twitter by a #WrittenRiver writing prompt.
I participated in NaBloPoMo only once. It was fun. After looking around to see who all was posting prompts or ideas I was really disappointed. The people who started National Blog Posting Month are not participating in any way. In today’s world I think blogs get read now more than ever, so we should be having our own holidays and events. I was hoping to see some big platforms encouraging the little bloggers to get back to regular blogging, but it looks like only the little guys remember the littler guys. I really wanted to see a themed list or a list of prompts that could be used by any blog.
I looked around and found this:
If you go to the main site here you will find a quick explanation and then you can click on the resources page to decide how you want to proceed. It is where I got this neat little badge/image that I will be adding to my nablopomo posts.
I am going to use Grayson Queen’s Somethingist Instagram Challenge as my blog posting challenge list of prompts. I tried to find them on Instagram to thank them for the list but I was unable to. Maybe they will see this blog post, and if they do just know that I am really grateful that you allowed this to be used for NaBloPoMo! I like to have things planned out ahead of time. I like to have lists of things that remind me of what I am trying to accomplish and by what time. Today’s prompt was “something unfinished” so here is a line that I have been desperately wanting to put into a poem:
My favorite song is a duet, but I don’t have a partner
I plan to give you a poem in the other posts that I do. They may be poems that you’ve seen twice before or they may be brand new. I may write new poems just for my nanopoblano posts, how about that?! Follow me through email so that you don’t miss a thing. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think of National Blog Posting Month.
I had a slow year as far as writing in 2017, but this year I have written many poems, and some of them are really good. I have started sharing them and will share them every week for the rest of the year. I have gotten over my fear of sharing my work in public, now I just have to choose the format in which I share my work.
I looked back at my first post and realized that my goals are basically the same now as they were then. I want to share 1 poem a week with you, and I want it to be a haiku. I always share a new haiku on Monday. I want to share other forms of poetry a couple of times a week.
strange winds
blow through the tall hayfields
fighting my restless spirit
Feb 5, 2017
I have had themed days and weeks and that has been both fun and exhausting. I have done poetry challenges, blogging challenges, writing challenges, and photography challenges. They all grew me and even though doing them right was hard I am glad that I tried them all. I plan to try some in the future as well. I have shared my favorite poems by my favorite poets Emily Dickinson and Matsuo Basho. I have written some flash fiction and intended to write more, but I just haven’t been able to write anything good in that area for a while. I loved sharing quotes with you all but I felt like we see lots of quotes on Facebook and other social media sites and it was too hard to find unusual quotes to share.
old leaves
on a new road
changes
Yes, I have also taken breaks, but that has been good for me too. I learned that my loyal readers would stay with me, even if I was quiet for a while. I learned that I could gain new followers even if I was barely posting, but I do get more likes and views if I am posting 3x or more a week. I think I am in a good place now, and I don’t think I will take any breaks in the future.
Thank you for reading my work and leaving me likes and comments. Thank you for your shares and your encouragement. I hope that you all stick with me as I share poems from both my past and my most recent work.
What is your favorite thing that I do? Which type of post do you miss the most? Which type of post would you like to see more of? Leave me some comments.
To look at my poetry throughout the years, go to this post.
Failing at Haiku 