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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 21 and Final Week Prompts

It’s February 21. That means we have completed three weeks of our daily write-in. Kudos to all, whether you’ve been participating every day, dropping in, or following along by reading the responses.

As you know, this year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. We have a new writing prompt for every day in February. The object of this project is to turn off our inner critics, play with a daily writing practice, and share the results in a community setting.

For those of you who are new to the project, please read my introductory post. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS at this post. At the end of the month, I’ll have prizes for the most frequent contributors. However, there’s no obligation to write every day. Drop in as often as you like.

I was away this weekend visiting family. If you’ve posted poems in the comments over the weekend, it may take me a day or two to move them into the blog posts. Thanks for being patient.

As always, remember when you leave a written response in the comments, include the number of the day, so I put it in the right place.

FOUND: Singer Sewing Machine

Thanks to Matt Forrest Esenwine for sending in today’s object, which fits in our functional object category.

My husband’s family is from Paterson, New Jersey. Paterson was the silk capital of the U.S. for many years. The city — home to poets Allen Ginsberg, William Carlos Williams, and Maria Mazziotti Gillan — was known for its textiles. We have an antique singer sewing machine passed down through the family in our home. I’ll have to snap a picture to share.

Diane Mayr has a wonderful image/poem contribution to share today.

 

Diane did some research on Mr. Singer before creating this poem. The path from idea through research to poem is a fascinating one. I hope you’ll take a look at Diane’s post at Random Noodling, where you can also view a larger version of this image.

***

Linda Baie’s poem reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from the movie version of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Everyone in the village is talking about a young couple’s new addition. I expected it to be a baby, but it’s a sewing machine!

Complicated

It’s easy!

All one must do is

thread the bobbin, insert it under the left plate,

pull the thread up to connect with the upper needle,

thread that needle.

All set?

Now, place the fabric under the needle,

hold it straight,

then turn the wheel on the right,

and at the same time,

start peddling the treadle

back and forth,

back and forth,

push the fabric slowly through.

Be sure it stays lined up!

And don’t forget to peddle,

keep peddling.

It’s much quicker than sitting late at night

sewing the families’ clothes-

one hour for a shirt,

instead of 14 hours by hand.

This machine is a time saver,

and now you can make so many more pieces of clothing

for the family.

You won’t be able to vote for another seventy years,

but you can sew

on this complicated machine,

taking care of the family.

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

***

I see that my husband’s family is not the only one with a history of working with textiles. Jone MacCulloch suggests a similar connection in this poem.

Grandmother’s Machine

Her sewing machine

a time

of spiritual contemplation

Her sewing machine

after

the household chores

Her sewing machine

creating

smocks, dresses, and aprons

Her sewing machine

rhythmic

like a rocking horse

Her sewing machine

quiet

with untold stories

© 2016 Jone Rush MacCulloch all rights reserved

***

Here’s an acrostic poem from Jessica Bigi. I like the short lines, which mimic the rhythm of the sewing machine.

Old Fashion Sewing

O val bobbin

L icorice black machine

D ainty stitching

F ancy seamstress

A djustable stitching

S ewing threads

H emming cloth

I nvisible seams

O ld fashion

N eedle thread

S imple sewing

O ut dated

W inding wheel

I nventive sewing

N ever easy

G randmother’s stories

***

I know everyone wants to see the Week 4 prompts. I posted them first and will be adding the poems gradually. Apologies, everyone!

Those of you who have been writing along with me in February over the years know that this began as a pay it forward project in 2013. Tomorrow is my birthday, and my gift to you all is the last set of FOUND OBJECTS. It’s leap year, so we have eight objects to go.

There are two guest hosts on three days this week. Thank you to Jan Annino Godown at Bookseed Studio (Tuesday — Day 23 and Sunday, 2/28) and Mike Ratcliffe — who contributed the deer skull prompt — at Michael Ratcliffe’s Poetry (Poetry Friday, Day 26) for helping out.

Ready, writers?

DAY 22 PROMPT contributed by Buffy Silverman (February 22)

DAY 23 PROMPT contributed by Jan Annino Godown (February 23 at BOOKSEED STUDIO)

DAY 24 PROMPT contributed by Matt Forrest Esenwine (February 24)

DAY 25 PROMPT contributed by Laura Shovan (February 25)

DAY 26 PROMPT contributed by Jessica Bigi (February 26 at MICHAEL RATCLIFFE’S POETRY)

DAY 27 PROMPT contributed by Buffy Silverman (February 27)

DAY 28 PROMPT contributed by Mary Lee Hahn (February 28 at BOOKSEED STUDIO)

 

DAY 29 PROMPT contributed by Diane Mayr (February 29) and we are done!!

Leave your writing in the blog comments (feel free to post a poem or response in the comments of any project-related post). Be sure to note which day/prompt your poem or prose short goes with so I can post it on the correct day. Send in your writing ANY TIME — early, late. As long as I receive it by February 29, it will be posted along with the object of the day.

Perfect attendance is not a requirement of this project. Write and share your work as often as you like, even if it’s only once. The goal is to practice and share, not to polish, and certainly not to aim for perfection.

Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:

Sunday, February 14

FOUND OBJECT: Hot Potato

Poems by: Violet Nesdoly, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Charles Waters.

Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1 and Week 2 poems at this post.

Monday, February 15 at My Juicy Little Universe

FOUND OBJECT: Coffee Mug

Poems by: Jessica Bigi, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Catherine Flynn, Laura Shovan, Mary Lee Hahn, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Buffy Silverman, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Donna Smith, Julieanne Harmatz, Jone Rush  MacCulloch, Charles Waters.

Tuesday, February 16

FOUND OBJECT: Sculpture

Poems by: Victoria Costa, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Catherine Flynn, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Robyn Hood Black, Buffy Silverman, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Charles Waters.

Wednesday, February 17 at Mainely Write

FOUND OBJECT: Hot  Pink Sandal

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Catherine Flynn, Mary Lee Hahn, Buffy Silverman, Donna Smith, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Laura Shovan, Heidi Mordhorst, Margaret Simon, Charles Waters.

Thursday, February 18

FOUND OBJECT: “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X” Sculpture

Poems by: Jessica Bigi, Diane Mayr, Donna Smith, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Linda Baie, Catherine Flynn, Margaret Simon, Laura Shovan, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Charles Water, Jone Rush MacCulloch.

Friday, February 19

FOUND OBJECT: Deer Skull

Poems by: Mary Lee Hahn, Jessica Bigi, Donna Smith, Linda Baie, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Patricia VanAmburg, Charles Waters, Carol Varsalona, Heather Meloche.

Saturday, February 20 at Deowriter

FOUND OBJECT: Horse Figurine

Poems by: Donna Smith, Jessica Bigi, Jone MacCulloch, Margaret Simon, Linda Baie.

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 20

Hello, Found Object Poets. I am prancing around in New Jersey today while another blogger takes over today’s hosting duties.

FOUND: Horse Figurine

You will find the Day 20Found Object Poem Project post at Jone Rush MacCulloch’s blog, Deowriter. Thank you for hosting while I’m visiting with family, Jone!

 

 

 

 

DAY 21 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT (February 21)

I’ll see you back here (late!) tomorrow for Day 21 and the last set of writing prompts. You can leave your Day 20 responses at this post or in the comments at Jone’s blog.

 

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 19

It’s Day 19 of our 2016 daily write-in. This year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. We have a new writing prompt for every day in February.

For those of you who are new to my blog, please read my introductory post about the February daily write-in. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS at this post.

As I’ve mentioned before, often in the middle of this month of daily writing, I get a little silly. Okay, a lot silly. I have a stretch of days when I don’t have much to say, and what I write turns playful, even if I’m not 100% happy with it. It’s good practice for me to share these poems anyway, to put the focus on effort instead of outcome.

PLEASE NOTE: This year, a few friendly bloggers have volunteered to host a day or two. I am visiting family this weekend. Tomorrow’s post, which is DAY 20, will be at Jone Rush MacCulloch’s blog, Deowriter. Leave your Day 20 responses here, in the comments, or you can leave them at Jone’s blog. We will both make sure your poems get posted.

DAY 20 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT (February 20 at DEOWRITER)

FOUND: Deer Skull

Today’s FOUND OBJECT is in the nature category. It is a literal found object — found and brought home by my friend, the poet Mike Ratcliffe.

As you know, I love hearing about people’s writing process — the journey from prompt to idea to poem. Mary Lee Hahn left us a message about her response to the deer skull:

“When I started writing, I had no idea how this poem would go with the skull and antlers. I had the phrase ‘There’s ___, but then there’s ____’ in my mind and I opened the post and started writing from that. Somehow my brain gave me pride and hubris. We’ve been noticing similes and metaphors in my 5th grade class, so I had fun making a simile-metaphor-vocabulary poem that will hopefully teach my students a new word. When I was finished, I looked back at the skull and wondered what HE knows about pride vs. hubris, sitting there on the sidewalk for all to see…”

Advice

There’s pride —

(nothing wrong with pride)

a warm sense of self-worth

sitting quietly inside you

like a steaming cup of cocoa on a winter morning.

But then there’s hubris —

a venti double mocha latte with whip and extra sprinkles

standing there beside your computer in the cafe

while you pose with your earbuds

open notebook

fancy pen

empty page.

The trick is knowing the difference.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

***

I am so excited to see the return of Herman the Hermit Crab! We were first introduced to Donna Smith’s invention on Day 8. Donna says, “I didn’t have a clue what to write, but then I heard Herman talking from inside the skull, as he tried to cross the sidewalk.”

Herman, the Hermit Part 2

Yes, sweet, yes, dear,

I know I’m slow

But the first one was lighter

And smaller to tow!

This one won’t fit me,

It’s harder to walk;

I barely can breathe and

It’s harder to talk!

No, it’s all right, dear,

Ill try to adjust.

I’ll carry it, dear,

If you think that I must.

But I really don’t see how

This shell’s any better.

It won’t keep out wind,

And in rain I get wetter.

I know I look handsome,

But can’t I come out

And get my old shell back?

I don’t mean to pout.

But maybe I just need

My small house to carry

And then, my sweet dear,

I’d not have to tarry.

I can still do it, but

Perhaps I’d not linger

To get you a ring

To wear on your finger.

Oh, sorry, not finger –

I meant one of your claws

As I try to propose here

Can we put this on pause?

For I’m out of breath

I just have to rest.

It’s okay, dear Herman,

You’ve just passed my test!

We’ll get your old shell back

‘Cause it’s cozy, though drab

You can wear it on weekends

And I won’t even crab.

©2016, Donna JT Smith, all rights reserved

***

Linda Baie is in with a lovely haiku today. I’m noticing the contrast between the natural skull and the cement sidewalk.

the skull reminds

as we walk our cement path –

whose passage was taken

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

***

Abstract Cactus by Jessica Bigi

Jessica Bigi’s poem is meant to curve and waver down the page. I’ll try to update the formatting if I can figure it out. I’ll also be adding artwork from Jessica soon.

Screams

Shrieks

Serials

Chatters

Creaks

Clanks

Antlers

Knitting

Stringing

Words

Into

Ghostly

Stories

Of one

Horse

Towns

Tumble

Weeds

Rolling

Dusty

Trials

Into

Desert

Skies

by Jessica Bigi

***

I’ve been enjoying Matt Forrest Esenwine’s short poems during this project. Love the play on words here.

“Hunting Season”

Been hunting these woods

for whitetail deer,

and wouldn’t you know –

the buck stopped here.

– © 2016, Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

***

And Carol Varsalona posted today’s digital creation to Twitter.

 

Patricia VanAmburg has been on vacation, but wrote in, “I was really drawn to this skull which reminded me of the significance of horned animals in antiquity, and I hoped to write a pantoum.  But life has been a blur—so here is a haiku of sorts—because I cannot pass this particular object without response…”

I was lucky enough to hear Patricia give a wonderful talk on mythology and art recently. I see those same themes reflected in this haiku.

Horned

By Patricia VanAmburg

Bone without flesh but

Consort to his goddess still

Grazing on her walk

***

I’m going to add my poem early tomorrow. I had a full day of teaching, yoga, and a poetry event with Eamon Grennan this evening!

My students and I were looking at a photograph of Georgia O’Keeffe. I have a feeling the skull in my poem will be Georgia’s famous deer skull.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR EVERYONE: Hey, poets. It’s Day 19. I know we all feel like we’re running out of steam. First, skip a day or two if that’s what you need. Second, *push through.* By the time we get to Sunday, Day 21, you’ll feel like we’re all cascading down a mountain of words together through the last week of prompts.

If I missed your poem for today, please let me know. I will add it ASAP.

DAY 20 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT (February 20 at Deowriter)

Reminder: Tomorrow, we’ll be spending Day 20  at Rush MacCulloch’s blog, Deowriter. 

Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:

Sunday, February 14

FOUND OBJECT: Hot Potato

Poems by: Violet Nesdoly, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Charles Waters.

Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1 and Week 2 poems at this post.

Monday, February 15 at My Juicy Little Universe

FOUND OBJECT: Coffee Mug

Poems by: Jessica Bigi, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Catherine Flynn, Laura Shovan, Mary Lee Hahn, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Buffy Silverman, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Donna Smith, Julieanne Harmatz, Jone Rush  MacCulloch, Charles Waters.

Tuesday, February 16

FOUND OBJECT: Sculpture

Poems by: Victoria Costa, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Catherine Flynn, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Robyn Hood Black, Buffy Silverman, Jone Rush MacCulloch.

Wednesday, February 17 at Mainely Write

FOUND OBJECT: Hot  Pink Sandal

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Catherine Flynn, Mary Lee Hahn, Buffy Silverman, Donna Smith, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Laura Shovan, Heidi Mordhorst, Margaret Simon.

Thursday, February 18

FOUND OBJECT: “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X” Sculpture

Poems by: Jessica Bigi, Diane Mayr, Donna Smith, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Linda Baie, Catherine Flynn, Margaret Simon, Laura Shovan, Matt Forrest Esenwine.

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 18, Poetry Friday

It’s Day 18 of our month-long daily writing project.

This year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. For those of you who are new to the project, please read my introductory post. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS at this post.

We’re also celebrating Poetry Friday. This week’s host is Donna Smith at Mainely Write, who hosted our project earlier this week! If you’re enjoying the poetry community we’re creating with this project, I know you’ll have fun getting to know the Poetry Friday blogging community as well.

It’s a special Poetry Friday for me and my niece, Madeline. We are guests at Penny Parker Klostermann’s blog series “A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt.” Madeline drew a Keith Haring inspired scene and my poem accompanies her art.

FOUND: SCULPTURE

Jan Annino Godown of the blog Bookseedstudio contributed our Found Object today.

I was tempted to go searching for more information about this sculpture, but waited until my poem was drafted. From what I can tell, there are several versions of this giant eraser in sculpture gardens around the country. I found more information at the National Gallery of Art’s website. Here are the basics: “Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, American, born 1929, Sweden / American, born 1942, The Netherlands Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, 1999 stainless steel and cement.”

In looking at today’s found object, I wondered whether teens and twenty-somethings would recognize the everyday object it’s supposed to represent. It looks like Diane Mayr was wondering the same thing.

Field Trip to the Past

By Diane Mayr

I heard her incredulous cry,

“What is that?”

She grew up with laptops and printers.

I grew up writing papers by longhand

then typing them out on a clunky

portable typewriter.

There was a backspace key,

but no delete button.

White-out invented by

a Monkee’s mother had yet

to find a market.

There was only the eraser.

Round, slender, and pink.

With a brush of sorts at the opposite

end used to whisk away

the erasure crumbs of mistakes.

“Well? What is it?”

she asked again.

And realizing I had no formal name

to associate with the pink rolling eraser thing,

I honestly answered,

“Damned if I know.”

***

What stuck out (pun intended) at me was the blue bristles, so my poem focuses on that part of the sculpture.

Blue Hair

By Laura Shovan

Imagine it shooting from the top of my head

like a bamboo forest sprouting on Neptune.

Spiky as blueberry licorice, an upside down

waterfall of frozen blue icicles, a crown

of Bluebeard’s bristles. Imagine it pulled tight,

held in place by a silver elastic, charged

by enough volts of lightning to kill a giant.

Each strand reaches up, as if Medusa

traded in her snakes for a set

of Moray eels, their hungry blue eyes

wondering what everyone’s staring at.

***

Like me, Donna Smith used the sculpture as a jumping off point for some wild imagery.

Mr. E-Racer

Mod unicyclist

With spiked blue hair

Flashes by

As if to dare

Us to stop him

In mid flow,

As he erases

To and fr…

Over jumps,

Wheel a-spin,

Writer’s block

Will not win;

Watch him roll,

See him race,

Making corrections

All over the pl…

He’s brave

And daring,

And paper

Baring,

Helping pencil

Revise writing;

There he goes

He’s so exci…!

Hey, stop erasing

All my lett…

This isn’t getting

Any bet…

If you don’t let

Me finish a thoug…

I cannot fix what

You have wroug…

Okay, off that unicycle,

Mr. E

And let me write

So I can see

And I can read

Before erasing;

Slow down now and

Stop a-racing!

©2016, Donna JT Smith, all rights reserved

***

Carol Varsalona has a narrative poem in response to the sculpture. She is blogging alongside us at Beyond LiteracyLink. 

Magic Eraser rolled into town.

Looking silly as a blue-haired clown

erasing all that was in his sight

causing a stir and a great fright.

The townsfolk turned a shade of white

as all was lost in broad daylight.

Who would stand up for property rights?

A hero came with the speed of light

and took a very fanciful bite.

So limping away in domestic flight

Magic eraser left the suburbanites

and found other towns to rub out that night.

©CVarsalona, 2016

Carol writes, “You have to turn to the blog post to find out the moral of my tale.”

***

I like the way that Mary Lee Hahn focuses on the outlandish size of the object in her poem.

Live Big/Fail Big

Are you willing to risk it?

Will you go for broke?

Take a chance,

Take a dare,

Try that limb?

The payoffs are huge!

Beyond ginormous!

Take the chance,

Take the dare,

Chase the win!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Please visit Mary Lee’s blog, where she is posting about our project.

***

Several people got some good advice out of the sculpture. Linda Baie’s counsel is specific to writers.

Dreaming

Advertisement: Poets & Writers

For sale: This splendid little wheel:

–rolls along the hasty scribbles

–rubs away the tired rhymes

–brushes out the crumbs of stale words

Rush order available!

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

***

Catherine Flynn writes, “My high school typing teacher was a stickler for perfection (‘Proofread like the page was typed by your worst enemy!’) so I thought about that angle… I decided to create an erasure poem giving a little history about this giant eraser.”

“Typewriter Eraser, Scale X”

Monuments commemorate

objects

remembered from childhood.

A youngster

playing in his fathers office,

a typewriter eraser

falling

alighted

in a graceful, dynamic

gesture.

By Catherine Flynn

***

It seems fitting to have an acrostic for an object that’s meant to help us with our words. Here is Margaret Simon’s contribution.

An acrostic

By Margaret Simon

Easy

Racing

Across

Scribblings

Undoing

Random

Errors

***

Jessica Bigi turned the round part of the sculpture into another object, a Frisbee. I’m really enjoying the cartoons Jessica has been creating to go along with the poems.

Frisbee

By Jessica Bigi

Squinty eyes

Flick of wrist

Zooming loops

Plastic wings

Looping zags

Floppy saucer

Hooking winds

Wailing crowds

Second wind

Swooping win

Win

Win

***

I can see that the object is making a lot of us feel old nostalgic. Here is Buffy Silverman’s poem.

Homework in the Dark Ages

By Buffy Silverman

Rubbing, rubbing, rubbing

brushing, brushing, brushing

she tries to undo her careless words.

The pink eraser squeaks,

the gritty pile of crumbs grows on her desk blotter,

sticking to the back of her hand.

The smudged paper gets thinner and thinner

until it tears…..

She crumples the paper,

hurls it in the trash

and starts again.

***

If I missed your poem in the comments, please let me know. I will add it as soon as possible.

DAY 19 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT (February 19)

See you tomorrow for Day 19.

Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:

Sunday, February 14

FOUND OBJECT: Hot Potato

Poems by: Violet Nesdoly, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Charles Waters.

Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1 and Week 2 poems at this post.

Monday, February 15 at My Juicy Little Universe

FOUND OBJECT: Coffee Mug

Poems by: Jessica Bigi, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Catherine Flynn, Laura Shovan, Mary Lee Hahn, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Buffy Silverman, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Donna Smith, Julieanne Harmatz, Jone Rush  MacCulloch, Charles Waters.

Tuesday, February 16

FOUND OBJECT: Sculpture

Poems by: Victoria Costa, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Catherine Flynn, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Robyn Hood Black, Buffy Silverman, Jone Rush MacCulloch.

Wednesday, February 17 at Mainely Write

FOUND OBJECT: Hot  Pink Sandal

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Catherine Flynn, Mary Lee Hahn, Buffy Silverman, Donna Smith, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Laura Shovan, Heidi Mordhorst, Margaret Simon.

 

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 17

Hello, Found Object Poets. I am kicking my shoes off today while another blogger takes over today’s hosting duties.

FOUND: Hot Pink Sandal

You will find the Day 17 Found Object Poem Project post at Donna Smith’s blog, Mainely Write. Thank you so much, Donna!

 

 

 

FOUND OBJECT DAY 18 PROMPT (February 18)

I’ll see you back here tomorrow for Day 18. You can leave your Day 17 responses at this post or in the comments at Donna’s blog.

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2016 Found Object Poetry Project: Day 17

Hello, Found Object Poets. I am kicking my shoes off today while another blogger takes over today’s hosting duties.

FOUND: Hot Pink Sandal

You will find the Day 17 Found Object Poem Project post at Donna Smith’s blog, Mainely Write. Thank you so much, Donna!

 

 

 

FOUND OBJECT DAY 18 PROMPT (February 18)

I’ll see you back here tomorrow for Day 18. You can leave your Day 17 responses at this post or in the comments at Donna’s blog.

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 16

It’s Day 16 of our 2016 daily write-in. This year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. Thanks to all of the poets and writers who contributed objects for our daily prompts.

For those of you who are new to the project, please read my introductory post. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS at this post.

PLEASE NOTE: This year, a few friendly bloggers have volunteered to host a day or two. Tomorrow’s post, which is DAY 17, will be at Donna Smith’s blog, Mainely Write. Leave your Day 17 responses here, in the comments, as usual. Thank you, Donna!

FOUND: SCULPTURE

Thanks to Carol Varsalona for sending in today’s object. I’m already thinking about what it would be like to stand close to this sculpture. How would it change what we see in the reflections?

Today, I visited Professor Tara Hart’s creative writing class at Howard Community College. In my role as HoCoPoLitSo’s Writer-in-Residence, I’ve had a great time working with high school students, but this was my first group of post-secondary writers. After I explained our Found Object daily writing prompt, they did a brief response to today’s object. It was wonderful to hear what they came up with.

Jessica Bigi’s poem is a playful mash-up of ideas, beginning with the title.

Cosmic Football

By Jessica Bigi

Field of falling stars

Garden arena

Godzilla throwing open passes

King Kong running in touchdowns

Gods of football chiseling

Galaxy diamond rings

For giants

***

The sculpture in Carol’s photo made me think of another metal sculpture at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Modern Art

By Laura Shovan

After Olafur Eliasson’s “Flower observatory”, 2004

I could have spent hours

standing beneath

what seemed to be

a spaceship or pagoda

made of metal sheets.

I saw its petals levitating

in the contemporary gallery

on a set of silver stems,

so I pulled you under,

kept your hand. Together

we looked up, into the guts

of someone else’s vision.

We saw ourselves reflected

in the sculpture’s polished angles.

Do you think the artist

planned for this moment:

the two of us, examining

an exponential series of facades

on Valentine’s Day.

***

What intrigues me about Carol Varsalona’s poem for today is that it’s about the feeling our Found Object creates. If you’d like to know more about the object Carol contributed for today, I hope you will visit her blog post at Beyond Literacy Link.

The Force Within

By Carol Varsalona

The force is upon you-

each day within you

reaching out

to light the world

with your awesomeness.

Harness its energy!

***

Mary Lee Hahn is also blogging alongside us at Poet Repository.

STREET ART IN ST. LOUIS

Some curve, some soar,

some serve as a gate,

I glitter, I shine,

I triangulate.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

***

Donna Smith included in her poem some of the natural elements we see reflected by the sculpture.

Balanced Precariously?

Are you believing

What you’re perceiving?

Building or tree,

Just see

If you can –

Nature or man?

What do you you feel?

Is it soil or steel?

Balance precarious?

Or scheme nefarious?

Reflections detected.

Relations reflected.

Smoke and mirrors –

Kaleidoscope jeerers.

What you’re receiving

Could be deceiving.

©2016, Donna JT Smith, all rights reserved

***

What a great connection Catherine Flynn makes in her poem to another traditional art form.

“The Art of Origami”

Square becomes

diamond;

diamond becomes

triangle;

triangles multiply,

become mirrors:

reflecting and refracting

all they see.

© Catherine Flynn

***

Diane Mayr left us a brief note about her process today. “I didn’t write this with the Grammy Awards in mind, it’s just a happy accident. I was attracted to the sparkle of the art and that got me started.”

Red Carpet

Some in Hollywood don’t get

that glamour is not

a matter of sequins, plunges,

and slits up to…

A truly alluring woman

stands tall. She is confident

that she has done her job well.

And we can’t help but know it.

© Diane Mayr

***

Where I saw a spaceship, Linda Baie imagined a winged creature — manmade? natural? — taking flight.

Did You Know?

A metal bird glints at the day

anticipating a getaway.

At night it folds its wings and flies

winging across the starry skies.

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

***

Hooray! Robyn Hood Black is joining us today. The title of this poem makes me think of quilts, so it took me somewhere surprising.

The Points of Stars

In each broken place, each of us

reflects, refracts

new light

inside sharp edges, cold steel

look –

we’ve known wet earth and soft leaves

color in the fall

– a hole here or there makes us holy–

each of us

a little bit Luke

a little bit Darth Vader.

©Robyn Hood Black

DAY 17 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT (February 17 at Mainely Write)

Reminder: Tomorrow, we’ll be spending Day 17  at Donna Smith’s blog, Mainely Write. 

Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:

Sunday, February 14

FOUND OBJECT: Hot Potato

Poems by: Violet Nesdoly, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Carol Varsalona, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Linda Baie, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith.

Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1 and Week 2 poems at this post.

Monday, February 15 at My Juicy Little Universe

FOUND OBJECT: Coffee Mug

Poems by: Jessica Bigi, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Catherine Flynn, Laura Shovan, Mary Lee Hahn, Heidi Mordhorst, Diane Mayr, Buffy Silverman, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Donna Smith, Charles Waters.

 

 

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 15

Hello, Found Object Poets. I am enjoying a long cappuccino break while another blogger takes over today’s hosting duties.

FOUND: Coffee Mug

Don’t choke on that frothy beverage! We are still writing and sharing today.

You will find the Day 15 Found Object Poem Project post at Heidi Mordhorst’s blog, My Juicy Little Universe. Thank you, Heidi!

 

 

DAY 16 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT

I’ll see you back here tomorrow for Day 16. Be sure to leave your Day 15 responses at this post.

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 14 and Week 3 Prompts

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. We’ve made it half-way through our month of daily writing! My gift to you today isn’t hearts and flowers … it’s the Week 3 FOUND OBJECT prompts.

It’s Day 14 of our 2016 daily write-in. As you know, this year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. We have a new writing prompt for every day in February. The object of this project is to turn off our inner critics, play with a daily writing practice, and share the results in a community setting.

For those of you who are new to the project, please read my introductory post. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 2 FOUND OBJECTS at this post. At the end of the month, I’ll have prizes for the most frequent contributors. However, there’s no obligation to write every day. Drop in as often as you like.

Before we dive into something yummy, I have some Valentine’s Day news for you all. Middle grade author extraordinaire Lynda Mullaly Hunt is running her annual #MGAuthorsLoveTeachers Valentine’s giveaway. In a big show of love for teachers, Lynda and some MG author friends are giving away a HUGE package of middle grade books, including The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, to one lucky educator. Stop by Lynda’s post about the contest for more information.

I’m going to hold off on posting mid-point statistics, because we’ve got a lot to do today.

Now, let’s nosh on some found object poems.

FOUND: Hot Potato

We’ve spent a little bit of time talking about the different categories of FOUND OBJECTS in this project. So far, our prompts have represented functional objects, art, toys, nature, and food. Today, we have an object from our last category: Signs.

This one was contributed by Diane Mayr. I’m sure it has some stories to tell.

Sonnets have long been used as expressions of love and romance. Violet Newdoly’s Valentine’s Day poem is no exception.

Sonnet to a Potato

(with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee boiled, peel-mashed, deep fried as chips

in gravy drowned, sweet, baked, spiced hot with dips.

I laud thee for thy subterranean days,

thy secret growth all hidden from sun’s rays.

Fair starchy flesh thou’rt comfort to my lips.

Thy calories they fortify my hips.

Sweet staple nightshade fruit, I give thee praise

for skin of white or yellow, russet, red

for Yukon Gold, Kerr’s pink, purple or blue.

Thou giv’st thyself in pancakes, latkes, bread

skins, salads, hash browns, scallops, soup and stew.

Though sometimes named tater or spud instead

To thee, Potato, this sonnet is due!

~ Violet Nesdoly

***

Jessica Bigi is also using a form and elements of the list poem in her response today. Here is her acrostic poem:

Loaded Baked Potato

By Jessica Bigi

L icks

O lives

A vocados

D ill

E ndive

D elicious

B uttery broccoli beckons

A vocados

K ale cheesy chili

E ndive

D elicious

P otato

O nions

T omato

A luminum foil

T easpoon of salt

O ven baked smiles

***

Need a break from all that deliciousness?

When I looked at today’s FOUND OBJECT, I thought of the phrase “pomme de terre.” I studied French in middle and high school and remember thinking how lovely it was to call a plain old potato “apple of the earth.” But when I went to look up the phrase, I stumbled upon a ghost town: Pomme de Terre, Minnesota. Here’s the poem I’m working on:

Pomme de Terre, Minnesota

By Laura Shovan

All that remains

is the brick school house.

They laid the railroad

some distance to the north,

and picked another town

for county seat.

Even the potatoes

the town takes its name from

died on the vine.

What French travelers took

for pomme de terre

was wild turnip root.

Apple of the earth

this town was once.

Now its fruit

has gone to seed.

***

Carol Varsalona has some comfort food digital compositions for us. You can find them at Beyond LiteracyLink.

Pierced by arrows of love

filled to the brim

a salty masterpiece-

comfort food

on a wintry day.

Here’s an important invitation from Carol: “I also would like to invite the bloggers of this community to the ISTELitChat next Sunday night at 9pm EST. I will be guest moderating the chat. The topic is the Power of Poetry. I know that this group of writers have powerful voices that should be heard via the chat. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

***

Here’s another poem that has me laughing today, from Heidi Mordhorst, who is hosting our project tomorrow.

Loaded Language

“Does this potato come with any toppings?”

“Lady, that’s a loaded question.”

“Whoa, that baked potato must be loaded!

Look at his white stretch limo!”

“Get a load of Baked Potato–

she thinks she’s so fancy in her cream-colored coat,

butter pat hat and her chives-and-cheese

statement necklace.”

“Baked Potato’s been down at Benny’s Bar & Grill all night.”

“Yep, he’ll be heading home loaded again…”

© Heidi Mordhorst 2016

***

The title of Diane Mayr’s poem says it all.

Valentine’s Day Cheap Date

By Diane Mayr

Cards come stuffed with hugs and kisses,

but on Valentine’s Day my fondest wish is

for a fine baked potato loaded, please,

with butter, bacon, and a half-pound of cheese.

**

Linda Baie says, “I guess it’s the times that made me go the way I did, a little funny, a little sad.”

Society Woe – Mistaken Identity

They heard some words about

a potato loaded.

The lady at the back screamed out, so loud.

He said ‘twas from the kiosk at the corner,”

but all he felt was turmoil from the crowd.

Again, he mentioned “loaded” to the people.

This time, they froze, raised hands high in the air.

He laughed and shouted, “Wait, you’re all misguided;

this is a tater, not a shooter. Don’t despair.

His over-loaded, steaming baked potato

cheered those who had felt foolish and mistaken.

“Whew!” they answered, then asked about the butter,

then sour cream, the shredded cheese and bacon.

He answered this by pulling out his package

The odor swirled, and everyone cried “MORE”!

People need to listen well to others,

especially to a stranger at the door.

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

***

As promised, instead of candy hearts, I’m leaving you with the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS to savor. We will have three guest hosts this week. Thank you to Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe (tomorrow — Day 15), Donna Smith at Mainely Write (Day 17), and Jone Rush MacCulloch at DeoWriter (Day 20) for helping out.

Ready, writers?

DAY 15 PROMPT contributed by Heidi Mordhorst (February 15 at MY JUICY LITTLE UNIVERSE)

DAY 16 PROMPT contributed by Carol Varsalona (February 16)

DAY 17 PROMPT contributed by Donna Smith (February 17 at MAINELY WRITE)

DAY 18 PROMPT contributed by Jan Godown Annino (February 18)

DAY 19 PROMPT contributed by Mike Ratcliffe (February 19)

DAY 20 PROMPT contributed by Jone Rush MacCulloch (February 20 at DEOWRITER)

DAY 21 PROMPT contributed by Matt Forrest Esenwine (February 21)

Leave your writing in the blog comments (feel free to post a poem or response in the comments of any project-related post). Be sure to note which day/prompt your poem or prose short goes with so I can post it on the correct day. Send in your writing ANY TIME — early, late. As long as I receive it by February 29, it will be posted along with the object of the day.

Perfect attendance is not a requirement of this project. Write and share your work as often as you like, even if it’s only once. The goal is to practice and share, not to polish, and certainly not to aim for perfection.

Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:

Sunday, February 7

FOUND OBJECT: Blood Letting Knife

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Catherine Flynn, Linda Baie, Molly Hogan, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Charles Waters.

Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1 poems at this post.

Monday, February 8

FOUND OBJECT: SCULPTURE IN THE WOODS

Poems by: Laura Shovan, Jessica Bigi, Heidi Mordhorst, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Margaret Simon, Donna Smith, Diane Mayr, Joanne R. Polner, Kay McGriff, Molly Hogan, Mary Lee Hahn, Catherine Flynn, Jone Rush MacCulloch.

Tuesday, February 9

FOUND OBJECT: TIRE TRACKS IN SNOW

Poems by: Molly Hogan, Jessica Bigi, Linda Baie, Violet Nesdoly, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Laura Shovan, Diane Mayr, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Catherine Flynn, Kay McGiff, Charles Waters.

Wednesday, February 10 at Reflections on the Teche

FOUND OBJECT: LOTUS PODS

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Patricia VanAmburg, Jessica Bigi, Molly Hogan, Laura Shovan, Charles Waters, Buffy Silverman, Catherine Flynn, Linda Baie, Carol Varsalona, Violet Nesdoly, Heidi Mordhorst, Donna Smith, Mary Lee Hahn, Margaret Simon.

Thursday, February 11

FOUND OBJECT: WALNUT DOLL

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Carol Varsalona, Laura Shovan, Linda Baie, Violet Nesdoly, Donna Smith, Jessica Bigi, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Margaret Simon.

Friday, February 12

FOUND OBJECT: WHIPPED CREAM

Poems by: Patricia VanAmburg, Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Margaret Simon, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Linda Baie, Carol Varsalona,  Matt Forrest Esenwine, Laura Shovan, Heidi Mordhorst.

Saturday, February 13

FOUND OBJECT: PUFFER FISH SKELETON

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Laura Shovan, Jessica Bigi, Margaret Simon, Linda Baie, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Carol Varsalona, Catherine Flynn.

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2016 Found Object Poem Project: Day 13

It’s Day 13 of our 2016 daily write-in. This year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. We have a new writing prompt for every day in February.

For those of you who are new to my blog, please read my introductory post about the February daily write-in. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 2 FOUND OBJECT prompts at this post.

We’re almost at the mid-way point! The project has grown in both participants and in poems produced this year. Tomorrow, along with the Week 3 prompts, I will share some early project statistics with you.

Important reminder: I can only take contributions left in the comments. Unless you have an art element that must be emailed, please leave your poems here, marked with the day, so I know which object you are writing in response to. I’m thrilled that so many people are participating this year, but I’m unable to keep track of poems sent in by email. Thanks for understanding!

FOUND: Sculpture? Skelton?

When Linda Baie of the blog Teacher Dance sent in this object, I knew I had to include it.

As you know by now, I don’t ask for information on the objects. Sometimes the contributor identifies what’s in the picture. This was not one of those times.

I have very little idea of what this object might be. I’m excited to hear what everyone makes of it!

It makes me happy when I hear that the Found Object of the day took someone down an unexpected path. Diane Mayr wrote in, “The object looked to me to be a seed pod, and when I was researching seed pods, I found the Jimson weed.  Wikipedia had an excerpt from The History and Present State of Virginia (1705) in its article on Jimson weed.  I ‘borrowed’ it for this poem.”

Psychedelic Jamestown, 1676: A Found Poem

By Diane Mayr

An early plant

gather’d very young

for a boil’d salad

by some of the soldiers

ate plentifully of it.

The effect of which

was a very pleasant comedy.

They turned natural fools.

One would blow up

a feather in the air.

Another would dart

straws at it with much fury.

And another, stark naked,

was sitting up in a corner

like a monkey, grinning.

A fourth would fondly kiss

and paw his companions

with a countenance

more antic than any

in a Dutch droll.

A thousand such simple

tricks they played

and after eleven days

returned themselves again

not remembering any

thing that had passed.

***

I also guessed at what the object might be and ended up leaning on information from an article in my poem. My response is 75% found poem. The last four lines are my own addition.

Found Poem

Pufferfish: National Geographic Kids

By Laura Shovan

These clumsy

swimmers

fill their elastic

stomachs

with water,

blow them

selves up-

several times

normal size.

Imagine seeing

a trick like that

right before

your hungry eyes.

***

Jessica Bigi’s poem, along with adorable art, made me laugh out loud. I didn’t “see” this when I looked at our Found Object, but of course it could be…

DAY 13 art and poem by Jessica Bigi.

Aunty

loved

sewing.

She

sewed

all year

long.

She sewed

till

that day

she saw

her

pincushion

running

after

her.

***

Another found poem?! We were really searching for information on today’s object.

Margaret Simon writes, “I know from my research that the picture is not a porcupine, but it sure looks like one.  I played with a found poem today.  I took the text of a Wonderopolis article, copied it into Word, crossed out word, and rewrote a final draft to revise.  I enjoyed the process.  Again, thanks for this invitation to play with poetry every day.”

Porcupine Found Poem for Two Voices


Love animals?
Give them a hug.
A porcupine?
What’s the big deal?
Sharp quills!
The prickliest!
Quill pigs Quill pigs

Like arrows,
quills detach.
Tiny needles
to pierce to pierce
an important lesson
from a porcupine–
Don’t touch! Don’t touch!

by Margaret Simon
Found from Wonderopolis “Can Porcupines Shoot Their Quills?”
***
And here is our object contributor, Linda Baie, with her response. Such fun wordplay in this poem.

Close Encounters – Advice?

And if you know a puffer fish

at times, they make a ball.

They float away from danger,

quite the smartest act of all.

No one can imagine hidden

in the amazing moon-like puff,

is a prickle that more than tickles

and you’ll soon be feeling rough.

Don’t take a bite or lickle it.

It’ll stop your taste of any dish.

And you certainly cannot tickle it,

the pretty prickle puffer fish.

Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

***

More play with form! Mary Lee Hahn has what is sometimes called a “counting out” rhyme, a form that hearkens back to schoolyard games.

Jumprope Rhyme

sticker

pricker

porcupine

burr

spiney

tiney

pokery

fur

seed-head

skeleton

sculpture

fish

never want to

meet you

or find you

in my dish

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

***

DAY 14 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT

See you tomorrow for Day 14 and the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS.

Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:

Sunday, February 7

FOUND OBJECT: Blood Letting Knife

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Catherine Flynn, Linda Baie, Molly Hogan, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine.

Note: You will find links to all of  the Week 1 poems at this post.

Monday, February 8

FOUND OBJECT: SCULPTURE IN THE WOODS

Poems by: Laura Shovan, Jessica Bigi, Heidi Mordhorst, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Margaret Simon, Donna Smith, Diane Mayr, Joanne R. Polner, Kay McGriff, Molly Hogan, Mary Lee Hahn, Catherine Flynn, Jone Rush MacCulloch.

Tuesday, February 9

FOUND OBJECT: TIRE TRACKS IN SNOW

Poems by: Molly Hogan, Jessica Bigi, Linda Baie, Violet Nesdoly, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Laura Shovan, Diane Mayr, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Catherine Flynn, Kay McGiff, Charles Waters.

Wednesday, February 10 at Reflections on the Teche

FOUND OBJECT: LOTUS PODS

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Patricia VanAmburg, Jessica Bigi, Molly Hogan, Laura Shovan, Charles Waters, Buffy Silverman, Catherine Flynn, Linda Baie, Carol Varsalona, Violet Nesdoly, Heidi Mordhorst, Donna Smith, Mary Lee Hahn, Margaret Simon.

Thursday, February 11

FOUND OBJECT: WALNUT DOLL

Poems by: Diane Mayr, Carol Varsalona, Laura Shovan, Linda Baie, Violet Nesdoly, Donna Smith, Jessica Bigi, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Margaret Simon.

Friday, February 12

FOUND OBJECT: CREAM? MERINGUE?

Poems by: Patricia VanAmburg, Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Margaret Simon, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Linda Baie, Carol Varsalona,  Matt Forrest Esenwine, Laura Shovan, Heidi Mordhorst.

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