April

we still remain here
in winter's territory
spring is not ready

New Bicycle

A bike! A bike!

A bike of my own

I can’t wait to get out

on the open road

The wind in my face

The wind in my hair

The whipping wind

The biting wind

The buggy wind

Cough! Ack!

Oh dear.

But I’m on the road

I like how it feels

The road rushing by
Under my wheels
The road is long
and wide and free
The winding road
The bumpy road
A pothole! A rock!
Oh! Ouch!
A tree.

Back on the path
at a slower pace
The road under my wheels
The wind in my face
Looking at things
along the way
A little dog
A running dog
A snapping dog
Yowch! Oh!
Hey!

The wind in my face
The road under my wheels
A little dog snapping
close on my heels
Why did I ever
decide to roam?
Peddling harder
Peddling faster
Peddling, peddling
Ahh, finally
Home.

Alligators

I heard something very scary
And I know it must be true
I heard it from my cousin's friend
I think her name is Sue

Deep down in the sewers
Alligators grow
They were pets that no one wanted
So the owners let them go

I think I saw one yesterday
On the corner of Main Street
He was hiding in the storm drain
Trying to bite at passing feet

So now I'm very cautious
Always wary of attack
Because you never really know
When a gator wants a snack

My mother says I'm silly
My brother says I'm dumb
But I won't go near the toilet
I don't want to lose my bum!

John Wiswell reads Sprung

John Wiswell, of The Bathroom Monologues fame, posted this recording of my poem, Sprung, in the comments this past week. I enjoyed it so much, I had to share.



Stop by John's blog for some of the best in wit and satire, and other good stuff too.

Lost on the Rock Contest 2011

A rocky island

Far out on the Atlantic

A place to get lost

It's been about a year since I had a writing contest, and wouldn't you know it, the same goes for my good friend Alan Davidson over at Conversations from Land's Edge.

Lightbulb! Why not pool our resources and have a joint contest this year. Double your pleasure, double your fun, double your trouble. So we came up with the Lost on the Rock 2011 writing contest. The theme for this contest is "Lost" in any way you want to interpret it.  Loss of life, loss of sanity, loss of teeth - it's entirely up to you. Just make sure that the theme is an integral part of the story. Deadline is May 8th.

The contest is open to anyone, anywhere. There will be prizes for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers. These talented folk will also have their stories published on our blogs, as well as an in depth interview.

The rules:

1. Stories of any genre that fit the ‘Lost’ theme - 1000 words or less.
2. We would prefer previously unpublished stories.
3. Send entries to lostontherock2011 (at) yahoo (dot) ca with Contest Submission, Story Title, and your name in the subject line of your email.
4. Place your story, and its title, in the body of the email. No attachments please. Make sure your name is in the subject line…NOT in the body of the email.
5. Spitting on the contest judges is strongly frowned upon.

All submissions sent to that newly created email address will be forwarded to the judges by a trusty Land’s Edge staffer. The stories will be 'blind judged' by me, Alan, Ellen, the third member or our writing group. Alan says "No pandering to the judges, please, as we are honest moral nearly impervious to such things" (I will take a bribe. Email me with your offer, but don't tell Alan).

The 1^st , 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th  place entries earn bragging rights and will each receive a prize (TBA). The honourable mentions? They will also get to brag after their stories are published on our blogs.

All questions, comment an concerns can be forwarded to myself or Alan.  Please feel free to pass along the word about the Lost on the Rock Contest 2011.

Happy Writing!

Cloud Tree

By Lauren (age 5)

A cloud tree awakened

Early one spring

The buds all burst out

Little tufts

They grew and ripened

And then they fell off

But they didn’t fall down

They fell up

The blossoms were lovely

Soft white little clouds

That gathered together

To rain

They squeezed the drops gently

With love and great care

To water the tree

Once again

Searching

I wanted to write this

To tell you that I am

     Angry

     Content

     Terribly in love

But the words are hard to gather

Truffles among thorns

And I am left with what is safe

That’s no way

to write a poem

No way to tell you that

     I will never be the same

     I will never change

I am a prisoner to the language

So please forgive

My humble attempts to tell you the things

     on my mind

     in my soul

     in my heart

I’m still searching.

Sprung

The back yard is caked with mud
And thick with last year’s weeds
It is late, but still too cold
For planting any seeds

Dirty snow, once white, now grey
Clings to the yellow hills
Slushy puddles and icy rain
Combine to give you chills

Newly exhumed litter
Tumbles down the street
While the sidewalk, dark and greasy
Is slick beneath your feet

The stench of melting dog crap
Permeates the air –
All signs that spring has finally sprung
I hate this time of year


Prompt: write a poem expressing an opinion opposite to most.

Eclectic Flash

My poem for today can be read in the literary journal Eclectic Flash. Have a look at my piece, Forgotten (pg 84-85), and browse through the other excellent writings. One of my favourite writers, Linda Simoni-Wastila, also has a flash in this issue, so make sure to read her Rules for Surviving Eighth Grade. The online copy of Eclectic Flash can be accessed below, or you can order a print copy here.

Thank you to the editors of Eclectic Flash for seeing something in Forgotten.

More eclectic flash

Paris

Bright lights spread out below

One for every thought

That I can’t put into words.

The city watches each stolen moment

And sighs

As they slip away.
Do not worry if they fade
I will return
And have you again.

Alien Attack

Last night I had a crazy dream

I was floating along in space

When an alien creature came creeping up

And clung onto my face

It was small and pink and blob-like

And clung with all its might

It wiggled around to squeeze into my ear

But I put up a fight

So it tried to tie me together

With a sticky kind of goo

That thing thought it was clever

But I was clever too

I flung that thing as hard as I could
And I’m sure you’ll understand

That I didn’t want to wait around

To see where it would land

I took off running as fast as I could

Tripping and gasping for air

I woke with a start, safe in my bed

With bubblegum stuck in my hair

Calling

The pebbles are cold
hard beneath my bare feet
I close my eyes and listen
to the ocean
huuh-shh
huuh-shh
You walk along the shore
Canvas bag slung over your shoulder
Filled with the only things you need
              *
For two short weeks I keep you;
Short for me
Endless for you
I save small tasks to fill your days –
The squeaky gate
The leaf-filled gutter
You are restless
Though you pretend you are not
And I do the same
              *
Waves lap at my naked feet
And I step away from the sea
That takes what it wants
huuh-shh
huuh-shh
You take my hand and smile
“I’m off,” you say
And kiss my face
              *
“I have to go,” you tell me
On those nights
We lie awake
Long hours spent as days grow short
“The sea calls to me.”
Your voice is teasing
But you believe it true.
               *
And now you leave
Going out
as the tide comes in
huuh-shh
huuh-shh
I whisper your name
but you don't look back
               *
You have to go
I know this because
You always leave
But it is not the sea that calls you
I know this because
You always return.

Poem #7 - Dark Water

Poem #6 - Regrets

There’s a box of regrets
Hidden under my bed
A collection I’ve built
Over the years

It’s made up of old loves
Promises and lies
And a multitude
Of sorry tears

At times I take them out
Into the light
And carefully study
Each regret

I spend time with each one
And ponder it slowly
Just to make sure
I never forget

They aren’t very pretty
And they’re heavy to hold
All of those things
That I’ve done wrong

Then I put them all back
Far under the bed
In the darkness and dust
Where they belong

Poem #5 - Postcard from Somewhere

Sixteen days and we’re still
on the road
somewhere between
here and there.
The weather’s been good
and we’re doing fine.
We’ll be in touch when
We get there.
Wherever that is.

Poem #4 - The Worstest Dog

You are very bad

You are very bad

You’re the worstest dog

That I’ve ever had

You chewed up all my dolls

You peed on my new shoe

I don’t think there will ever be
A worser dog than you

You won’t get off my bed
You make an awful stink
You always bark so loud
I can hardly think

But I guess you’re kind of cute
You’re loyal and you’re true
Until I find a better dog
I guess that you will do

Poem #3 - Mired Dreams

I wrote this poem a couple of years ago. Some might recognize it.


A young man’s shadow follows me around
The weight on my shoulders can’t hold him down
So many places he could be
Too bad he’s tied to me

Old men drinking at the bar
Some guy plays tunes on an old guitar
The seat at the farthest end is free
I think they’re saving it for me

I might be missing something
Or nothing at all
I’ll probably never know
It’s hard when your dreams are running in place
But sometimes it’s harder to go

I stayed here but I don’t know why
Guess I’m not much good at saying goodbye
Thought this town was a prison before
I don’t think that anymore

-------

Alan Davidson has a fun game up today at his blog Conversations from Land's Edge. It started off as a game to create your band name/album cover, but Alan has tweaked the rules to suit us wordsmiths. The object is to create your seedy novel, and the rules are as follows:

1. Go to Wikipedia and hit "Random article" (top left margin). The third random Wikipedia article you hit is the name of your seedy novel.

2. Go to the Prank Call Name Generator for your fictitious writer's name. Note: don't be intimidated by having to type your name. Use the name of a writing friend or someone you dislike if you choose.

3. Go to the Charlie Sheen quote generator for an endorsement for the cover of your seedy novel. Why Charlie? Well, in a seedy way he's sort of popular right now.

4. Go to Flickr and click on “Explore" (bottom centre) then click "Interesting photos from the last seven days” (right margin). The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. If that one can not be saved, move to the next one in sequence. Note: you MAY want to give a photo credit to the Flickr person you pilfered the shot from...

5. Use Photoshop or something similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together.

6. Post the photo with these instructions at your blog.

So I gave it a go, but my end result wasn't seedy at all. In fact, all the pieces came together quite nicely, in a humorous sort of way. Here it is:



Photo by maryaben



Poem #2 - Poison

Shiny red and sweetest taste
The apple betrays once again
O! That I could have seen
such wickedness disguised
One bite
And now in silence I am kept
impatient
I have far better things to do
than wait here for
a prince.


From the prompt "write from the point of view of a fictional character".

National Poetry Month

I tried this poet thing once before

Who knew that I'd be back for more?

To eat and sleep and breathe in rhyme

and think of poems all the time

Fussing about length, width and diamter

And speaking in iambic pentameter

Cuplets, quatrains, free verse too

Tanka, ballad, and haiku

Thirty days of poetry

worse for you, or worse for me?

Indeed, I am an April fool

It's National Poetry Month - take two.


Once again I will attempt to write one poem a day for the next 30 days. I am not a trained professional, so feel free to try this at home.