Unique

Two Dancers (Study for Rouge et Noir) - Henri Matisse, 1938

Standing Out in a Crowd

“It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everyone else.” ~Henri Matisse

Such a challenge to stand out in a crowd…

Sometimes you want to, but sometimes it’s hard,

but always stand up…stand up and be proud.

And if some put you down, please don’t feel cowed:

Just let yourself go.  All put-downs are barred.

Such a challenge to stand out in a crowd…

You are who you are:  Feel good.  It’s allowed.

To all the haters say, “You?  Disregard!”

But always stand up…stand up and be proud.

Consider:  you’re gifted, and you’re endowed.

Secretly, you hold the winning trump card.

Such a challenge to stand out in a crowd…

Let this be your anthem…banish that cloud

and find what is good.  The rest?  Just discard.

But always stand up…stand up and be proud.

Matisse painted ‘different’, but he was unbowed.

He brandished his paintbrush and shouted, “En garde!”

Such a challenge to stand out in a crowd…

but always stand up…stand up and be proud.

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Notes:  The form is Villanelle.  The poem was inspired by the prompt of 'unique' from Poets United Thursday Think Tank.  I wanted to find a quote about uniqueness, and when I read the (above) one by Matisse, I knew exactly what it was that I wanted to say.

Now - a couple of other things:  first, I am taking part in the January 2012 River of Stones, but so far, I've just been posting my 'stones' (little philosophical and observational writings) over at Writing Our Way Home.  It's a very cool concept, so if you haven't already seen it, by all means, check it out.  I may start posting my 'stones' here on Lightverse during January, too.  

Finally, I am very fortunate to be a part of an insanely talented group of poets who managed to find each other at the Poetic Asides community.  Late last year, we got together and created an anthology called Prompted, which has its basis in some of the prompts from PA.  I have three poems in this amazing collection.  Prompted is available on Amazon, and here's the best part - all the proceeds from the sale of the book benefit LitWord, an international literacy organization.

Stand up and be proud.

A Pebble for Your Thoughts

Pebble Cast on Still Waters

I cast a pebble on the lake

and watched the ripples it could make:

concentric circles spreading out.

I wondered at this nature feat

since nature can’t be obsolete;

But circles?  Pebbles’ only route?

And so it goes, just like that thought:

one pebble – and look what is wrought…

a thought, like circles, casts no doubt.

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Note:  The form is Nove Otto.  The poem was inspired by the above artwork, as posted for prompt on Magpie Tales.

Labels

Image courtesy of inhabitots

How to Label a Box When You are Four Years Old

He told me it was a project for school.

He needed markers, colored pencils, glue,

construction paper and a straight-edge tool.

He arranged those things neatly for review.

He boxed them up, saying, “There! That should do.”

Phonetically he listed all his art

supplies for school on a sweet little chart.

Then, in big letters, he titled his gear:

the label on the box was now totally clear…

as I saw he had written, “BOX o fART.”

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Notes:  The form is a 'dizain' which happens to be the form of the week over at Poetic Bloomings's In-Form Poet post.  When my son (now almost twelve) was around 4-ish, he made a box for his school art supplies and labeled it as you see in the poem above.  It's been a running joke with us ever since.

And...since I finally found the time to write a few poems this week (YAY!), I discovered that Robert Lee Brewer's prompt last week at Poetic Asides was to write a poem having to do with a box.  So of course, this is what popped into my head.

Anyway, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and fun-filled Happy New Year!!!

Witty Repartee

Image Courtesy of The Project Gutenberg

It’s Never Too Late for a Clever Comeback

“Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late.” ~Mark Twain

Higgledy piggledy

Humorist Mark Twain said,

“Repartee’s something we

think of too late…”

Coincidentally,

Twain, like most clever folk

suffered not from this: the

talent’s innate.

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Image courtesy of Old Fashioned American Humor

Notes:  The form is Double Dactyl. The inspiration for the poem was today's prompt of "It's too late," as posted by Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides November PAD Competition.

Poe Poe Me: Once upon a time, I was ravin' about writer's block...

Image courtesy of EBSQ

Once Upon a Keyboard

Once upon a keyboard, weary, while I pondered word-string theory,
Over verb and adverb pairings, I thought, “What a crashing bore!”
Still I typed, fairly quickly: suddenly I felt quite sickly,
As if something went a-missing, dissing at me, so I swore.
`’Tis distraction,’ thus I muttered, `snapping, ‘cause I sure was sore -
Only this, and nothing more.’

Ah, distinctly I recalled it – it was writer’s block: Work stalled. (It
sucks!) And so my sentence structure wrought its ghost like ‘crime-fic’ gore.
Justified, I sought appeal; vainly I had thought to steal
From some books or other store – of vast knowledge (Could I score?)
For my new, ingenious novel – which my agent will ignore…
Nameless now for evermore.

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Notes: The form is parody.  And it is a obviously a parody of Poe's The Raven.  For Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides November PAD Chapbook competition, the prompt for today was 'Once upon a _____.'  As soon as I saw the prompt, I knew I had to go in this particular direction.  And guess what?  No writer's block happened either.  I just sat down and wrote the Poem. 

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." ~Yogi Berra

Poetic Asides is now into Day 2 of the November Poem-A-Day (PAD) Chapbook Challenge.  Today's theme is to write a poem (or more than one poem) using an epigraph, which is a quote that speaks to the theme of the work, as well as inspiring or informing it.  

As you might guess, I love this sort of thing, because epigraphs are a great jumping off point.  In my case, as you might guess, I like to look for funny or humorous quotes because, well...because that is so me.  

In fact, my header today is a quote by the Yogi Berra.  And just so you know, while a nickel ain't worth a dime anymore, a couple of poems will always hold their value (whatever that might be.)

The form for each poem below is Nove Otto.

Image courtesy of Shirtoid

Pulley Get Me Outta Here!

“If you die in an elevator, be sure to press the Up button.” ~Sam Levenson

I hate that crowded, closed-in space

containing members of ‘Rat Race’.

That demon lift: elevator.      

And if I die before my floor

I only pray I’ll have strength for

pressing ‘UP’ initiator.

But here’s the thing:  I don’t know if

I’ll do it ‘ere I am a stiff.

Kind of like a late dumb waiter.

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Image courtesy of Beyond Bounds

Candidates Debate

“Be obscure clearly.” E.B. White

Be difficult to understand.
Speak plainly, on the other hand.
You’ll confuse your opposition.
Ambiguous…the way to go,
but say it straight so folks won’t know
where you stand on each position
as a front-running candidate.
Take this advice: when in debate,
‘stump.’ You’ll be a politician.

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