Poetry Challenge #3-Party Time!
Hurrah! Happy to have you with me. You know the drill (and if you don't it's easy enough): Grab a pen, a paper, your timer, and--why not!--a party hat!
Poetry Challenge #3
PARTY TIME!
In honor of poet, singer-songwriter, cartoonist, screenwriter, and children's author Shel Silverstein's whose birthday isn’t for months (Sept 25, 1930) but we are celebrating now anyway, just because…
Write a silly-funny poem about a made-up animal--or the perfect birthday party.
For inspiration, read one of Shel Silverstein's Birthday poems:
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it!
Write a poem, paragraph, or story. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it’s not even about writing anything good. It’s about one thing, writing IT!
And, if you do join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge be sure to let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem, in the comments!
And for a real treat, celebrate by reading one of Shel Silverstein's books!
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #1-First Things First
I've got a proposition for you. A challenge. A dare. AGAIN!
Three hundred and twenty-nine weeks ago, we began sharing the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge with you all, dear subscribers & friends. Some of you have taken up the gauntlet and joined us in the committing 7 minutes a day (sometimes less, sometimes more) to giving the sometimes stagnant creativity pot a stir.
Some have even shared them.
But few if any of you, Cindy and myself aside, even saw those early Challenges (called The Seven Minute Stretch Back then.) So, to kick off a brand new year of creative living, quixotically on the 2nd week of 2024 we are giving those early prompts and second go around. Looking forward to seeing what we—and YOU—come up with!
First things first—Challenge Rules:
Read the prompt.
Set the timer
Write a poem, a paragraph or a story —creator’s choice!
Don't think about it too much; just do it. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it's not even about writing anything good. It's about one thing, writing IT!
Gavin & Keira's 1st Day of School 2017
Gavin & Keira (yes the same now bigguns featured in last week’s Christmas jammies post: Festival of Sleep) were our guinea pigs for that first shared 7-Minute Challenge, Sept. 6, 2017. Weren’t they cute!
For a treat, you’ll find a snap of Keira and Gavin’s results afterwards. But first, the prompt:
Poetry Challenge #1
The First Day
On the first day of school what things do you bring? A backpack? Pen? Paper? Maybe you’ll wear a new pair of jeans or shoes?
Think about it: Not only will it be your first day of school, it will be that “things” first day of school too. How do you think those “things” feel about going to school for the first time? Write a “First Day of School” poem from the point of view of one of those things.
Note: It can be the first day of anything. Just tell the story from the point of view of one of the thing you bring with you that first day.
For Inspiration read: SCHOOL'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Adam Rex, illus. by Christian Robinson (Roaring Brook Press, 2016), the story of the first day of school as told by Fredrick Douglass Elementary—a brand new school building!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
And now the promised treat: Gavin's Binder shared. Keira's dress was "shy" on that first day:
Happy Creating! We look forward to reading you!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2700+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
On Gardening Leave....Still? Again?
Happy 2021! As we fly…leap…creep into a new year, many of us (ME) are reflecting on where we’ve been, and what the heck we did—or didn’t do—these past nine months. A prompt from a blogger at OutwitTrade prompted me to revisit this post written just before we repatriated from Trinidad. The theme then: “Should we be worried? Or Happy?” is oddly, scarily, the same now, with vaccines on the way and CoVid Cases on the rise. So I’m reposting today. Lots to think about:
Is "Gardening Leave" the same as being "Put Out to Pasture"? If it is, should we be worried? Or happy?
Us back then!
Four years, three months ago, Curtis and I moved to Trinidad from Indonesia. Seven years before that we'd moved to Indonesia from Houston.
The day after April Fool's Day, loaded down with 6 suitcases, 2 carry-ons and lots of memories--especially of our dear Trini friends--Curtis and I boarded a plane bound for New York, and whatever comes after. . .
Why we were New York and not Houston or somewhere else Bound?
Several years ago, while my Creativity Group (or the GGs as we called ourselves) was working through The Passion Test, I came to the realization that I wanted-needed-a base, a home, a nest of our own.
So, we went searching for that nest and finally found one in a seaside village of Westhampton Beach on Long Island. It met all our requirements--the requirements of late mid-life: Withing 2 hours of an International Airport; good doctors, hospital, within walking/biking distance to all the necessities.
If you're wondering what "Renovation" means, this sums it up... sans the theatre/romance/fun subplot.
A better/worse/more realistic example...
Our Vene Mange "Mini Band" won 3rd place in Carnival 2016
We proceeded to make the nest our own
And then, little more ours . . .
Fast forward three years. . .
We knew this day would come. Curtis's Trinidad & Tobago Work Permit expired on March 31t. We'd been planning for it. Working toward it. We thought our builder was too...
This morning, as we were meeting with the electrician to decide where we should position the lights, outlets, switches, cables and wires needed to complete this reno, with detritus from our six suitcases & 4 carry-ons scattered throughout our crowded "nest" Curtis got the call we'd been expecting. As of today, Curtis is officially on "Gardening Leave," whatever that means...
Am I nervous? Excited? Scared? A little worries? Sure am!
Here's one thing I've learned these 4 years in Trinidad:
Trini hearts must beat with the rhythm of the steel pan. I'm sure of it when I see Trini's move and when I hear them speak. Sentences blend and bounce, ending with a upturn, a lilt. I try to recreate the accent but mine comes out sounding leprechaun.
Even courtesy greeting to passerbys dance. No quick, curt "Hi," or nod of the head. Joggers sweating and puffing their way up steep Lady Chancellor hill this past Saturday morning sang out, "Mornin' Mornin'" "G'day! G'day!" just as they had every other day. Morning greetings, regardless the age of the speaker, come twice.
Curious about the origin of this charming greeting custom, I'd looked it up when we first came to Trinidad. I recall something about how the custom stems from back when servants manners better be above reproach. (Although when I searched just now for that reference, I couldn't find it.)
I asked a Trini friend about the two-call greeting and she said she recalled her grandmother saying it was about not risking being considered rude. "Trinidad is a small community," she explained. "If you're not related to someone, you know someone who is. If it ever got back to our family that we hadn't been polite, hadn't greeted someone properly, we'd catch the devil. Better to say it twice and be sure to be heard."
Knowing this charming custom grew out of fear--fear of losing one's position or risking punishment--a "Better safe than sorry," mentality, should, I suppose, make me enjoy it less. On the contrary. I think there's something to this idea that if one has something important enough to say once, we should make sure it's heard. And if that means saying it twice, sing out!
So now, today, with Gardening Leave (and whatever it entails) about to begin, we're taking a cue from our Trini Friends: We're Ready! We're Ready!
"Gardening Leave" Playlist
Wanna keep in touch? Click on SUBSCRIBE to receive email notification when entries are posted on Kelly's Fishbowl.
7-Minute Stretch #5 Poetry Challenge: What's that Noise?
If your tots haven't read this book, they are missing out--and so are you! Buy It!
A poll of incredibly interested 2,3 & 4 year-olds revealed noteworthy data: Their favorite part of my picture book, Not Norman, A Goldfish Story, was:
Not our spunky main character,
Not the brilliant story,
Not the delightful pictures,
Not . . . Norman???
It was the dark page toward the end of the story when our tad-bit-scared boy says, "What's that noise?"
Prompted by certain sounds, our minds take us places--interesting, provocative, visceral...scary places. Which leads me to this week's prompt. Let's use sounds to mess around with readers minds--and make our poetry...well...Sing
Poetry Challenge #5
What's That Noise?
Take a walk—around your house, a store, the school, or your neighborhood.
Write a poem about it. But, rather than focusing on what you see, focus on what you hear.
Extra points for using an onomatopoeia—or a few. In case you forgot: that’s a words that sound like the sound of the object it’s describing.
You know the drill:
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Write a poem, paragraph, or story. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it’s not even about writing anything good. It’s about one thing, writing IT!
For Inspiration: Here's a poem chock full of sounds by Roger McGough
“The Sound Collector
A stranger called this morning
Dressed all in black and grey
Put every sound into a bag
And carried them away
The whistling of the kettle
The turning of the lock
The purring of the kitten
The ticking of the clock
The popping of the toaster
The crunching of the flakes
When you spread the marmalade
The scraping noise it makes
The hissing of the frying pan
The ticking of the grill
The bubbling of the bathtub
As it starts to fill
The drumming of the raindrops
On the windowpane
When you do the washing-up
The gurgle of the drain
The crying of the baby
The squeaking of the chair
The swishing of the curtain
The creaking of the stair
A stranger called this morning
He didn’t leave his name
Left us only silence
Life will never be the same
”
**Need/Want more inspirations? Here's a whole page of sound poems.
And, if you do join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge be sure to let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem, in the comments!
Want the 7-Minute Stretch sent to your email? Click on SUBSCRIBE to receive email notification when entries are posted on Kelly's Fishbowl.
7-Minute Stretch #3 Poetry Challenge-Party Time
Hurrah! Happy to have you with me. You know the drill (and if you don't it's easy enough): Grab a pen, a paper, your timer, and--why not!--a party hat!
Poetry Challenge #3
Happy Birthday to Shel!
In honor of poet, singer-songwriter, cartoonist, screenwriter, and children's author Shel Silverstein's birthday (Sept 25, 1930) write a silly-funny poem about a made-up animal--or the perfect birthday party.
For inspiration, read one of Shel Silverstein's Birthday poems:
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
Write a poem, paragraph, or story. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it’s not even about writing anything good. It’s about one thing, writing IT!
And, if you do join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge be sure to let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem, in the comments!
And for a real treat, celebrate by reading one of Shel Silverstein's books!
Want the 7-Minute Stretch sent to your email? Click on SUBSCRIBE to receive email notification when entries are posted on Kelly's Fishbowl.
7-MINUTE STRETCH: #2 Poetry Challenge-Easy as ABC
Know how sometimes just the thought of doing something will stop you cold? (Maybe, if you read the Challenge I tossed out in my last post, it did.) You are so not alone! I am not a poet. Worse, I'm a lousy poet. So you can believe 548+ days ago, when my mentor, author Mary Quattlebaum, sweetly suggested poetry might help my writing and suggested I "try" some poetry prompts, I wanted to run.
The only thing that kept me from say @#$*NO! and running away (aside from shame) was that timer.
That goofy, wonderful, shame-saving Timer
If you've been slogging through The Fishbowl for a while you know I'm all about the timer. My mom introduced us, my brother Joe and I, to the timer back when we were waist high. She used it for good and evil. If we wanted to do something (say play longer, stay up longer, swim longer) she'd say "I'll give you five minutes!" and actually mean it--I'm talking watch the timer and tap off seconds with your toe mean it."
Likewise, when we didn't want to do something (say clean, pick up, straighten up, grown up...) she set the timer. "Next commercial you clear the table, vacuum, dust, brush your teeth... Hurry or you'll miss the show!" Amazing how much we could accomplish during a commercial break. Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' keep them doggies rollin' Rawhide!"
Come on, give it a try. Grab a paper, pen, a timer and give it a go! You might surprise yourself!
Poetry Challenge #2
Back to School—ABC’s*
I remember the excitement of going back to school every year, both as a student and a teacher. Friends to see, things to learn, books to read! I barely slept the night before. Always, I loved getting back to the schedule of fall.
Write one line—five words—that begin in order with the letters A, B, C, D, E.
This line will be the first line of your poem.
Add four more lines. Try to begin line 2 with B, line 3 with C, line 4 with D, and line 5 with E.
That’s it!
Remember the rules:
Read the prompt
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it. Write a poem, paragraph, or story. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it’s not even about writing anything good. It’s about one thing, writing IT!
And, if you do join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge be sure to let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem, in the comments!
*(This prompt was filched from Cindy Faughnan's Sept 14th post--with permission. We are tag teaming to create and complete challenges. Check out her website: wwwcindyfaughnan.com for more--including recipes!)
Wanna keep in touch? Click on SUBSCRIBE to receive email notification when entries are posted on Kelly's Fishbowl.
7-MINUTE STRETCH:#1 Poetry Challenge-If You Dare...
I've got a proposition for you. A challenge. A dare. . .
The gauntlet to undertake a similar challenge was tossed to me by my writing bud, Cindy Faughnan, some 540 days ago--and I caught it! I can't say it has been easy, or convenient, but it has made me a better something?! Maybe it will you, too. So come on, try it! What have you got to lose?
7-Minute Poetry Challenge
Write a poem, a paragraph or a story in seven minutes. Here's how:
Read the prompt
Set the timer for 7 minutes
Start writing!
Don't think about it too much; just do it. If the prompt moves you, follow it. If it sparks something else, go with it! Our 7-Minute Poetry Challenge is not about writing great poetry; or writing what is expected; it's not even about writing anything good. It's about one thing, writing IT!
Challenge #1 The First Day
Gavin & Keira's 1st Day of School 2017
On the first day of school what things do you bring? A backpack? Pen? Paper? Maybe you’ll wear a new pair of jeans or shoes?
Think about it: Not only will it be your first day of school, it will be that “things” first day of school too. How do you think those “things” feel about going to school for the first time? Write a “First Day of School” poem from the point of view of one of those things.
Note: It can be the first day of anything. Just tell the story from the point of view of one of the thing you bring with you that first day.
For Inspiration read: SCHOOL'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, written by Adam Rex and illustrated by Christian Robinson (Roaring Brook Press, 2016), the story of the first day of school as told by Fredrick Douglass Elementary—a brand new school building!
Gavin & Keira were up the the Challenge. As you can read below, Gavin's Binder shared. Keira's dress was "shy" on that first day:
If, like Keira & Gavin, you're up for the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge, please let us know by posting the title of your poem under "Comments". Or if you would like, share your poem (or whatever the prompt inspired you to create!) We would love to see IT!
This is only the beginning. Cindy and I will post a new challenge prompt once a week—every seven days. We invite you to take the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge with us.
And, please share our Challenge with your friends, students, classmates... (even those, like me, who are absolutely, positively, NOT poets!) After all, the state of the world being what it is, to paraphrase the Beatles: Poetry is All We Need!
Wanna keep in touch? Click on SUBSCRIBE to receive email notification when entries are posted on Kelly's Fishbowl.
On Gardening Leave
Is "Gardening Leave" the same as being "Put Out to Pasture"? If it is, should we be worried? Or happy?
Us back then!
Four years, three months ago, Curtis and I moved to Trinidad from Indonesia. Seven years before that we'd moved to Indonesia from Houston.
The day after April Fool's Day, loaded down with 6 suitcases, 2 carry-ons and lots of memories--especially of our dear Trini friends--Curtis and I boarded a plane bound for New York, and whatever comes after. . .
Why we were New York and not Houston or somewhere else Bound?
Several years ago, while my Creativity Group (or the GGs as we called ourselves) was working through The Passion Test, I came to the realization that I wanted-needed-a base, a home, a nest of our own.
So, we went searching for that nest and finally found one in a seaside village of Westhampton Beach on Long Island. It met all our requirements--the requirements of late mid-life: Withing 2 hours of an International Airport; good doctors, hospital, within walking/biking distance to all the necessities.
If you're wondering what "Renovation" means, this sums it up... sans the theatre/romance/fun subplot.
A better/worse/more realistic example...
Our Vene Mange "Mini Band" won 3rd place in Carnival 2016
We proceeded to make the nest our own
And then, little more ours . . .
Fast forward three years. . .
We knew this day would come. Curtis's Trinidad & Tobago Work Permit expired on March 31t. We'd been planning for it. Working toward it. We thought our builder was too...
This morning, as we were meeting with the electrician to decide where we should position the lights, outlets, switches, cables and wires needed to complete this reno, with detritus from our six suitcases & 4 carry-ons scattered throughout our crowded "nest" Curtis got the call we'd been expecting. As of today, Curtis is officially on "Gardening Leave," whatever that means...
Am I nervous? Excited? Scared? A little worries? Sure am!
Here's one thing I've learned these 4 years in Trinidad:
Trini hearts must beat with the rhythm of the steel pan. I'm sure of it when I see Trini's move and when I hear them speak. Sentences blend and bounce, ending with a upturn, a lilt. I try to recreate the accent but mine comes out sounding leprechaun.
Even courtesy greeting to passerbys dance. No quick, curt "Hi," or nod of the head. Joggers sweating and puffing their way up steep Lady Chancellor hill this past Saturday morning sang out, "Mornin' Mornin'" "G'day! G'day!" just as they had every other day. Morning greetings, regardless the age of the speaker, come twice.
Curious about the origin of this charming greeting custom, I'd looked it up when we first came to Trinidad. I recall something about how the custom stems from back when servants manners better be above reproach. (Although when I searched just now for that reference, I couldn't find it.)
I asked a Trini friend about the two-call greeting and she said she recalled her grandmother saying it was about not risking being considered rude. "Trinidad is a small community," she explained. "If you're not related to someone, you know someone who is. If it ever got back to our family that we hadn't been polite, hadn't greeted someone properly, we'd catch the devil. Better to say it twice and be sure to be heard."
Knowing this charming custom grew out of fear--fear of losing one's position or risking punishment--a "Better safe than sorry," mentality, should, I suppose, make me enjoy it less. On the contrary. I think there's something to this idea that if one has something important enough to say once, we should make sure it's heard. And if that means saying it twice, sing out!
So now, today, with Gardening Leave (and whatever it entails) about to begin, we're taking a cue from our Trini Friends: We're Ready! We're Ready!