Poetry Challenge #216-Hold the Pickles
Sandwiches are easy take-along foods and can be customized to any person’s liking. Dress them up with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions. Add condiments like mayo, mustard, pesto. Use your favorite cheese: cheddar, American, Swiss, provolone, muenster. And bread: white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, sub roll. And just before you take that first bite, raise your sandwich high and cheer: “Here’s to the Earl of Sandwich!” because legend has it, we have John Montagu, 4th of Earl Sandwich to thank for the name because Montagu, known to be a rake and gambler, in 1762 once spent 24 hours at a gaming table and all he ate the whole time was meat stuff held in place with slices of bread to keep his fingers and the cards clean. Happy National Sandwich Day (Nov 3)!
Poetry Challenge #216
Hold the Pickles
Today, write a take-along poem. Each stanza will be 3 lines long.
The first and third are the bread and should be 8 words/syllables long.
The middle line is the filling and should be 5 words/syllables.
If you center your poem, it should look like a sandwich!
Make it a picnic and write 3 or more stanzas!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Hungry for more? Watch the short comedy by Daniel Inglese & Joe Coen
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 1990+ 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 . . .
Poetry Challenge #210-Engines Off!
Hide those car keys! Engines Off! Today is World Car Free Day.
Ever wonder why cars are also called “autos”? I’m thinking it’s to bless or blame one guy, Nicolaus Otto, who in 1876 “invented an effective gas motor engine.” Daimler and Benz may have built cars before him, but Otto’s 4-stroke internal combustion engine called the “Otto Cycle Engine” is what made the wheels go around…and around and around and around…
January 29, 1886 Benz was granted the first automobile patent.
…Which seemed to make everyone, especially the oil & gas industry, very happy. Until sometime in the 50s, when some folks poked their heads out of the exhaust fumes and realized that cars were changing our cities, neighborhoods, lives. According to the National Day Calendar website, “from 1956 to 1957, the Netherlands and Belgium held car-free Sundays.” On September 22, 2000, the European Car Free Day was held. It has since been an annual event for 46 countries and 2,000 cities all over the world—and now, here!
Poetry Challenge #210
Engines Off!
Take a moment to silence those noisy engines—if only in your mind—and imagine a day without cars. Any cars on the road, or buses, motorcycles, lawnmowers, too. What would you do? What sounds could you hear that you don’t usually? Where might you go and how would you get there?
If you can agree that the world—for this one car-free day—would be a quieter and probably slower place, challenge yourself to use quieter and slower sounding words.
“Quieter” words are those without hard-sounding endings: the hard K,G,T consonants.
“Slower words often have repeated vowel sounds and repeated soft consonants: double s, double m or n sounds.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
Awwway weeeeee goooooooo!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 1990+ 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 . . .
Poetry Challenge #173-Cha-cha Chain of _____________
Cuddles are chains of sort. We link arm in arm, snuggle to snuggle, heart to heart when we cuddle. Which brings me to today, Jan 6, National Cuddle Up Day. The same way we cuddle up, thoughts jump, mingle and connect—cuddle— one to another to another.
In the same way letters cuddle up—cluster—to form words, and words linked together to form passages and worlds and images that bundle, group, cuddle up to create stories and poetry. Let’s try it:
Poetry Challenge #173
Cha-cha Chain of ______________________?
Fill in the blank with a noun: Chain of ____________.
With that at the title, write a Chain Poem. Chain poems have two known forms:
1. The last word or syllable of a line become the first word or syllable of the next line. You’ll need to extend the poem out at least five lines for the chain to be effective.
2. Or if you’re game for writing a long poem, the last line of each stanza becomes the first line of the next stanza.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing
Don’t Think Too Much About it; just do the Cuddle up!
Cha-Cha Chain Playlist:
About Cuddle Up Day: Holiday Insights : Cuddle Up Day, January 6
About Chain Poems: Chain verse at a glance : Poetry through the Ages (webexhibits.org)
Chain of Fools the best: sung by Aretha, danced by Travolta: Aretha Franklin | Chain Of Fools || John Travolta Dance || - Bing video
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge about 1700 days ago! (with nary a miss!!!) We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. 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.
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Poetry Challenge #153-Flying High!
Aviation—flying—has fascinated humans forever. Stories are told about Icarus who flew too close to the sun with homemade wings and melted the wax that held the feathers on.
The Wright Brothers are famous for being first in flight. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart flew long distances. And Neil Armstrong took a walk on the moon.
Poetry Challenge #153
Flying High!
In honor of National Aviation Day (August 19th) Write an acrostic poem using the name of a famous aviator (Lindbergh, Earhart, Armstrong) or of a flying machine (airplane, rocket, Apollo) or of something to do with aviation (Kitty Hawk, airport).
Write the name down your paper, one letter per line and then use that letter to start each line.
Read over your poem and make it soar!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing
Don’t Think Too Much About it; Just do it!
Flying High Playlist:
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge more than 1570 prompts ago! (without a miss!!!) We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. 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. And scroll down for my happy news:
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Poetry Challenge #109-Dictionary Roulette
I love dictionaries! It’s an excellent way to procrastinate . . . and expand one’s vocab—always a good thing. Best, words lead to ideas…and actions! So grab a dictionary and let’s GO!
Here’s mine…show me yours!
If you don’t have a physical dictionary (Borrow a library copy or Go buy one!!! You should have one!!!), you can use a website such as m-w.com or dictionary.com and look for a list of words of the day.
Poetry Challenge #109
Dictionary Roulette
Yes! You can borrow my dictionary.
One of my favorite prompts when I get stuck with any writing is to take a dictionary, open to a random page, and write down the first word I see. Sometimes I roll three dice and open to that page. Sometimes I have someone pick a number between 1 and 948 (the number of pages in my favorite dictionary) and then another number between 1 and 68 (the average number of words on the two pages) and I find my word that way.
Using the Close-Your-Eyes-and-Point method, Roll-the-Dice method, Pick-A-Number method, find 5 words. Write a 5-line poem using all 5 words.
Pick 5 Words
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 1260++ days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. (This one is Cindy’s.) If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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Poetry Challenge #95: Coo-Coo For Coconuts
Hooray! Hooray! It’s National Pina Colada Day!
So whether you do or do not like getting caught in the rain . . .
You are or are not into health foods or champagne . . .
Regardless your opinion on waking up at midnight—
Let’s put the lime in the coconut and bust out in poetry Pul-lee-e-e-e-sa!* PLEEESE!
Poetry Challenge #95
Coo-Coo for Coconuts
Thinking coconuts, tropical islands, pineapples ripe for the plucking, and coocoo birds write a poem. And yes, because the notion that there is even a National Pina Colada Day is slightly coo-coo, use as many words as you can think of which include the letters C and O in that order—and if you really want to cut loose, try including a bird call or two!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
See what toucan caw-caw come-up-with!
Got Kids? Check out POETRY LAB, our* poetry prompts just for kids in ROAR! a delightful new kids’ magazine!
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge more than 3 years ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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Poetry Challenge #94-Freak the Mighty Fireworks
Fireworks!!!
In the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, Max and Freak attend the Fourth of July celebration and Max is amazed at what Freak knows.
“Magnesium!” (Freak) shouts as the white sparkles glitter down over the pond. “Potassium chlorate!” as the shells go womp-womp-womp and everybody goes oooooh. “Potassium nitrate! Sulphur! Aluminum!” And after a burst of hot red fire in the sky, Freak tugs my hair and screams, “Copper! That’s copper powder combusting with oxygen!”
Poetry Challenge #94
Freak the Mighty Fireworks
In honor of Independence Day, try writing a poem that includes fireworks—either your description of them or their chemical names. Let your words burst on the page!
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge more than 3 years ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. (This one was Cindy’s creation.) If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link below and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
SUBSCRIBE TO THE FISHBOWL
Poetry Challenge #93-Pretty in Pink
Close your eyes and repeat after me ten times: Pink Pink Pink Pink Pink Pink Pink Pink Pink Pink
Or maybe a Florida Belle . . .
What images came to mind?
Did you imagine cotton candy clouds?
Flamingos?
Ballerinas?
. . . A Pop Star?
with sprinkles!!
Poetry Challenge #93
Pretty in Pink
Use your Pink images to write today’s poem.
You might begin by listing everything that comes to mind related to Pink. Reorganize and embellish them to create a list poem.
Or, write a PINK acrostic poem, with each line beginning with a letter in the word PINK.
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
*Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge more than 3 years ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
