Poetry: Day 4

Today I challenge you to write a fourteener. Fourteeners can be have any number of lines, but each line should have fourteen syllables. Traditionally, each line consisted of seven iambic feet (i.e., an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, times seven), but non-iambic fourteeners also exist. The fourteener was popular in 16th and 17th century England, where it was particular common in ballads, but it also is the form in which “Casey at the Bat” is written. The form is versatile enough to encompass any subject matter, but as the example of “Casey at the Bat” shows us, it is particularly useful in narrative poetry, due to the long line and the step-like sense of progression created by the iambs.

My mother died in January four years ago now
my father's birthday marked the same day, strange coincidence?
I wish there was a phone to call the dead where they could (would?)
pick up and answer - one way Collect - What a priceless gift!
Tell her about yoga and teaching and kitty is sick
hearing her laugh, pain-free, and ask the questions I now hear:
How are you doing? What are you up to? How's things up there?
And at the end of the call from my mom we would then say:
I love you and I miss you so much, Goodbye mom, Goodbye!
Thank God I got to tell her the night she quietly left.

Children all over the Earth lose moms and dads but I just
think about my mom. I don't weep for every mom, just mine
Sitting, making dinner (I never tried the split pea soup)
Telling stories over again (I never wrote them down)
Annual summer trips to her childhood home where we laughed,
relaxed with her parents - Grandpa welcomed mom when she died
Grandma and I stayed behind to bleed, to cry, to go on
as those who have loved and lost and forgiven the world that
too young, too soon many generations of ancestors
Premature is always the response from those left behind.

Tomorrow is Easter and I will spend it with family
In my heart I will float back to Cindy Place as a child
Mom will call me to dinner and I'll race down the long hall
There she will be, the Easter ham, sparkling cider too
I'll not know what to do but sit, break bread and toast the Lord
that put mom on this Earth even if it weren't long enough,
but thankfully short enough for her to avoid pain, panic
Tears spill at the table, but I will laugh too as we say:
Thanks be for the time we had and the memories I'll save
together at the round table with mom eating dinner.

Poetry: Day 2

Prompt: Today’s prompt is a poem of negation – yes (or maybe, no), I challenge you to write a poem that involves describing something in terms of what it is not, or not like. For example, if you chose a whale as the topic of your poem, you might have lines like “It does not settle down in trees at night, cooing/Nor will it fit in your hand.” Happy writing!

It’s never away from a child's mind.
It doesn't move in next door and play drums.
Do not mistake it for thirst: a bad sign.
Warm stones do not fill it. A long face
stares out through the curtain. Do not forget!
Or send your cans, packs, bags or bins away-
Not all of it! Empty, none, zilch...regret.
Third world, that world, not this (our world) we say.
Absent, vacant, lonely cupboards are bare.
Poor Jack Sprat; he wasn't alone. Can't chew
gum - that poor substitute, unworthy fare.
The whole hole of my belly, only fume.
Food doesn't pay the rent or cut or hit.
It will not punish or hate...Don't you see?
Many mouths have nothing to show for it.
Life ain't so peachy when you're hungry.

Goings on

A ton has been on my plate lately. I began yoga teacher training school in October 2014 and will be finishing up the teaching at the beginning of March. This is been a wonderful treat into the world of yoga and to also give me more education into my passion. Though I will continue to teach English for now, it's nice to know that I might have other options in the future.

I will be participating in the national poetry writing month this April. My blog will appear on the website NatProWriMo found at http://www.napowrimo.net/about/

Check it out to read other aspiring poets. This will be my first time participating in the 30 days of poetry write.

Day 123: fashion

Dark and dangerous

Day 122: comics page

I was playing around with a comic books page to do with my cat and I.

Day 121: a Beatles song

Fun!

We all live in a....

Day 120: a silo

Experimenting with cross hatching

Day 119: feeling a tad better

Not by much, but a little

Materials: ink

Time: 2 minutes

Day 118: the headache

The pain makes me want to curl up and sleep to escape it.

Materials: ink

Time: 5 minutes

Day 117: feeling worse

Went to the doctor today...hope I start feeling better soon.

Materials: ink

Time: 2 minutes

Day 116: pizza

I think I'm getting sick. The thought of pizza makes me want to hurl....

Materials: ink

Time: 1 minute (was going to take longer but feeling nauseous)

Day 115: the ring girl

Trying a 9H pencil and it's ridiculously hard lead. I don't feel well today.

Materials: pencil

Time: 10 minutes

Day 114: chicken thighs with potatoes and kimchi

Adapted from Bon Appetite. Brown chicken thighs. Cook at 450 chicken with potatoes add kimchi last five minutes.

Day 113: pickles

Today I made three kinds of pickles: pickled carrots, pickled radishes andickled cucumber. They are all delicious! 

Also pictured: pickled daikon

Day 112: fashion

Kevin and I went out for drinks at the Doug Fir and this was my outfit. I was thinking of Vanessa when I picked the chambre. 

Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft

Boots: bear Mountain

Shirt: old Navy 

Day 111: chibi me

A "chibi" is a Japanese manga style of drawing that means small and cute. I wanted to draw a self portrait, so I decided on this style.

Here it was before I added color:

I can't tell which one I like better. What about you? 

The chibi idea I got from a book called "Pop Manga" by Camilla D'errico. Here was her chibi that I used as a template to do chibi me:

Also, I experimented with incorporating white out pen like the art of Will Terrell. I like how the white matte helps Mini Me "pop."

Materials: pen, white out pen, markers, silver ink

Time: about two hours? I don't know ... I had so much fun!

Day 110: conference fashion

Today I had day one of a two day education conference at the airport Sheraton. I tried to dress nice but hip. This picture isn't great, but hopefully you can get the idea.

Blazer: Calvin Klein

Sweater Dress: Tommy Hilfiger

Leggings

Boots: aerosoles 

Day 109: a crab

This makes me want to eat some crab...yum!

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: pen

Day 108: a fellowship of the ring

Another fun post :) I'm rereading The Lord of the Rings. I hated it when I read it after the first movie came out but now I can hardly put it down. These finger characters are so much fun to create.

Materials: ink pad, gold marker, silver ink, pen

Time: 1 hour

Day 107: best friends

This was my first time ever trying to paint with India Ink. I was surprised that it didn't bleed thru like the alcohol based marker or paint. It is definitely a medium where thin sketch/drawing paper will hold up well.

Who would a physically-handicapped penguin have for a friend? That's right, a cat! This is titled Fun in the Snow. 

Materials: India ink, silver ink, brush marker, pen

Time: 30 minutes