The idea for the #ParadiseProject was inspired by Gwendolyn Soper who tweeted a photo of one of the hand-written copies she’d made of Roger Robinson’s iconic poem, “A Portable Paradise,” (which she’d given as gifts to family). Mr. Robinson saw her tweet and replied, “You should write a poem based on it also. Use the framework and add in your own biographical details. Try it!!!”
Gwendolyn took his advice and wrote her own paradise poem. She ultimately guided participants in a Pernessy poetry workshop through the same prom(pt). This collection is the result of that workshop.
Two on prompt, for today and yesterday. I’m too tired to turn them into proper posts. And I’m not participating this year. Excuse my handwriting. I never meant to share the pictures.
to say something
that could have been said
clearly
in such a way
that people wonder
if they understand
as they wonder
they come up
with interpretations
best guesses
associations
and conclude
that was deep
so relatable
to say something that could have been said
clearly
in such a way that people
wonder
using less words
brings out
What?
The prompt today invited us to visit HaggardHawks “an account devoted to obscure and interesting English words.” Of course I couldn’t resist. When I was browsing the interesting words I pictured myself writing a very intelligent sounding poem just be be able to use such a beautiful word. I wrote this instead – and afterwards found a word that I could use for the title to make me on prompt.
I don’t exist, yet I have a body, Whose limbs gathered together and called themselves mine? Why? What do they expect of me? If they want to be moved, they’ll be disappointed. I don’t exist, I will not move. If they want to be nourished they’ll be disillusioned. I don’t exist. I won’t act. They may want to be loved. Someone should suggest they’d latch on somewhere else.
What if everything is ruled by limbs? A hostile takeover, aimed at creation? I may not exist, yet they make me do things…
Yesterday met a woman who didn’t exist either. could tell by her eyes. asked her: how do you do? She said don’t. sat on the porch and peed.
Why do they? don’t.
I promised myself to not join #NaPoWriMo this year. I’m too busy. Too tired. So obviously, I didn’t write anything and it’s not inspired by the prompt on https://www.napowrimo.net/day-one-4/.
It’s October again, which means we have #OctPoWriMo going on. I know I won’t be able to write 30 poems this months, and I promise myself to not even try. But each one is more than none! Some of my #OctoberPoetryWritingMonth poems got published in magazines. I’ve collected all published poems in this chapbook, available through Amazon, Kobo and more. I’ll link up later, dinner time now!
My body
a temple without worshippers
a reliquary with no relics
an idol without fans
My brain
a pantheon
home to many gods
always room for one more
My bodymind
temple with many gods
a home for reliquaries
always room for one more relic
My ego
a relic
a worshipper
an idol
a god
Me
a body
a brain
an ego
a human
The Singer of Amun Nany’s Funerary Papyrus, ca. 1050 B.C.
Egyptian; Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Third Intermediate Period
Papyrus, paint; l. 521.5 cm (206 5/16 in); h. 35 cm (13 3/4 in)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1930 (30.3.31)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/548344
The last day of #NaPoWriMo! The month went by really fast this year. Our prompt for today at napowrimo.net was “to write a poem in the form of a series of directions describing how a person should get to a particular place. It could be a real place, like your local park, or an imaginary or unreal place, like “the bottom of your heart,” or “where missing socks go.””
The Egyptian book of the dead describes how to get to the eternal afterlife. Your heart will be weighed against Maat, embodiment of cosmic order and ethical behavior. Your heart has to be judged “an accurate witness” for the weighing to be valid. Mine is a crude summary – the scroll is over 17 feet or 5 meters long!
The poem was written before I found the art, and before I read the prompt today. I guess you can say it’s about finding yourself. If it gives any direction at all, it’s towards self-examination.
This has been a fabulous National Poetry Writing Month! I enjoyed the community, the prompts, the reading, the writing, the searching for art, all of it. I can’t even imagine how much reading Maureen must have done to come up with her daily choice of featured participants!
I hope to catch up with reading and listening to more of your poems in May. I’m behind with reading a number of you who I try to not miss out on. It’s fair to say that my voluntarily added challenge of picking a work of art from The Met everyday cost a lot of time too.
Veit Langenbucher (1587–1631)
Musical Clock with Spinet and Organ, ca. 1625
Ebony, various wood and metals, wire, parchment and leather; Overall: 78.1 x 32 x 50 cm (30 3/4 x 12 5/8 x 19 11/16 in.)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Clara Mertens Bequest, in memory of André Mertens, 2002 (2002.323 a-f)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/503530Veit Langenbucher (1587–1631)
Musical Clock with Spinet and Organ, ca. 1625
Ebony, various wood and metals, wire, parchment and leather; Overall: 78.1 x 32 x 50 cm (30 3/4 x 12 5/8 x 19 11/16 in.)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Clara Mertens Bequest, in memory of André Mertens, 2002 (2002.323 a-f)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/503530
Our prompt at napowrimo.net today: “And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). This one is called “in the window.” Imagine a window looking into a place or onto a particular scene. It could be your childhood neighbor’s workshop, or a window looking into an alien spaceship. Maybe a window looking into a witch’s gingerbread cottage, or Lord Nelson’s cabin aboard the H.M.S. Victory. What do you see? What’s going on?”
I think the art from The Met is on prompt. Not sure about my poem, but this is what I have for today.
Should I stay – closer
Should I go – closer
To me?
To you?
Should I come – nearer
Should I leave – nearer
To you?
To me?
I will draw – a line
I will paint – a portrait
Me
and you
Landscaped
Title: Approaching Thunder Storm Artist: Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904) Date: 1859, Culture: American Medium: Oil on canvas, Dimensions: 28 x 44in. (71.1 x 111.8cm) Framed: 42 1/2 × 58 3/8 × 5 in. (108 × 148.3 × 12.7 cm) Credit Line: Gift of Erving Wolf Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Erving Wolf, in memory of Diane R. Wolf, 1975 Accession Number: 1975.160
“Our prompt today (optional, as always), is to write a poem that poses a series of questions.” Thus wrote napowrimo.net. Art found on The Met.
Ahumans are impractical unethical cost-prohibitive inefficient
to fit to completely control to randomly assign
Several Ahumans consistently give wrong results
For Ahumans to be valid the experimenter must account confounding factors
Ahumans are limited because they lack statistical properties
Ahumans suffer from the possibility of contamination
Ahumans may produce illusory correlations
Ahumans consistently give wrong results
Ahumans are prone to selection bias
Ahumans lack external validity
conduct medical trials
provide a substandard treatment
inferences from subjective models are unreliable
outcomes are observed
results are not meaningful
conduct randomized experiments
produce ethical concerns
analyze the data in light of them
present a positive result
Conclusion
By definition non-Ahumans are quantified, more objective and therefore, more convincing
Title: Eye idol, Period: Middle Uruk Date: ca. 3700–3500 B.C., Geography: Syria, Tell Brak Medium: Gypsum alabaster, Dimensions: 2 1/2 x 1 5/8 x 1/4 in. (6.5 x 4.2 x 0.6 cm) Classification: Stone-Sculpture Credit Line: Gift of The Institute of Archaeology, The University of London, 1951 Accession Number: 51.59.11Title: Proto-Cuneiform tablet with seal impressions: administrative account of barley distribution with cylinder seal impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars Period: Jemdet Nasr, Date: ca. 3100–2900 B.C. Geography: Mesopotamia, probably from Uruk (modern Warka) Culture: Sumerian, Medium: Clay Dimensions: 2 1/8 × 2 3/8 × 1 5/8 in. (5.4 × 6 × 4.1 cm) Classification: Clay-Tablets-Inscribed-Seal Impressions Credit Line: Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988 Accession Number: 1988.433.1
The prompt today at napowrimo.net was to “write a poem inspired by an entry from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.” I was fascinated by this entry:
n. the awareness of the smallness of your perspective, by which you couldn’t possibly draw any meaningful conclusions at all, about the world or the past or the complexities of culture, because although your life is an epic and unrepeatable anecdote, it still only has a sample size of one, and may end up being the control for a much wilder experiment happening in the next room.
I didn’t have the time to write a poem though, I was too busy translating this tablet sent to me by a secret messenger carrying the eye idol. #NaPoWriMo day 27 gets my translation of what seems to be a scientific report as my entry today.
Unassorted stories 