And here......we......go!

 Hi Everyone!  

So I don't think anyone's looked at it, but I posted a while ago saying that I was gearing up for this year's Poetry Challenge.  I had a theme picked out, and it was a doozy:  "Descent into Madness."  Yeah, some heavy kinds of stuff, and not all of it the kind of stuff that people WANT to read.  And as I was thinking about the theme, I started wondering why I felt the way I was feeling about it.  There was something not quite right, you know?  

There is no doubt it would be a cool theme to write and some hard-hitting kinds of stuff would come out of it, but it finally clicked that there is a lot of madness out there right now, and that isn't what I need to write about. For myself, first, there's something better and more appropriate to write.  After a year of quarantines and social distancing and all the other stuff we've had to do, frankly, there's too much madness out there, and I need to write about something different than madness.  For anyone reading, well, the same applies.  We've had one hell of a year, and while some things are starting to get better and heal, there's a lot that still needs help.  Writing about madness isn't going to help.  

So, I've decided to take a new theme: "Writer, Heal Thyself."  I've divided it into 4 different segments - one for each week, and that should leave me with a couple days left to play around :)  The idea is to build on each week, and the circle of influence expands according to each area of need.  These are intentionally broad topics/areas, because there are a lot of ways to approach them.  Self care, for example,  can be about work, about spirituality, faith, relationships, etc - there are many possibilities.  You get the idea.

 - Week 1: self care

 - Week 2: neighborhood

 - Week 3: country

 - Week 4: world

While these seem lofty, remember, this isn't about creating one work that is timeless and leaves its mark on history - this is about starting conversations and introducing ideas.  Not all of them will be good - but the point is to think about and discuss healing, how it happens, why it's necessary, and why we cannot wait for someone else to do it.  We have to engage in it ourselves.

And engagement is precisely what I hope to get from those reading along.  As per usual, I invite you all to respond  with verses of your own.  If you like, I will share them (with credit as per your desires) and if not, then I will relish reading them anyway.  No one is obligated to do so - you can participate or not as you see fit.  While a poem a day for the month of April may be too much for you, maybe one a week will work well for you?  You never know.  Any form of verse is acceptable, too.  It doesn't have to rhyme, I mean it! (Anybody want a peanut?)

So with that in mind, I will write to you all tomorrow!!!!

As always,

Thanks for reading,

Me

It has been a while...

Hi Everyone!!!

OK, so it's been a long time since I have done any serious writing, let alone any published here.  This last year was tough - really tough - to want to write.  I know - with all that time, my heart just wasn't in it.  Especially for the poetry challenge.  It was all so new and surreal, I just had to take a while to stay away from it.  I felt like my poetry was getting rather bland.  So I needed to take some time away and think about it.  

SO - there is some good news:  I will be back at the annual National Poetry Month Challenge this year!!!  The energy is back, and maybe so is a little bit of my voice.  BUT - this is not going to necessarily be like other challenges.  Usually, I do them haphazardly, often in the waning moment before getting to bed, or I wake up and get them done, etc.  This year is going to be themed.  I often do not do themes because I find them restricting.  Well, what that means is that I've been picking the wrong themes.  So it's time to pick a new one for this year, and this leaves me a month to think about it, and get my ideas in order to write.

Now, for those unfamiliar with it, the challenge is this: each day, I will write (and publish here) a new and original poem.  These will likely be unpolished.  Typos, etc will happen.  The point is that it's an exercise, and I am inviting you all to join me.  Yup - send me something you write, and I will publish it and give you the credit you deserve for it.  Or, just follow along.  Or, do your own and don't share it.  It's entirely up to you!

What theme am I using?  I'm not telling you yet, because I'm still figuring out the finer points.  Suffice it to say, some of this is likely going to get a little uncomfortable for some people.  I normally stay away from the uncomfortable stuff because, frankly, it's not fun to write about, and no matter what, someone always has a bone to pick about it, and makes the proverbial "federal case" out of something that doesn't amount to much - or at least, it shouldn't.  That's gonna change this year.  I'm not going to apologize for it, because I don't think art (even bad art) should apologize for existing.  We're human, and we're messy, at times.  The idea behind poetry is to reflect some of that "messy" along with some of the "bright and shiny," and that is what I am going to attempt.  

So, stay tuned, everyone out there, and check back soon!!  Until then - 

Thanks for reading,

Me