Exquisite Collaboration Poem: BRIGHT MORNING I AM MEANT TO BE

This image was provided by Anne Murphy.

BRIGHT MORNING I AM MEANT TO BE
(a collaborative poem)

Hello darkness, my old friend, as time’s incessant pendulum swings yet again.
Adios thinking, being, self-realization.

Billionaires with their dragon-hoards
Sit still and get stupid.
Fields of control rampant,
Strength in numbers, working poor,
Deeper questioning, open-ended.

Hello frigid, bright morning

There is a light on in the living room – just a candle in the window, but it lifts my heart with joy because I know he’ll be up, anticipating.
Goodbye to what you knew, to what you said,
Hello to what you will know, to what you will say.

Hello another trip around the sun.
.
She raises her hand and waves it, but it’s nigh on dark and I can only imagine her there, hand up, lips in a smile, standing a little on tippy-toe, to reach over the high gate.

Goodbye Daylight.
Goodbye short sleeves and sandals.
Goodbye the last trip around the sun.
Goodbye to what no longer aligns with me.

Hello to what I believe is what I am meant to be.

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THE POETS
Janet Coburn
Miki M
Maur J DeLaney
dwa
Jack
Justin Rielly
Yvonne DiVita, founder of Nurturing Big Ideas
Lynne

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THE IMAGE
Photographer and artist Anne Murphy provided the image for this poem, altering a photo she found on Pixabay. Anne was given only the prompts when she offered to provide the image.

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THE POEM PROMPT
Our contributors were asked to provide two lines, the first prompted by Hello and the second prompted by Goodbye. They could begin the line with those words or just use them to inspire their contribution. Their two lines could be full sentences, fragments, lists, single words – whatever they wanted. The two lines were then separated from each other and rearranged to create the poem you just read.

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This Exquisite Collaboration Project is based on the Exquisite Corpse, a technique created by Surrealists in the early 1900s, in which participants add to a work with no one seeing what the other participants contributed. My goal is to encourage non-writers and artists to embrace their creative selves in a safe, supportive, “you can’t fail” environment.  What began as a way to maintain some sort of connection with other people during the early days of the Covid lockdown has continued to unite strangers from around the world in creative collaboration.

Click here to read the series of Exquisite Poems and to find the links to the current prompt so you can join in the fun.

To learn more about my workshops, visit my website.