Exquisite Collaboration Poem: SPARSE WORDS PAINT VIVID PICTURES

(c) Mark Groaning; used with permission

April is National Poetry Month, so let’s celebrate with the responses to the prompt from March, in all of its glorious wonder. Contributors were asked to provide five words in this format: Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun. You can learn more about the poem and the 20 contributors at the end of the post.

sparse words paint vivid pictures
(a collaborative poem)

careless cowboys singing stupendous sonnets
pestilent guitars loan slow liabilities
recalcitrant ideas spawn useless nonsense
singing Enya soothes my soul

obsessed man plays devious game
rough stone greets random parallax
antique cardboard rusts brown sugar
old washer rattles moldy basement

strong coffee awakens sleepy people
warm bread comforts hungry noses
facetious umbrellas steal beloved elbows
sultry trains await hidden futures

bored crows crowd crowned corn
lofty towers descend yellow corridors
green grapes dance purple grapes
shining shamrocks shade green gypsies
blue kittens run wild toys
spoiled felines crave warm sunshine

talented calligraphers create beautiful art
brilliant words beckon beautiful poems
lively tunes speak grand patterns
opalescent eyes dream golden harmonies

life-giving water sustains life-giving women
feisty females make fabulous friends
delicious nerds dance willing flowers
crazy hearts run roaring times

busy bees hover soft sky
shuddering poplars share modest dreams
colorful birds sing perching branches
free souls want only time

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THE POETS

Jen Tissot
Mindy Hoffbauer
JS
Laurie B
Coriander in the Spice Rack
Robin Murphy
Sue A. Fairchild
The Jackalope
Kay Ross
Chris Johnston
A. Moses
LDA
Lynne
Jack
Ty
Justin Rielly
Yvonne DiVita
Christina
J.M. Roth
JudyW

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THE ARTWORK

Thanks to artist Mark Groaning for sharing the image used with this poem. I gave him just the poem title, and he sent a few photos to choose from. This was the first that came through, which is the one I used, and it was perfect.

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THE POEM

For our March prompt, contributors were asked to provide five words in this format: Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun.

I’ll be honest. As I compiled the 30 lines from 20 contributors, I experimented with tweaking the verb tenses and adding in articles to make more “sense”. That’s no uncommon to do with this prompt, and sometimes I make tiny tweaks in the final poem to help the pieces flow. But in the end, this poem wanted to be presented to the world raw, each line as it was contributed.

I agree. Everyone who reads this will see and hear and feel something different, and that’s the point of these Exquisite Collaboration Poems. But one thing is for sure…sparse words paint vivid pictures. (See what I did there with the title?) The only changes I made were to punctuation and capitalization so it flowed visually.

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OUR POETS HAIL FROM

Rochester, NY
Ohio
Fredonia, NY
New York
Maine
Watsontown, PA
Houston, TX
Hong Kong
Fairport, NY
Minnesota
Binghamton, NY
St. Cloud, Florida
Bangor, Maine
Penfield, NY

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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 and upcoming events, or if you’d like to learn how I can support you on your own creative journey with one-on-one coaching, visit my website.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: THE TERRIBLE BEAUTY OF IT ALL

Image by Agata Mucha from Pixabay

THE TERRIBLE BEAUTY OF IT ALL

Love is like getting hit with a Mac truck,
a soft smelling, sudsy bubble bath with a gorilla during a blizzard,
a warm fuzzy kitten that draws blood with its claws when it’s had enough.
Even manipulations and rages and murders arise from love.

I wonder what the world would be like if we committed to cultivating kindness, respect and playfulness within, moment to moment, and quit worrying so much about love, if others really loved us?

Love is like salt on the tongue, wind in the trees, silk to the touch, a rose in bloom – at its height, but wait for the inevitable decay.
Love can destroy and cause new life in the same minute.
It is beautiful and terrible.
It is all of it.

Love is a longing for someone out there, that someone you wish you were with
the allowing of all and sharing it.

I can’t help but lose my balance; love is the world spinning beneath my feet.

Love is like a secret that tiptoes into your heart in the quietest of moments bringing unexpected joy to an ordinary day,
a warm blanket, keeping us warm and cozy,
a hand reaching down to lift someone out of the dirt.

What difference might it make in our moments if we chose to marry based on kindness and respect instead of love?

Love is like a father who marries his daughter off, but always keeps a light on and the door open wide enough to let her know home never lets go.

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THE POETS
Christina
Brigid
Jean Marie
Justin Rielly
Janyce Brawn
s
JM Roth
MEH
Jennifer Eagleton
Shikha S. Lamba
JudyW

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THE POEM
This month was a simple prompt. Participants were asked to write a sentence based on the phrase:
Love is like…
Responses were edited slightly to remove the starting phrase “Love is like…” to help the poem flow, or for spelling or punctuation

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OUR POETS HAIL FROM
Macedon NY
Pennsylvania
WNY
Hong Kong
Maine
Florida
Rochester, NY

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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.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: THE FLIGHT OF GOODBYE

courtesy G. Lamar via wikicommons

THE FLIGHT OF GOODBYE

The clatter of the dog’s toenails on the kitchen floor, as she wanders into the kitchen to check on the progress of the toast, has gone unheard for months. The silence is deafening.
I’m letting go of fear and I’m grabbing a hold of faith.

I am getting rid of clothes I no longer wear, canned foods beyond their use-by dates, coffee mugs I never use, and unrealistic expectations and goals,
fatigue, disappointment, and dust on books,
disorganized clutter, because I’m ready to dance and I need space to flail,
saying goodbye to old assumptions as to “who I should be” in order to embark on new adventures and new ways to become my best self.
Goodbye to resistance, because I’m ready to fly.

I’m saying goodbye to places I used to know, because I’m ready to celebrate in other places without snow;
anger, because all it does is create fire in the face of kindness, no matter how clumsy or nervous the form it takes;
fear, because healing becomes trapped in its snare, and to heal is to be free and defined the broken bits of me;
the need to please other people, because I’m ready to be pleased myself.
The heavy weight of fear and regret must go so this midlifer mama bird can fly.

Farewell sins of others, I will not feel your shame any longer, as now is my time to heal.
Goodbye toxic people, because I’m ready to feel less lonely,
letting go of the negativity that weighs me down – people, things and thoughts,
shedding fears, anxieties, “what ifs”, because it’s time once again (at long last!) to fly–someone has left the gate open!

I’m leaving behind the old version of myself that was defined by other’s expectations, as I carefully craft the me I want to be,
shedding high-heeled shoes and skates and skis, to keep intact my septuagenarian knees,
goodbye timelines, because all I’m good at is breaking their continuum by interfering. I just need to let things be and untie the plans that just want to fly away.

Goodbye bland acquiescence and getting by, you are the the round belly of my personality – making deep breaths really uncomfortable. Hello to creating space for myself and others, as we are and as we are not.

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THE POETS
Brigid
Paula K. Parker
Coriander in the Spice Rack
Jenean M. Roth
Lori Duff
Marcia Gunnett Woodard
Tracy Gerhardt-Cooper
Sara Zavacki-Moore
Justin Rielly
Jen Tissot
Lynne
Lisa A. Johnson Speaks Life
WAK
Margaret
Fred
s
Anne Murphy

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THE POEM
To close out 2022, participants were asked to “write a sentence discarding what you don’t need to make room for what you do.” Their contribution could take any form they wanted. Responses were edited very slightly, occasionally removing punctuation and opening phrases like “I”m saying goodbye to” or “I’m letting go of”, allowing their words to flow in a powerful collaboration.

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OUR POETS HAIL FROM
Dallas, TX
Rochester, NY
At my desk at work
Istanbul
New Jersey
In the neighborhood
New York
Webster, NY
Western NY
Tullahoma, TN
Florida
Loganville, GA
The Only Swayzee in the World!

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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.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: ON THE HORIZON

(photo courtesy of pixabay, user kordi_vahle)

ON THE HORIZON

It’s funny how we run for the things on the horizon,
the storms that chase us with fierce wind and darkness as we gaze other days, all the quiet glow of the setting sun.
And we wonder, will we see another day of storm and sun?

As she watched the sun rising on the horizon
she realized that her life would also.
“On the horizon I see my future,
just waiting for me to put one foot in front of the other
and claim it.”

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THE PARTICIPANTS

Jen Tissot
Mickey Cherry

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THE POEM

This month, our poem prompt offered lots of room for experimentation as participants were asked to contribute up to three lines prompted by the word “horizon.”

For me, most of January was one snag after another as Covid number surged, events and classes cancelled, and quirky technology mucked up the poem prompt link and monthly mailing. All of which is to say that in the midst of that two poem participants picked up the ball with this reminder that while we might be in a momentary muddle, new opportunities are just over the horizon.

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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.

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.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: THE WEIGHT OF IN BETWEEN

Photo (c) Beth Boatright

THE WEIGHT OF IN BETWEEN
(a collaborative poem)

Transition is the main theme of my life,
trepidation around stepping into the unknown.
The transition from wife to widow is like the transition from spring to winter;
something was lost in translation.
No longer allowed to teach Mockingbird?
So impossible to understand.
Did anyone fight this?
Get off your ass and do something!
I feel the sun pulling me outdoors.
Another warmest month ever recorded,
helping me transition from there to here,
never knowing if the demons in the shadows are real or only my imagination.
Sometimes the burden of coming out repeatedly is heavy, like elephants swimming.
Or transition.
Vulnerability to overflow the confines of expectation and assumption,
strength to expand into galaxies of authenticity and wholeness,
curiosity and excitement about the future.

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THE POETS

C.W. Rainbeaux
Mickey Cherry
LDA
Greene King
Maur J DeLaney
Jack
Yvonne DiVita, Founder of Nurturing Big Ideas

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THE PROMPT

For this month, contributors provided two lines prompted by the word TRANSITION. Those lines were then used to create a free verse poem.

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THE PHOTO

For every poem, I ask someone to provide an image, photo, picture of their own artwork, whatever they want offer up to go with the poem. Here’s the thing: they get ONLY the prompt. They don’t get to see anyone’s submissions or the finished piece. This month, I posted on Facebook, said I needed an image, explained the prompt was “TRANSITION”, and I’d take the first image offered up and that it would be the right answer.

Beth Boatright, who’s participated before in some off these poems and gets that the process really is about making an offer and letting the creative gods sort it out, responded right away with this photo of the produce section, saying, “That’s the first pic in my camera roll that strikes me as evocative of transition. I was surprised that they [the bananas] were edible in just two days.”  Perfect.

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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.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR 2022

One of my new paintings, as yet untitled. (c) Joanne Brokaw

A note about this poem:

During the November Holiday Shop Hop at Central Creatives Co-Work of Art, I invited visitors and shoppers to write on an index card one hope they had for the new year and then clip the card to string I had hanging around the entrance to my studio. I explained that these would then be combined to create a community poem. This was the first in-person poem I’d facilitated since the Covid lockdown began in 2020.

Most people were skeptical at first, until I explained that they only had to  write one hope they had for the new year – the rest of the poem would work itself out. I added that they shouldn’t try to be funny and don’t overthink it. I loved watching people’s faces when they finally grasped the concept; even the most resistant took time to jot down a thought and quietly clip it up with the rest of the cards.

Well, here’s what you all came up with!

Every contribution was included: 37 cards, 37 lines, from all ages, sorted into hopes, frustrations, and positive intentions for the coming year. The only changes I made were to capitalization and punctuation. Nothing else was changed to force it to fit. This is what is is, and that’s what it is supposed to be.

My hope for the new year is that you know that you are born of the heavens and stardust courses through your veins. May you be a willing portal for creativity, innovation, and community in 2022. xo

At the end of this post, you can read more about the Exquisite Collaboration Project, and find links to past collaborative poems.

And now, the poem….

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HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR 2022

My hope is that Melania and Ivanka can bury the hatchet since they’ll be roommates at the crowbar hotel.

I hope that empathy find its way back into the hearts of the people,
for everyone to be treated equally,
hoping that people can be kind to each other and respect one another again.
More common sense.
Less division.

Will it get better?
For the new year, I want Covid 19 dead.

Celebrate the small things:
Happy, healthy family
Beautiful clouds
Rock hunting Lake Ontario by moonlight
Finding joy in my art
Healthy new granddaughter; a peaceful, loving community; an end to the division in our country.

I hope my fantasy football team wins.

To discover my purpose and live it every day,
I want a cat.
I would like to stop putting things off until tomorrow,
find more “heart” in all I do.
I hope for improved health and well being for all of my loved ones and a bright future for all.

My hope is to find my soul-mate in 2022.

My sister and I have a better relationship.
More open hearts, ease,
more sunshine, less pain.
Joy and self love!

Finding hope again.

My hope is for the humans to treat other humans equally,
build bridges to end these divides,
find more gratitude,
joy and peace, contentment,
the end of Covid worldwide.

I hope that I will be successful in going through the college process.
I hope my future explodes like a supernova, so bright!
To take a journey, enjoy the adventure and have a new story to share,
to be happy without others,
you are exactly where you’re supposed to be right now. You can only compare yourself with yourself.

Hoping that the world heals, in as many ways as possible.

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THE POETS, in no particular order:

Laurie Dobson
Chris Hipps
Lynne
Ella Eckert
Amy Krecker
Nancy@scavengedthoughts
Joan R.D.
Christina G
Wendy Kaiser
Connie Gaylord
Marilyn
Sue Anulis
Remi
Marcella
Mark Groaning
Beth
Maxwell M Clement
Alex Eckert
Toto
Lisa
and those contributors who wished to remain Anonymous

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THE PAINTING

The method I use to paint requires a lot of mess, some experimentation, and then patience to let the paint do its own thing and let the images or message reveal itself in its own good time. This is one of my new paintings. It started as a giant mess – I mean, it was a disaster – and I was going just to scrape the canvas and start over. But I was tired and decided to leave it overnight and deal with it in the morning. I was delighted when I checked on it  – the colors had settled and images started to emerge. It’s exactly the process we used in this poem – I took what we had and let it reveal itself when it was ready..

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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 done during the Covid lockdown along with other collaborative projects, 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.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: The Land of I Don’t Know

(c) Rebecca Flanders; used with permission

THE LAND OF I DON’T KNOW

I used to be in a town called Panic
in Charleston, SC,
floating in a lake of despair wondering, “How many clouds do I swallow to keep my head above water?”
I once was lost, but now am found,
involved,
trapped between layers of ether,
in steamy heat and a cacophony of cicadas surrounding me

I don’t know where I’m going now.
To the land of I don’t know?
Let it go, let it go, that perfect girl is gone,
back to Alaska someday
to trust my inner voice again and walk into the thick mist which seems to wrap its arms around me.
I’m going to create magic, mischief, & mayhem
wherever I choose.

I learned what everyone else learns – adulting can be hard sometimes.
I’m going to continue traveling because I enjoy learning about history
to embrace the chaos in order to organize it.
Together we will seek out and entwine our arms around each other like the roots of the tree and walk onward grounded in our truth,
everything, and nothing at all.
If it makes you happy do it!
You belong among the wild flowers; you belong somewhere you feel free.

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THE POETS

Justin Rielly
Laurie Borcyk
Penelope Horan
Mindy Wells Hoffbauer
Mickey Cherry
Coriander in the Spice Rack
MNL

PHOTOGRAPHER
(c) 2021 Rebecca Flanders

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THE POEM

This month’s prompt asked contributors to respond to three questions:

Where did you used to be?
Where are you going?
What’s something you’ve learned along the way?

Originally, each person’s responses were going to stay together to form each stanza, but when I saw the submissions it was clear that if I removed the the sentence intros of “I used to be” or “I am doing”, collectively each person’s responses to each question  organically built on each other.  So in the final poem, the seven answers to “Where did you used to be” make up the first stanza; the seven responses to “Where are you going?” make up the second stanza; same with the last.

I confess that this might be one of my favorite pieces so far.

Thanks to Rebecca Flanders who has been chronicling her up close and personal interactions with cicadas all summer, and was willing to share a photo to go with this poem.

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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 done during the Covid lockdown along with other collaborative projects.

To learn more about my workshops, visit my website.

To be part of future poem projects, follow me on Facebook @joannebrokawwriter for prompts or join my mailing list by filling out the form on my website.

EXQUISITE COLLABORATION POEM: A Day In Our Room

12:59 pm. Building a kitchen, Dansville NY
(photo courtesy Mike Clemons)

Note: This collaborative work was created during National Poetry Month with participants across the US and around the world. At the end, you can see a list of the participants and information about the prompt.

A DAY IN OUR ROOM

A chilly, rainy spring morning
In my Springboro, Ohio, US kitchen
Shiny granite countertops, stained-glass back splash, a blooming white orchid, new leaves emerging from acres of trees, a sleepy ginger tabby tom
My bougie cat’s water fountain, the refrigerator humming, typing fingers click-clacking away in fits and starts, slow deep breaths
A chair warm from sitting too long, the lined texture from my mouse’s scroll wheel, the random whiskers on my chin
The kitchen hand soap’s lingering vanilla scent, freshly ground coffee beans
My cinnamon toothpaste

8a.m.
Bedroom, Rochester, NY
Cat, morning light, curtains, photos, memories
Purring, birds, quiet, hope
Fur, bedsheets, comfort
Candle, morning
Peace

9:30 a.m.
Rochester, NY, 2nd floor home “office”
“I Voted Today” sticker, jar of butterscotch candies, upstairs hallway, calculator, Wi-Fi thingie
Keys on my laptop, Pandora music stream, my breathing, scratchiness of unshaven face
Fingertips on fingertips (spider doing push-ups on a mirror), computer mouse, scissors
Soapy smell of hands, coffee – really, you too?
Triple berry yogurt

9:30 a.m.
Living room, sitting in my rocking chair, looking out the window
Snow, trees, yellow, pillows, hands
Birds, furnace, thoughts, breath
Mug, pen, heart
Heat, citrus
Coffee

9:32 a.m.
At my desk in an international school in Hong Kong
Smelly markers, green grass, masks, lipstick, my lunch
Vowel practice, playground chatter, air con humming, chair squeaks
Curly hair, a new wart, tangled phone cord
New Jo Malone, bleach
Lavender toothpaste

10:25 a.m.
My couch in Texas
Squirrel, creek, tree, sculpture, sky
Airplane, siren, traffic, voices
Laptop, blanket, mug
Fresh air, leftovers
Coffee

11:16 a.m.
My desk
Computer, lamp, mug, scissors, frame
Chirping, snoring, raindrops, train whistle
Paper, printer, phone
Lotion, lemon
Water

11:29 a.m.
My favorite chair in the family room, Vero Beach, Florida, US
Mug, sofa, cat, computer, bookcase
TV, traffic, air conditioner, husband talking
Keyboard, computer mouse, pencil
Remnants of breakfast, coffee
Aftertaste of peach yogurt

11:30 a.m. in the morning
Sitting at the table in my great room looking outside in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA
Birds, butterflies, books, bench, beauty all around me
Music, wind chimes, clock ticking, birds chirping
Mug, table, chair
Coffee, wet plant soil
Coffee

11:58 a.m.
East Rochester, NY, US
My sister, the television, three lamps, a dreary day outside, dog toys
Voices on a TV show, music from the same show, dogs outside talking to each other, birds chastising the squirrels in the food dishes
My iPad screen, my coffee mug, the remote
Coffee, air freshener
Coffee

Morning work hours
A safe place, USA
Roses in a vase, computer screen, credit card, reminder note, rain
Children bustling, husband’s work meeting, food wrapper, rain
Wood desk, smooth keys, cozy sweater
Dust (ha!), rain
Oatmeal

12:25 p.m.
On a couch in my daughter’s home in Lititz, PA, USA
Folded laundry, three lime green pillows, a bag of Reese’s pieces, a pencil with a cow topper, a charging cord
The fire siren, an amber alert on my phone, a ticking clock, clicking of laptop keys
A TV tray, my laptop, my coffee mug
Rotting lilies in a nearby vase, a watermelon candle
My morning coffee

12:55 p.m.
Rochester, NY, USA, my bedroom office
Computer monitor, window, printer, wall, calculator
Rain, computer fan, grandkid singing, cars on wet road
Chair, desk, keyboard
Cat box, the shoes I just took off
Left over pieces of lunch in my teeth

2:00 p.m.
Home office space, in a comfy office chair, green screen behind me, in Bangor, Maine, USA
Zoom screen, cup of coffee, water bottle, cell phone, cat
Zoom meeting, keyboard, can of air, cat
Cat, keyboard, cushion
Coffee, litter box
Coffee

2:45 p.m.
Sitting in my home office
Coffee, cat, dinosaur, cape, sword
Fan, chewing, computer humming, rattling
Lunch, keyboard, phone
Smoke, litterbox
Pineapple

3:10 p.m.
Rochester, NY
Cup, wallet, books, boxes, stars
Car horns, rock music, water dripping, bees buzzing
Alabaster, apples, records
Barbecue, cough medicine
Chocolate

3:43 p.m.
Computer room chair
Daffodils, tulips, bunnies, chicks, dogs
Birds, trains, church bells, rain,
Fur, dirt, skin
Grilling, grass
Mint

3:57 p.m.
My dad’s recliner
Acorn TV, old chairs, a journal, a flat box, an old microwave
Thoughtful dialogue, telemarketing spam, flutes, mom’s remarks
Phone screen, denim jeans, Bic pen
Dad’s recliner, clementines
Pizza

4:36 p.m.
Maine, USA
Citrine, beads, dragon, mug, box
Whirring, creaking, breathing, clunk
Blanket, pillow, mattress
Garlic, yeast
Pumpkin

5:50 p.m.
My Office Chair, Georgia, US
Paper, computer, mug, deck of cards, stapler,
Hum of the computer fan, clicking of the keyboard, my own pulse, notifications
The letters on my keyboard, the linen of my shirt, the plaque on my teeth
Leftover lunch, stale coffee
Fermenting sugar

6:00 p.m.
A Dining Room in Western NY
Chinese Checkers board, Thimk board, Parcheesi board, Chess board, Scrabble board
Neighbor’s ATV, the Thruway, clock ticking, footsteps
Laptop keys, notebook, placemat
Hand soap, coffee
Werthers

8:15 p.m.
My kitchen, Chelsea, Michigan, United States
Houseplants, ceramic piggies, stove, bananas, plates
Pages flipping, refrigerator humming, dog whining, husband talking
Measuring cup, spatula, oven timer
Bacon, peanut butter
Syrup

10:45 p.m.
In bed in Rochester New York
Philip Glass reminds me
The hours that pass by blindly
While it snows in April
I am lost in thought through mines
From borrowed ideas recycled like the cans on these pages

12:30 a.m.
Bedtime in an American suburb
Two black cats, one yellow dog, my 4-year-old daughter, a wall full of art
White noise, crunching, a snoring cat, my own heartbeat
Fur, a warm cheek, a cool window
Vegan cheddar puffs, damp sphagnum moss
Cinnamon

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE POETS
(in no particular order)

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: TIME FOR THE CROCUS

Image courtesy of Penny Higgins, PaleoPix

 

TIME FOR THE CROCUS

I broke my ankle
On Saturday before last
And now I just sit

There’s no community
To show me I’m not alone
Where’s the love gone to?

Testing
Testing
Testing

Ones and zeros dash
Across a liquid surface
And pixels conform

Looking like seeing
One you can do with eyes closed
Different result

The air teases warmth
Confusing us with snowflakes
Time for the crocus

Upside down lighthouse
Hermit crabs walking on clouds
Tide pool reflections

Shuffles slowly past
Heavy burden on his hunched back
Tenacious tortoise

Instructions for life:
Explore possibilities,
Surf the waves of change.

*     *     *     *     *     *

THE POETS

Jane S
Justin Rielly
Jackie Dishner
Kay Ross
Catherine Valleroy
Anne Waterman Murphy
Joanne

THE ARTIST

Penny Higgins, PaleoPix photography

*     *     *     *     *     *

THE POEM

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry comprised of short lines that don’t rhyme but work together to create powerful imagery. For this Exquisite Collaboration, participants were asked to write a haiku following a 5-7-5 syllable structure. The following prompts were offered for inspiration.

– exploration/discovery
– joy/happiness
– fear
– technology
– community

You’ll notice that one of the verses doesn’t follow the haiku format. That’s the test entry I did to make sure the form worked before the prompt went live. I forgot to delete it from the contributions but when I saw it I realized that it still worked as part of the collaboration.

I’m trying these days to embrace mistakes as creative gifts. This was one of those mistakes.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: AN ODYSSEY OF PHOENIXES

Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

AN ODYSSEY OF PHOENIXES

I used to be in too much of a hurry to notice the little things, but now I am more intentional and focused and thankful for nearly all of it–even the stuff I wouldn’t choose, for it all contains a lesson.

I used to be together, but now I am scattered, lonely, alone.

I used to be the happy, hopeful mother of two living children, but now I am a grieving, sorrowful mother who has lost one of them.
I used to be hopeful but now I am cynical.
I used to be hopeful but now I am resigned.
I used to be a garbage can collecting all the sin, but now I am a refrigerator that has to stay plugged in.
I used to be good looking but now I am old
I used to be a public frog but now I am nobody
I used to be moldy, but now I am cold-y.
I used to be tan, but now I am not.

I used to be troubled but now I am better.

I used to be an empty rain-catch but now I am a reliable well.
I used to be busy doing, but now I focus on being.
I used to be young and ambitious but now I’m older and wiser.
I used to be the guy saying ‘stick it to the man’, but now I am a safe, careful part of the establishment machine.
I used to be a scientist, but now I am an experiment.
I used to be the one who asked the questions, but now I am the one who knows the Answer.
I used to be unsure, but now I am aware that I don’t have to have all the answers.
I used to be opposed to opposition, but now I am content embracing hugs.
I used to be too old for this shit but now, thank heavens, I am a child again.
I used to be young, wild, and free but now I am old, wild, and free.
I used to be a guitar but now I am a trombone.

I used to be timid, but now I am fearless.

I used to be burning, perhaps not the fire, but the wad of documents, flaked edges aglow, the light hypnotic, paper on the verge of becoming ash, a supply of memory, the inked word shrinking into nonsense as they were consumed; but now I am rising, a spark gleaming in the air, the cascade of heat shimmering above the coals, the searing chronicle of the blaze.

*********************

THE CONTRIBUTORS

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: Our Hope For The New Year

Earth sunrise greets astronauts aboard the International Space Station; taken Apr. 8, 2015. Courtesy NASA free images.

a note on the final poem of 2020:

For this final exquisite collaboration project of 2020, almost 40 people from around the world contributed one sentence expressing a hope for the new year. These sentences were then sorted to create the following poem that, despite everyone contributing independently of each other, echoed common themes of peace, health, and the desperate desire to hug again.

I want to thank everyone who participated in these poems this year. Facilitating these gave me a creative purpose during the pandemic lockdown and put into action what has been my writing motto for more than 20 years:

Connect. Inspire. Change the world.

May your 2021 overflow with all things beautiful, and may we have many more opportunities to create magic together.
xo
Joanne

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

our collective hope for the new year

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: THE POWER OF PEACE

THE POWER OF PEACE

If we all treated each other and the planet with kindness and respect,
Then there would be no need for war,
And the world would be at peace.

If you recall, a hooded stranger ran up to me in the street.
Then I greeted them warmly, and asked them to join me at the community faire.
And the world sang joyously at our arrival.

If the skies burn and the storms rage and the winds rush and the seas churn
Then no human life will have the privilege of comfort and safety
And the world will laugh and dance to celebrate the new life to take our place.

If I could climb to the top of the apple tree
Then I could breathe in fall like the starlings and the last of the butterflies
And the world would hurt a little less.

If they told me to go home and make crafts with my daughters
Then I’ll craft my ambition to show them what’s possible
And the world, doubters and believers alike, will watch me rise.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE POETS

Kay Ross
Coriander Rainbeaux
Maur J DeLaney
Carrie the Bat
H.H. Wood

The poets hailed from Hong Kong; Rochester, NY; and Pennsylvania.

THE ARTIST

The video presentation of the poem was created by Crystal Hayduk, who also provided the poem’s title. She hails from Michigan.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE POEM

For this poem, each participant wrote three lines that together form one stanza or thought.
Line 1 began with the word “If”
Line 2 began with the word “Then”
Line 3 began with the phrase “And the world”

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 one bit at a time, with no one seeing what the previous participants contributed. The goal is to encourage non-writers and artists to embrace their creative selves in a safe, supportive, “you can’t fail” environment.

Click here to read the series of Exquisite Poems done during the Covid lockdown along with other collaborative projects.

To learn more about my workshops, visit my website.

To be part of future poem projects, follow me on Facebook @joannebrokawwriter for prompts or join my mailing list by filling out the form on my website.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: STARDUST DREAMS

Photo courtesy Pixabay

I am an imperfect beast
I am here to solve more problems than I create
I came from bigger places
I am going somewhere worse, hand basket free.

I believe hand baskets are for sale, but I can’t afford them.

I am dandelion fluff and dewdrops
I am here to enchant and to vex the minds of small mice
I came from the edge of the meadow where the pine trees nod
I am going to the midsummer fair to buy milkweed and maple sap

I believe in stardust and salamanders.

I am a masterpiece in progress,
Working on my canvas every day.
I came from the earth, the stream, the stars, the wind.
I am all those things now, and will return to their pure forms once again.

I believe we are all connected to each other and our universe.

I am me, soft, old, pliable, feminine me.
I am here to pave the way for the next generation of dreamers to become believers.
I came from the stars and to the stars I will return.
I am going everywhere and nowhere.

I believe we are on the edge of a great discovery that will change the world for the better.

I am different things to different people but to myself I am just me.
I’m here because my parents created me.
I came here from another state.
I don’t know where I’m going as long as I’m going and hopefully it’ll be fun.

I believe that someone, somewhere will eventually answer any and all questions we really need the answers to.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE POETS

Lori B. Duff
Carrie the Bat
Mindy Wells Hoffbauer
Jan Heverly. Writer.
Mickey Cherry

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE POEM

For this poem, each participant wrote five sentences, one each in response to these questions:

Who am I?
Why am I here?
Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
I believe…

Everyone participating responded to the same prompts without knowing how the others responded and how (or if!) the verses would work together as a whole poem. The goal was for participants to turn off their internal editor and reflect for a moment on their own moment in existence. The end result, posted with almost no editing offers a glimpse into our interconnectedness.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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 one bit at a time, with no one seeing what the previous participants contributed. The goal is to encourage non-writers and artists to embrace their creative selves in a safe, supportive, “you can’t fail” environment.

Click here to read the series of Exquisite Poems done during the Covid lockdown along with other collaborative projects.

To learn more about my workshops, visit my website.

To be part of future poem projects, follow me on Facebook @joannebrokawwriter for prompts or join my mailing list by filling out the form on my website.

Exquisite Collaboration Poem: Into the Forest

“Gretchen and The Bear” by Carrie Anne Noble is available now from WordCrafts Press.

As part of the online book launch party yesterday for “Gretchen and The Bear”, by my friend, the delightfully talented Carrie Anne Noble, I invited readers to contribute to a collaborative poem.

Ten people participating, providing five random sentences in response to five prompts. I then arranged the sentences according to a pre-set pattern to create the poem you’re about to read. Note that no one saw what anyone else was writing, and that no verse contains more then one sentence from the same person. You can read more about the prompts and how they were arranged at the end of the poem.  Here’s what they created: