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April 17, 2010

More April Poetry Prompts

Another virtual poetry friend (well, we have actually met in person), Chloe Yelena Miller, is also offering daily prompts for National Poetry Month on one of her blogs.

Chloe is all over the Net and also offers writing workshops. She's a longtime online instructor. I met her here in NJ at a conference when she was presenting about her teaching for FDU.

I think I would like to be in one of her face-to-face workshops because I suspect that there would be good Italian food! (See her food blog)

I tucked her prompt on Monday into my pocket and tried it later in the week while having a very quiet lunch in a museum gallery.

The result (which is also posted as a comment on her post) is reproduced here.



HERE, WHERE

Sipping green tea
eating rice from a green bowl,
here in the gallery
between stautues of two bodhisattva -
enlightened ones
who postponed Buddhahood
to help others find the way.

Wen Shu, Tang dynasty, 618-960
bodhisattva of wisdom
guardian of Buddha doctrine
holding a book and sword
I whisper his mantra
om a ra pa ca na dhih
to help me write these lines

Guanyin, Jin dynasty, 1115-1234
bodhisattva of compassion
Here, a robed woman,
holding a water jar containing pure water,
in the other hand a willow branch.
Protector of women and children.
I lift my rice bowl to you.
Here, where others are not,
I too am observing the cries of the world.

Prompts should trigger your writing, but I don't always expect a finished poem to be the result. This poem came quickly from the things around me, was crossed out and revised in my little notebook while I had my lunch, and then found a shape on the computer. Is it finished? I'm not sure. I'm rarely sure about that. That's fine. It's the putting of the thoughts into words that really matters.

Try one of her prompts. Post your response as a comment there - or here - or in two versions both places. Jump into the water.

1 comment:

  1. I love your poem. It certainly seems finished to me!

    I'm also always happy to learn that there's another poet out there who appreciates Kuan Yin.

    ReplyDelete

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