Do you have a writing pledge for 2008? Stop by Fallen Words if you want to share it with the world.

Do you haiku?

The blog One Deep Breath posts a prompt each week that is meant to inspire a haiku, tanka or haibun poem. To learn how to participate within this community, visit this page.


To learn more about the traditional Japanese form of poetry, read Haiku Form by Joan Zimmerman.

Blogsboro Poetry Club

Billy the Blogging Poet has started a new exciting poetry based site that aims to highlight a snippet of different poets poems, thus allowing readers to decide if they would like to click on a link and read the rest of the poem at the poet's own blog.

To find out how to take part in The Blogsboro Poetry Club, go here.

The Great American Poetry Show, a serial poetry anthology, is now accepting submissions for their second volume. The address to submit is

The Great American Poetry Show
P.O. Box 69506
West Hollywood, California 90069

You can also submit online at info@tgaps.net
The poem must be in attachment form, not in the body of the email.


Please check out their website if you need more information.

The Library of Congress Poetry at Noon series is seeking submissions. The poem must be on the subject of Fathers and Daughters, and the poet must be able to present their work to a live audience on March 18, 2008 in Washington, DC. The deadline to get your poem in is December 31, 2007.

To learn more visit here. Or call 1- 202-707-5394. If you decide to submit then mail your poem to Patricia Gray, Poetry and Literature Center, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. 20540-4861.

Contest News

You have only a few days left if you want to enter your work in The Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest. The poem must be less than 30 lines and submitted by the end of the year. To find out all the details head on over to Got Poetry.com

Time to Party!

Hello, poets, I need some help. On January 5th, 2008 Poets Who Blog will turn one year old. Though I have never celebrated the anniversary of any blog before I think this one is special enough to warrant it.

I ask that you write a poem or post on the subject What Poetry Means to Me

Send me the link at IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com before Jan. 4th. Then on the 5th I will put up a post with all the links.

Plus I will post the start of a new group poem that you can add lines to. You can only add a line on Jan 5th so make sure you are here to take part. We will also have a PWB Blogroll Scavenger Hunt. The prize is only bragging rights but it should be fun.



Running this blog in its first year online has been a wonderful experience for me. I hope you have enjoyed your time here and will stop by to party with us on Jan. 5th, 2008.

The Twelve Days of Poetry

The last nearly two weeks have rushed by, as it tends to do at this time of year, and now we come to the end of our Twelve Days of Poetry.

Big thanks to all that donated a link to their work,all that stopped by to read the poems and everyone who commented. You make PWB work, and me proud to be able to work for you and with you to spread poetry throughout the blogosphere.

The last poet to be featured is UL from Typing Away. Her poem is short but full of life, joy, and light.

Please click here to read Beauty of a Kind by UL. Thank you for your support of Poets Who Blog.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. May you and all your loved ones be blessed.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara
IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com

Here is Chicago, the snow is falling. We're snuggling in with fires blazing in the fireplaces, but down in Atlanta I am sure southern poet Mariacristina is enjoying a much warmer holiday season.

For our Eleventh day of poetry, Poets Who Blog is proud to be able to showcase a poem that is an airy dance of words, a true delight for the soul.

Please click here to read Winter Solstice by Mariacristina and leave a comment for the poet.

It's the tenth day of poetry and I'm thrilled to be able to feature a man who has done a tremendous amount of work to promote poetry in the blogosphere. Billy the Blogging Poet organzies the longest running traveling poetry carnival online, The Ringing of the Bards. He also has a poetry search engine to make finding poetry blogs easier at Poetsarus.com

Encourging artistic written expression online is a gift to the world. Thank you, Billy, for taking the time.

Please click here to read his poem Christmas in Nashville and leave a comment for the poet.

On our ninth day of poetry, I am pleased to be able to share with you the work of Jodi Barone from Vines. She mixes together the written and visual arts to create gorgeous and unique works of art. To visit her site is akin to stepping into an art gallery, with images to delight your eyes at every turn.

Please click here to read A Guide for Winter by Jodi Barone and then leave a comment for the poet.

All around the world, bells will ring on December 25th. From the pubs in London to the cathedrals in Rome to the shores of Gwynn's Island in Virginia, where today's poet calls home, there will be people celebrating the birth of a baby born over two thousand years ago.

On our eighth day of poetry, Poets Who Blog is honored to be able to share with you Scott Clawson’s poem The Reason for the Season. In the last line of this poem lays the true meaning of this holiday season for many people. We celebrate because we are saved from our sins and ourselves.

May this holiday be a blessed one for all of you.

Please click here to read the poem and leave a comment for the poet.

Sliegh bells ringing, voices singing, family gathered around, Santa in every mall,all these things evoke the spirit of this season.

For our seventh day of poetry, Anna from Free Poems offers us a gift. She has complied five different holiday based poems for you by various poets, imagine them under a virtual Christmas tree all wrapped with a lovely bow.

May this holiday season bring you joy, peace, and moments that inspire poems for years to come.

Please click here to check out today's offering, and leave a comment for the poets.

As we reflect upon the last year gone by, as this one comes to its end, it is a good time to count our blessings for not all people in this world are safe and warm and with their loved ones tonight.

In the poem Daydreamer offers for our sixth day of Poetry, he remembers those who have sacrificed their own time, desires,and safety for the sake of thier compatriots.

Even far from home, and far from safe, may they find some moments of peace during this season of joy. Please click here to read This Christmas Day by Daydreamer, and leave a comment telling the poet what you think.

The holiday season is a time of year that is unlike any other, it stands apart, and the same can be said for the poet who shares his work with us today. You won't read another poet's work who mimics his, for he is a true original.

On the fifth day of Poetry, I ask that you feast your eyes upon the work of the incomparable Skakir Hasnain. Please click here to read The Weatherman, and then leave the poet a comment.

Celebrating this season is just not about what happens this year but what has happened in all our seasons past. The magic and wonder of Christmas thumps through the hearts of children all around the world, and through the memory of adults.

On the fourth day of Poetry, Black-eyed Susan's poem paints a wonderful picture of a joyous Christmas morning. Please Click here to read her poem and then leave her a comment.

One of the great things about our blogroll is it brings together writers from all over the world. Through the words they write we all get to experience a taste of what it is like to live where they live, think what they think, breath the air they breathe, see the stars they see.

Wander with me to Arizona, in the south west of the United States of America, with its mountains and deserts, home of the Grand Canyon, the Mongollon Rim, and Jack, who blogs at MonkeyBoy.

On the third day of Poetry, Poets Who Blog offers you the poem Seasonal by Jack.
Please click here to read his poem and then leave him a comment.

On the second day of poetry, Poets Who Blog gives to thee.....something short and sweet.

Today we visit Brian from Brief Poems. Brevity is his forte but within the few words he chooses lay a wealth of meaning. His work can be light and funny, or stunningly deep and thought provoking. Often I find myself reading his poems several times as I reinterpret them different ways, gaining a deeper appreciation with each reading.

Click here to visit Brian at Brief Poems, and leave a comment letting him know what you think about his poem.

Today begins our Twelve Days of Poetry, which will end on Christmas Eve. This is our uniquely poetic way to celebrate this season. So make a cup of hot chocolate, grab a Christmas cookie, and enjoy the first poet to be kind enough to take part in this project.


Qualcosa di Bello blogs at Write Away posting poems that possess, in my opinion, an intimate tone that evokes a hushed reverence for the subjects described. Reading them I found myself imagining the poet whispering each line in my ear.

The first poem I present to you is by Qualcosa di Bello
Please click here to read it, then leave a comment for the poet.


*** Remember if you have signed up to take part in this project to send the link to your poem to IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo. com

Please get your submissions in as soon as possible so that I can continue to bring you a new poet's work each day.

Subscribe

Would you like to know everytime Poets Who Blog is updated?

Send an email to poetswhoblog@yahoo.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

Seeking Submissions

The online journal, Asphalt Sky, is seeking submissions for it first issue. Guidelines are here.

Today I added a new site to our blogroll. The aim of Artists and Poets is to explore the melding of words and images together to create art.

To read the prompt for thier first project head on over to Artists and Poets.

Between December 13th and December 24th, I will feature one poet per day and direct readers to head to their site to read a poem about winter or the holidays.

Welcome, friends, today I invite you to set upon a world journey with me as I visit poets near and far, spending some time soaking in their local flavor and embracing their poetic gifts.

This is my fictional virtual trip around the world with poetry:

I jump in a cab, tell the driver to get me to O'Hare and make it quick. The Dan Ryan expressway is thick with traffic and, as always, there is construction. By the time I'm at the airport, I'm in need of a something to relax me. While sipping a cappuccino, I jot down a quick poem.

I fall asleep during the flight and when I wake up I'm across the pond in cheery old England, on my way to visit a Sweet Talking Guy in Manchester. We head down to his local watering hole and he tells me the sad tale that inspired his poem titled She dumped me. But Danny Wise can't be kept down for long and by the time he drove me back to Heathrow he was cracking me up with jokes about the best rejection notes he ever recieved from publishers.

Another plane ride, another nap, then I'm in Japan to meet Traveler. He takes me to the Akibasan Ryougaku-in Temple for the Hibuse Festival where we enjoy rice cakes and watch mountain priests give thanks for fire and water by lighting fires. Traveler shares with me his love of reading classical literature and writing poetry. I marvel at the way he creates a vivid, camera sharp picture with his words in the poem World Music.

After a ride on Tokyo's thrilling Shinkansen,
the bullet train, and taking in the views Mount Fuji, I head back to the airport to grab my flight to Vienna,home of the remarkably unique poet Shakir Hasnain.

In Austria, we spend the day catching up, discussing art and literature, joy and pain, life and death while walking around The Innere Stadt. He gives me a copy of his poem, on the way to the wizard's dwelling, which I read in the cab as I'm wisked back to the Vienna International Airport, bound to leave Europe behind for America once more.

The next stop for me is Massachusetts to see Sister AE. She cooks me a great meal and we talk about politics, religon and why we both hate doing stomach crunches. She seems like a kindred spirit, making me grateful I got the chance to stop in and read her poem, American Loire Song.

I've had more than enough of flying, coach no less- it seems writing poetry doesn't bring in the big bucks like you might think- so I hop on Amtrack to head across the country to see the last poet on my itinerary.

Jack meets me at the Phoenix Union Station in Arizona. He takes me to the Greater Phoenix Poetry Slam at The Paper Heart. After the show, he drives me back to the train station, and we discuss what inspired his screen name, Monkey boy, plus he explains what the term Ming Yun means. I almost don't make my train because I am enthralled with hearing about his time in the Phillipines and how that inspired his poem, Tagalo(n)g.

I'm exhausted when I crawl into my seat on the train, soon my eyes drift down and I dream of the beautiful lands and words I've experienced on this poetic vacation. When I'm back in Chicago, I head over to Navy Pier, stare out onto the placid, peaceful waters of Lake Michigan and mentally began to compose a new poem

As wonderful as it was to see the world through poetry, its nice to finally be back home.

Thanks for traveling with me.
Your Blog Manager,

Sara

December Column

I'm excited to announce that someone has taken me up on my offer to be a guest columinst at Poets Who Blog.

I'm honored to introduce Ceridwen. Not only is Ceridwen's work engrossing but this poet also works tirelessly to encourage the creation of poetry in the blogosphere.A great big thank you to Ceridwen for sharing these thoughts, advice and poetry with our readers.

The following article is all in Ceridwen's words:

Get Your Poetry Collaboration On

I spend a lot of my time right here in my study, looking out the window now and again, then back at my monitor. On a typical day, I type a little, stop and think, then review what I’ve written before writing a little more. On a stellar day, I type like there’s no tomorrow. But one thing is constant: Day after day, I write alone because this is my writing practice, and these hours are what I’ve committed myself to. This is my writing life.

When we commit to living as poets, we commit to spending huge amounts of time alone. There’s no getting around it — writing is a lonely business. It is, after all, a solitary act, a form of meditation or prayer, one that involves only us and the page (or the computer), right?

Maybe not as much as we like to think. None of us lives, or writes, in a vacuum, and there’s a lot more to writing than just sitting down and doing it. Even when we are alone, we are not alone. The work of other writers is, or should be, joggling about in our heads. We are, or should be, in constant communication with those voices — responding to them, challenging them, riffing off them and moving them in new directions by adding our own details and by fine-tuning our own authentic voices.

Even when we are alone, writing is a kind of collaboration, is it not, with all those voices that have come before us? It is no accident that the best writers also happen to be insatiable readers. It is also no accident that, for writers, reading leads to more (and more and more) writing.

What does all this have to do with collaboration?

Collaboration seems to be a natural extension of that interplay between the poet and the work of other poets and writers, only in the case of collaboration the interplay is with a writer who is actively interacting and working with you.

There’s nothing new about artistic collaboration between poets. As the editors of Saints of Hysteria: A Half-Century of Collaborative American Poetry point out, collaboration flourished in oral traditions and was part of Japanese court life as early as the 12th century. It was part of the French Surrealist movement in the early 1900s. In the 1930s, a group of Japanese poets called the Vou Club wrote together. Coleridge and Wordsworth collaborated. T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound collaborated. Beat writers collaborated. Feminist poets have used collaborative writing as a way to access a collective female voice. The list goes on and on.

But why collaborate?

I can’t really answer that for anyone else, but I can say that I became very interested in collaborating about a year ago. It took me a long time to act on this impulse. I finally decided to dive headlong into the experience and see what it was all about. I started asking anyone and everyone if they would work with me. This included my husband, co-workers, online friends and acquaintances, poets and nonpoets alike.

I was surprised that so many people took me up on my offer, and I have been even more surprised at the results. I’ve written pieces with one other poet, alternating single words or phrases. I’ve worked a line at a time with someone via e-mail. I’ve worked on chainpoems where any number of people contribute a single line to a poem. I’ve worked on blank poems, where one person supplies a “frame” by stripping out all the important words from a poem they’ve written, leaving only blanks in their place, and another person fills in those blanks.

I’ve also been involved with a small group of poets who have formed a private working group (collaboratively run, of course!) where we test out new collaborating ideas and roll up our sleeves to work with one another. Then there’s Read Write Poem, a poetry community several poets and I started where we hope to encourage and support collaborative writing among participants.

But is collaboration all fun and games?

It certainly is fun, and that’s one of the aspects that makes collaborating great. But some of the work that comes out of these collaborations has been intense, powerful, raw, sensual and immediate. And for me, those are the marks of really fine writing. So collaboration can be serious writing business, too, not just a good time.

I’ve only been collaborating seriously for a few months now, and I can already say the experience has taught me as much about poetry as any poetry workshop could. Collaboration has given me access to how other people think, why they make the decisions they make, in terms of line breaks and word choices, for example. I also see how others pace themselves when they write: Some work very quickly while others consider each word with extreme care. The former have taught me to just go for it and writewritewrite, while the latter have taught me that writing is not always a race, and caring for each word matters.

I’ve learned many lessons from working collaboratively, and I have tried to apply those lessons to my own writing. Though I have learned far too much from collaborating to cover the waterfront here, below is a quick list of a few key things I’ve gleaned:

It’s OK to fail. If you are in it together, your risks can be greater, and you can fail with a laugh and a feeling of glee about having really gone for it with whatever you were attempting.

It’s OK to love what has been written. It’s not bragging and it’s not self-indulgent. You and your collaborator(s) created this piece that didn’t exist before. You might think it’s the bomb, and it’s OK to own the fact that you love it and shout it from the rooftops. (This experience might even translate to helping you love your own writing without guilt or apology.)

It’s OK if the work comes along slowly. Again, it’s not a race to the finish line. When working with other people, you learn to be patient and to appreciate the process of writing. You also learn that the piece will still be there whenever you are able to carve out some time to work on it together.

It’s OK to pull and tug the work in different directions. This is half the fun of collaborating — seeing how the poem you thought was going in one direction can suddenly jump off in another direction because your partner in crime has his or her own ideas for the piece. This is great! It has helped me see that there is no single way a poem can go, and it has pushed me to surprise myself in my own writing and sometimes avoid doing what my impulses tell me to do.

Going it alone

I’ve already touched on how collaborative efforts can be applied to the writing we do on our own. And that’s the deal, isn’t it? No matter how much you enjoy collaborating, eventually you have to sit down at that computer or with that open journal and do your own writing. But when you do so after collaborating, you might not feel quite so alone. You are, after all, surrounded by the work of other writers — some of whom you know only from reading their work and some of whom you have actually worked with. So you might feel just a little less disconnected when you are writing and a little more connected to the whole big wide world of poetry.

And if you ask me, a sense of connection is a pretty darn good feeling to have because it reminds us that what we are doing every time we sit down to write is not only plumbing our own depths to explore ourselves and to reach out to readers but also speaking to and honoring the work of other writers. Collaboration is a great way to help us feel grounded and connected, as well as helping us see how our writing, and writing process, fit into the bigger picture.
* * *

This Dream Runs Ahead of Me
By Clare L. Martin and Ceridwen


This Dream Runs Ahead of Me

The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle.
— Anaïs Nin

my dreaming is a rain of buzzards’ inglorious riots
their shadows know all my dim secrets

we do not gain the world’s prizes by rooking them — cleaning the bones
of everything discernibly animal and laying bare the enigma

how do these feathers start if not with blood

the dust of marrow extruded by the sun’s thousand years
of waking caught in stars




Ceridwen lives and write in the Seattle area. Her work has appeared in Fence and is forthcoming on Canopic Jar. Her personal blog is My Gorgeous Somewhere and she founded and manages the group poetry project Read Write Poem.

Working Toward Publication?

If you want support as you work toward getting your poetry published then check out Fertile Ground.

Dip into poetic grace

I skipped around our blogroll and found a few poems that I particulary enjoyed. Check them out and let their creators know what you think.

From Poetry in the Garden of Fire, She is What She is

From The Crimsonflaw Lived to Tell the Tale, Untitled

From Reality Bytes, Slumber

From Mad Kane's Humor Blog, Web Withdrawal Woes

From Poetmeister...on the road to Parnassus, Deadly glance

From Hues of Thoughts, Mind Game

Read Traveler

Today I was going through our blogroll and stopping in to read some of our poets' work, when I came upon a poem that really struck me as remarkable. The tone of it is personal and confessional. It leaves you feeling like you crawled under the skin of the narrator.

Read Cry Me a Bridge by Traveler at The Forward Earth- something in another city and see if you enjoy it as much as I did.

Anna is looking for poets who want to donate a love poem to be posted on her site.


Spread the beauty of romantic filled poetic verses and share your talent with new readers at the same time by taking part in her project. Head on over to Free Poems to read all the detials.


Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Fall Carnival

It's not exactly warm outside, where I live, at this time of year but that doesn't mean we can't go to a carnival.

Deb is hosting a poetry carnival on November 24th. To find out all the details cruise on over to her her site.

Thanks to a suggestion from Brian, you can now find a list of some of the blogs on our blogroll that have been recently updated. It is located at the top of our sidebar.

Occasionally, I will change this list. It will not reflect every blog updated because I can only visit a few each day.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

P.S. If you want to join Poets Who Blog, if you know about Poetry news, or if you want to write an article for this site on poetry please email me at IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com

I Promise Check In

Poets Who Blog has spawned three smaller communities- the I Promise Blogrolls. It has been a few weeks and I wanted to ask how it is going for the poets taking part.

Are you enjoying being part of the program so far?

Is there anyone who would like to drop out?

Read about the I Promise concept here.

If you want to sign up for the fourth blogroll, called The Pay It Forward- I Promise Blogroll, let me know.

Make sure you understand that this is a commitment to visit other poets on your list every Thursday.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

Found Poems

I decided to try this, new to me, poetic form after reading about it at Stony Moss.

A few other poets jumped in and gave it a go, too. Read Mad Kane's work here - she is a genius at political satire!

And then cruise on over to Deborah Vatcher's site and read her lovely found words about poets and dreamers in her poem Undeniable.

Leave comments and let them know what you think.

Below is my found poem:

Moonlight madness
call to me,
come over me,
composing me.

Baffled dreams confound and confuse.

Aching beauty, lost at sea,
I'm young
I'm free

just broken, but really what's it to you?

Let me drown within these waves, let me scream out the Lord's name-
dying to a musical Hallelujuh.

Hallelujuh
Hallelujuh
Hal...le...lu...juh...




*The darkened words are all from this Leonard Cohen song

By Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

History Before Your Eyes

I'm excited to let all of you know that today a new poetry community launched. Not only will this bring poets together to share their work but it will offer many varied poetic visions to the blogosphere at large.

Head on over to Read Write Poem, sign up and meet the contributors.

I don't know about you but I think its a good day when more poetry enters the world. Best of luck to our friends at

Take my breath away

C. Delaleu is a true artist with an unique and bold poetic vision.

Her work is grounded in the earth, full of the spirit of woman throughout the ages. Though she is not on our blogroll, I do link to her at my personal poetry site.

Her poems can be found at Lyrically Speaking. My favorite piece from her is called Battle of the Flesh

Remember to support all poets who blog. Do you know a poet I should highlight here?

TRY THIS

Have you ever created a Found Poem? To read about how to take part in this style of poetry visit Deb and Whirling Dervish at Stony Moss.


If you decide to write a poem inspired by this post, feel free to leave a link in the comments so I can see what you come up with.

The Poem that Could

It made it back! For anyone following the story of our Poetry Tag Poem you know that it was not an easy journey for this creation to come to life and find its way back home.

But with the help of poets all throughout the blogosphere, this collabortive work of poetry was born. Some poets even put in double or triple the effort asked for and added more than one line to this work, helping to shepard it home to us.

When I posted this, I did not know if it would work, but I am thrilled that it did.

Much thanks to:


Line 1: Sara from Poets Who Blog
Line 2: Sara from The Shores of My Dreams
Line 3: RomanceWriter from Aspiring Romance Writer
Line 4: KM Ryan from A (De)finite Problem with In(de)finite Solutions
Line 5: Fox from Chasing Shadows Again
Line 6: Jeremy Thomas from The Ravyn's Nest
Line 7: Daydreamer from Reality bytes
Lines 8-9: Christine, Mariacristina Maria Christina
Line 10: Jeremy Thomas from The Ravyn's Nest
Lines 11-12: KM Ryan from A (De)finite Problem with In(de)finite Solutions
Line 13: Sara,my writing group blog,Fallen Words
Line 14: Derek from Eats Bugs
Line 15: KM Ryan from A (De)finite Problem with In(de)finite Solutions
Line 16: RomanceWriter from Aspiring Romance Writer
Line 17: Derek from Eats Bugs
Line 18: Tom from - Fallen Verses
Line 19: KM Ryan from A (De)finite Problem with In(de)finite Solutions


And now behold, Poets Who Blog Poetic Tag Poem Number One-


The sound shook his bones-
like a cymbal
crashing fast against his soul.

A soul detached from mind and body,
shivering in the dark
and fearing the coming light.

He fled to a dingy back alley
and waited. A wind rushed
to meet him at the end
with that terrible sound wound through it.

And all he could do was wonder if he remembered to lock his front door,
or if his memories would be taken away with his sanity?

He crouched down, curling into his grief,
and all he could do was fight for water memories and gas-lit stoves still on
and a cardboard castle, while an insensitive queen
did battle for the pawn of man, within his fragile mind.

Shiver-shake went the light, coming from the mind and body. Memories wet.
Like quicksand, the struggle pulls him tighter to the light,
and, tired of the fight, he let it pull him into the downward spiral.

Poetry Tag Poem

A Poetic Challenge

Jilly Poet has come up with a fun idea for a way to create a brand new poem. You take your inspiration from the random word prompt at Read.Write.Poem. and then write an eleven line poem and post it on your blog.

To read more about this challenge, go to Mom Trying to Write.

Looking forward to seeing if any members of PWB jump in and take part.

Come on in, the water is fine.

I don't know where you live but here around Chicago it is starting to get chilly, and right behind that will be downright cold. But today I have the luxary of being able to slip away somewhere tropical and warm. It's Tuesday, poets, have you been to The Writer's Island?

The following press release was sent to Poets Who Blog. If you have a poetry related event or site to promote, feel free to email Sara at IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com

I'm excited to be able to announce this new site:

Nov. 4, 2007 — Read Write Poem will be launching Monday, Nov. 12. The project is an online gathering place for those who love poetry — and for those who suspect that, with a little nurturing, they could grow to love poetry. All that's required to participate is an Internet connection, gobs of love for the P word, an interest in collaborative poetry, and respect for and generosity toward your fellow participants.

Whether you are new to writing poetry or have been writing for years, you are welcome at Read Write Poem. If you don't write poetry but love to read and discuss it, this is also the place for you. (And who knows: After participating for a few months, you might realize you want to try your hand at writing a poem or two after all.)

Also, who says all our writing has to be done alone? Sure, as poets we love and need our solitude, but it's nice to interact from time to time and reach out to a community of poets. That's why Read Write Poem strongly encourages participants to collaborate with one another. Working with a writing partner or a group of writers can be inspirational and educational. Collaboration might even get you out of a writing rut or help you work past that dreaded "writer's block."

Here's our plan:

Meet & Greet post: Monday, Nov. 12 @ midnight EST
Stop by and tell your fellow poets about yourself. You know: small talk, mix, mingle, be merry.

The First "Read Write Prompt": Wednesday, Nov. 14 @ midnight EST
Visit the site for an optional, but strongly encouraged, prompt to inspire you to read, write or poem. There will be a little impromptu collaborative writing element to this post as well that everyone can join in on. Although geared toward individual and collaborative poetry-writing, Read Write Prompts can certainly be adapted for those participants who enjoy reading and discussing poetry.

The First "Get Your Poem On" post: Nov. 19 @ midnight EST
Leave a comment with the permalink to whatever entry on your blog you'd like to share.

Regular Schedule
The first week at Read Write Poem reflects the regular schedule for the site:

Wednesdays = "Read Write Prompt" announcements.

Mondays = "Get Your Poem On" requests for links to your work.
(These posts will always remain open for a week, until the next week's Get Your Poem On post appears on the site. At that point, we will close comments so the comment-spam monkeys don't find their way into our old posts and make a big mess of things trying to peddle their rotten bananas and whatnot.)

So check out the site.
There's a ton of information there about how it works, what its about, what other resources are available — random prompts, ideas for collaboration, and poet bios (coming soon), for example — and who's standing in line already waiting for the doors to open. And, you can sign up now to be added to the list of participants.

******

Hope to see you all at Read Write Poem

Mayday! Mayday!

The Poetry Tag poem is in trouble. If it was a car trying to travel from New York City to LA, if would be broken down somewhere outside Vegas right about now. It's in the desert and if you don't help, it will never see the sunny shores of California.

To follow the story of the Poetry Tag poem, go here

You can motor through the blogosphere and see that it has traveled to the sites of many different poets already, some being nice enough to take it in twice even.But this vagabond needs your help now.

It is currently resting at Eats Bugs.



Go there and comment Tag. Then you can help shepard our little poem the last few legs of its journey home.

Your Blog Manager,
Sara from The Shores of My Dreams
Send email for me to IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com with Poets Who Blog in subject line.

New I Promise Bloggers

I've been having a great time getting to know the work of the bloggers in my I Promise list.

I hope the poets on this new list will enjoy the program as much as I have. Meet our

Poetic License- I Promise Blogroll:
Ananda
Betty
Jack
January
Kimberley

These five poets have now agreed to stop by each other's sites every Thursday and leave, at least, one comment.

Rules:

1. You do not have to gush over their work, if you don't truthfully feel that way. But kindness and respect is required.

2. You do not have to post new work each Thursday. If you get to a site and don't see a new poem, search through the achives and find one to comment on.

3. If you want to be removed from the list please let me know.

4. If you disappear for over a month you will be deleted from this blogroll.

For other poets if you would like to be added to the fourth group of I Promise bloggers, let me know. That will be called the



Pay it Forward- I Promise Blogroll

3 Poets Needed

There are three more spots on the third I Promise Blogroll. If you are interested in being part of a group of bloggers that pledge to read each other's work and comment on each other's blogs every Thursday, leave a comment here letting me know you want in.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

Read Janet Leigh Dowd

Her work is not frivilous or frilly, it carries an air of serious craftmanship. When I venture over to Poetmeister...on the road to Parnassus I know I will find thoughtfully constructed work from a poet who uses her words to wrap her readers in emotions.

Today I found this treasure on her site. Let her know what you think about

This Night's Uplifting

A Beautiful Countdown

I found this poem that I thought used a very inventive format ( counting backward from 100 with each line starting with that number) to tell its story. Head over to The Accidental Writer if you would like to read it.

Tag, you are it

After taking a stop Fallen Words our poem is now at Eats Bugs. Go there if you want to be the next person to add a line.

The Second Group of I Promise Poetry Blogrollers

Good news! We have now completed our second group listing.

These poets have agreed to visit each other every Thursday and leave a comment.

The Poet Within- I Promise Blogroll
K.M. Ryan
Christine
Kakes
Jo
This Girl Remembers

For Rules and instructions go here.

If you want to sign up for our third blogroll, leave a comment saying so. Then you must take serious your promise to visit the people on your list once a week, preferrably Thursday.

Looking forward to seeing this work out well for all poets invovled!

UPDATE ON OUR POEM

Our Poetry Tag poem is still motoring along through the blogosphere! Do you think it will make it back here? It's been to The Shores of My Dreams
then it cruised on over to Aspiring Romance Writer

Next K.M Ryan jumped in and posted it at his blog.

Fox saw it and placed it on Chasing Shadows Again.

Jeremy TAGGED it and our little poem that could was posted at The Ravyn's Nest.

The next poet to spot it was Daydreamer who jumped in, adding a line, and posting it on Reality Bytes , then Christine decided to try her hand at poetry tag and our poem ended up at her site.

It flew on back to The Ravyn's Nest again, and then K.M. Ryan grabbed it and posted it at his site another time.


Will you help this poem get back home to us?

Breadcrumbs

Lets see if this will work.

I am going to start a poem. The idea is for someone to post TAG in the comments. The first person who does this then takes my line and goes to thier own blog. They make a new post that reads:

It's a game of poetry tag. Be the first to post TAG in the comments. Then take these lines and add one, in a post on your own blog, along with these instructions. Whoever adds the nineteenth line then takes the poem to Poets Who Blog at http://poetswhoblog.blogspot.com/ and puts the whole poem in the comment section there. Each person who plays need to also mention what site you were at when you found the poem so that other bloggers can follow the breadcrumbs back to this poem. You can play more than once but not twice in a row.


Poetry Tag Poem

The sound shook his bones

2 Poets Needed

We need two more poets to sign up for the I Promise Blogroll in order to complete are second grouping.

The first group is called The Heart of a Poet. The second group will be named The Poet Within- I Promise Blogroll.

The idea is to stop by, read, and comment on the work the other poets in your blogroll every Thursday and they will do the same for you. If you want to participate, leave a comment.

Also, if you believe your blog should be listed on the regualar PWB blogroll ( because you linked here) and it is not, then leave a comment stating that fact so I can add you.

Happy Writing, everyone.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

P.S. Did you know that november is National Blog Posting Month? Bloggers all over the world will be pledging to write one blog post a day. Are you up for that challenge?

Ride the Poetry Wave

Below is a news annoucement sent in from Rob at The Writer's Island, in his own words. Please show your support to this new project.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
October 22nd, 2007

There is a new project just beginning to take shape at the writing community blog, Writers Island. It is called the Poetry Wave Project. The gist is to spread the positive power of poetry into the world – to people who really need, even if for just an instant, to be put in touch with a positive or meaningful thought... to rouse their soul, and raise their spirit, for that moment in time.

Writers Island envisions the Poetry Wave rising in needful places all around our world, creating “positive momentary disruptions” where they are sorely needed – to start a ripple, which can become a wave, that could possibly help the planet, and the people and creatures who inhabit it... even in the smallest way.

The ultimate goal is, through measured and steady growth, to create a Poetry Wave of such profile, that some day many others may join in to generate a positive critical mass in our world -- a huge breaker of positive energy.

If you are interested to learn more, or to comment, come to:
The Poetry Wave


released by: Rob Kistner, Writers Island moderator

Say Hello to Group Number One

It's the inaugural week of the I Promise Poetry Blogroll and these brave souls have decided to join the first list:

Anna from Free Poems

Ario from Scribblings and Sketches

Brian from Brief Poems

Janet from Poetmeister...on the road to Parnassus

S. Thomas Summers from Lint in My Pocket

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams



Cruise on over to my personal blog
to see the way the blogroll you add to your site should look. Then all you do is stop by the other five poets listed each Thursday and comment on their work.

Rules:

1. You do not have to gush over their work, if you don't truthfully feel that way. But kindness and respect is required.

2. You do not have to post new work each Thursday. If you get to a site and don't see a new poem, search through the achives and find one to comment on.

3. If you want to be removed from the list please let me know.

4. If you disappear for over a month you will be deleted from this blogroll.

For other poets if you would like to be added to the second group of I Promise bloggers, let me know.

I am excite to get this project underway. It is the true vision I always had for Poets Who Blog. I wanted a way to connect poets with readers who enjoyed commenting and growing relationships. I have already met some wonderful artists and friends online and hope this will allow me to meet more.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara


NOTE- Please go to the section of your blog that allows you to set how you want your comments moderated and set it so that people who are not blogspot bloggers can leave comments. (Go under Settings and then comments, set it to anyone).

Not everyone on this list is a blogspot member and you will miss getting comments from them if you do not change your settings.

The I Promise Poetry Blogroll

I offer you a whole new blogroll program. This is for people who want a more organized way to meet other poetry bloggers, recieve critism on your work, and who are willing to promise to visit the other blogs listing on your I Promise Blogroll.


Each I Promise Blogroll would list only 5 blogs. If you sign up to add an I Promise blogroll to your poetry blog then you are committing yourself to, every Thursday, stop by each blog listed. You need to leave some kind of comment on those five blogs on Thursday.

Each I Promise Blogroll will be set up by Poets Who Blog and given a name. For example, the one I will put on my personal blog will be called the:

Heart of a Poet- I Promise Blogroll.



Leave a comment if you want to sign up. If you do not visit the other poets every Thursday for more than a few weeks in a row you will be dropped from your I Promise group.

Poetry Trivia

For the fun of it here are some questions about Poetry. Do you know the answers?

1. What NFL football team was named in tribute to a poem?


2.Who is attributed with the line "A rose is a rose is a rose."?

3. In what book would you find these lines:


Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrong doing. It does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres.


Leave your answers in the comments section.

Congrats!

In an exciting bit of poetry news, it has been annouced that Jack Prelutsky has been named the first Children's Poet Laureate . His poems are aimed at young people and his work can sometimes be a child's first introduction to the world of poetry. He has written more than 35 books.

If you want to check out his work, read Deep in our Refridgerator or The Creature in our Classroom.

Visit The Soul and The Witness Blog

Poets Who Blog would like to offer a hearty congratulations to Soham Das for the success he has acheived with his poetry blog, The Soul and The Witness. Over one thousand visitors have now read his work and, if his comments are any indication, found, as I have, that his words connect with them in a powerful way.

Show your support by stopping by his blog and offering your take on his poetic vision. Make PWB work by supporting our blogroll.

Thank you for stopping by today.


Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of my Dreams

paradelle

Michelle Johnson at Poefusion mentioned a poetic form in a recent post that I had never heard of. Head to her blog to read more about Paradelles.

Let us all know if you decide to write one.

Peek at Scott Clawson

I was thrilled to recieve the submission of a new poet to join the blogosphere. I think it's wonderful when poets comment or post here. It makes the site seem like more than just my sole effort.

Your Blog Manager, Sara


Cast your eyes upon the work of Scott Clawson


Eternity

From across the void I travel

Oh how has time spread its wings

Distant are the footsteps of the past

Silence has become my unwitting partner

How will I ever know your touch again?

Have I forgotten how you feel?

Does the fragrance of your life elude me?

Do I stand a chance to hear the soft whisper of your voice?

Languishing through the stars I hear the faint melody

Just over the next horizon I may find you

A little farther and someday this journey will end

On the wings of despair I persevere

Driven by forces tugging on my very soul

Anguished and torn I continue this plight

An eternity I have searched

For an eternity I have loved

For an eternity I will continue on

For an eternity my love shall never wane

I will find you my love, in this eternity.

Greet our newest poets

Hopefully all the poets on our blogroll exhibit the characteristics that exemplify Poets Who Blog and support their fellow poets. In that vein, I ask that you welcome the latest poets to join our ranks:



Engtovo Bhodsvatan who posts at Engtovo's Poetry


David M Pitchford from Fringe Monkey

Sam Cha from Letters from the City


Samuel Goh Kim Eng from Motivation in Motion

If you have linked to this blog and not gotten a link back, leave me a comment stating that so I can link to you.

Remember that being on this blogroll is a promise to support poetry in the blogosphere.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Totally Optional Prompts

Poets Who Blog is happy to assist Tiel from Knocking From Inside and Mike from Word Anger in announcing the start of thier new Poetry Thursday like project.


If you know the way Poetry Thursday worked then you will understand the concept beyond this brand new endeavor. Head on over to Totally Optional Prompts and check out their first post. Then make sure you visit them on Thursday to add your link to your poem or to read some of the poet's work who took part.

Read Brian

Are you reading Brian from Brief Poems?

Check him out. His work is as profound as it is thought provoking. He drifts in and out of every emotion from heartache to joy to lust to regret effortlessly, leaving you pondering how he can make you feel so much with one simple sentence, one meaningful line.I implore you to check this poet out.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Would you like to be a guest columnist here? Topics could include:

What I learned by blogging my poetry.

Who inspires my work the most.

My experiences in publishing my first poetry book.

I love this poet.

I don't care about comments.

I am addicted to comments.

I'm a Writer's Island junkie. Tuesdays are my new favorite day of the week.

The first time I submitted a poem to a journal.





Well, poets, I am sure you get the idea. Submit columns to IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com with the name of your blog and your screenname.

Edits may be asked for if content is too long or there are spelling/grammar issues. English only, please. In the subject line of your email please put Poets Who Blog.

It's a Haiku Thing

Every so often at Random Musing of an Xinher there will be photos posted. The idea is to use those photos as inspiration for your own Haiku.

Play the Haiku Smackdown here.

Loud and Proud

Check out Poetry Slam, Inc the hot spot online to find out about places where you can see performance poetry and spoken word poets.

Read Misha

Stop by and welcome the latest poet to join our blogroll
Scribbles of a Creative Soul.

Read John Barthel

I wandered over to Freedom Melodies today and found a poem that really touched me. Filled to the brink with heartache, the words in this piece take on a life of their own. Let the poet know what you think about his work. Do you love it as much as I do?

Useless Requiem

Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

The talent poet who blogs at Absorbed
suggested a site where our blogroll members can read about different forms of poetry. Check out Orca's Poetry Pages if you would like advice, hints and tips about writing poetry.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of my Dreams

Hello everyone.

The Blog Rodeo is underway at Aspiring Romance Writer.

Check it out and drop me a note if you enjoy your time at the Rodeo.

Read Fenny

I was just over visting Fenny's Bla Bla Blog and found a lovely romantic poem she composed in response to The Writer's Island first prompt. She uses bold imagery to bring to life the bittersweetness of love lost. The poem is titled Brown Days, head over to her blog and check it out.

group poem time again

These are fun. I love seeing all the different styles of our poets here. Add your three line addition to this poem.

The Walk by PWB poets

It's bleeding skin, visible sin-
a haunting and obvious chorus.
Weep for us, weep for us.

Toils in stone and dust, and
crimes of love and lust;
now scarlet gash binds us all


Memories faded, lives wasted
woven sins and joys infested
we tread along, we trudge alone.
in the hopes of the joys unknown
Wounds and burns still live on
still we tread along, we trudge alone.


to trudge along these shores ajar
baren woes, like smoothened pebbles
worry all that which carries no weight
worry none for the shores afar

First three lines by Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Next three lines by Nishant from Absorbed

Next six lines by Soham from The Soul and the Witness

Next four by Ben from Resonance of Reverberations

Join Our Blogroll

The idea behind this site is that if you link here then I will link back. After that I ask that you visit other sites linked here and comment on your fellow poets work as to offer them encouragment and to show how much we all appreciate that they are sharing their poetic vision online.

If you decide to join us, please leave a comment telling me so. That way I can add your name. If you linked to us and never got a link back, let me know.

The Writer's Island Launched

I just wanted to make sure all our poets know that the new hot spot for poetry online launched today. Have you visted The Writer's Island today and checked out thier first prompt?

Head on over and support poetic expression in the blogosphere!

Your blog manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Call for Submissions

Donate a poem to charity to be used in a chapbook called Beth's Legacy. The money raised goes to benifit the children of a woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

Go to Musecrafters to read more.


Deadline for sending in a poem is September 30, 2007.

Anna Williams

I'm proud to announce that one of our poets, the talented Anna Williams of Free Poems, has published a book of her poetry.

Her work is presented, on her blog, with the age she was when she wrote it listed with each piece. You can follow her life and her growing poetic abilities as you read her work.

To buy a copy of her book, titled Some of My Poetry But Not All of It, cruise on over here.



Congrats Anna for getting your work out there for the world to enjoy.

A sense of community

A new writing site is going live on September 11th. The Writer's Island will post a prompt every Sunday and accept links to your work on every Tuesday, much like Poetry Thursday used to do.

Sounds like a great way to get to know more poets and share your work with others. I know I will be checking it out when it gets under way. Best of luck to The Writer's Island!

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

A Group Poem

Unravel by PWB poets

Squalid residence
Drab and broken
Dirt crawled along the floor
The smell outdid itself with rank
The bedroom contained one bed
Sagging
Damp
Well-used and stained
Mould blackened her walls
Age seamed her creases
Dug around her eyes
The life etched hard
Embedded soul-deep
Within her hollow emptiness


A line died in a barren furrow
there were no miracles left
just a sense of loss waiting for us
in the curbed resonance
of whispering dust
and yes there was space
hiding crumpled in the wounded impulse
that died expressed as vermin
somewhere an owl screeched
in a museful denial of all
that was left merely unwritten


A spring’s breeze
carrying tiny whips of gleeful drops
brought in the devine scent of soil,
through the broken doors
tiptapped the rain..
while, the shimmering sky
peeked through the deshelved roof
a bizzare marvel - nature
took just a mere night,
to make a sight of a pique


a hint of tiny gemstone lay ready
to fall from corniced corner in
an iron-clad eye
deftly swept away under
her lashdripped cover
perhaps not to speak of but
to listen from faraway
melt back into the green earth
mulched underfoot



1-14 are from Voice from the void

15-25 are from Crimsonflaw

26-35 are from Sarayu from Hues of Thought

36-44 are from Miles Away

Shout out your favorite PWB

Lets spread the love. Who is your favorite online poet who blogs that is listed on our blogroll?

All I ask is that you don't name me ( though I would love if any of you stop by and read my work.) Share your thoughts on your fellow bloggers. Lets all takes some time to visit each others sites this week.

Your blog manager,

Sara from

The Shores of my Dreams

Writer's Digest Talks Poetry

For poetry news, prompts, and inspiration check out POetic Asides with Nancy Breen and Robert Lee Brewer.

Poetry Thursday Says Good-bye

At the end of August, Poetry Thursday will come to the end.

I will hate to see this wonderful site close down. What it accomplished was remarkable. It helped to inspire me to start Poets Who Blog. Poetry Thursday helped to spread the love of poetry throughout the blogosphere and the world.

Stop by Poetry Thursday and take part in the completely and totally optional poetry prompt next week provided by Lisa and Dana. Those ladies created a wonderful site and I thank them for spending eighteen months giving back to the online poetry community.

Your blog manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Group Poem

Hello poets,

Hope the creating is going well for all of you these days. I thought I would start another group poem as it gives our site a way to be interactive.

Add lines to this poem and I will link to you within the body of this post.

Midnight Hour by PWB poets

He didn't ask for
forgiveness.
Didn't talk about regrets.
Wouldn't think about the morning;
it wasn't here yet.


Words spoken in haste;
Daggers hurled with intent.
Eternal damage inflicted,
But only temporarily meant.

a twisting tale of whirling dream
sat spinning through his mind,
a veil of words
sewn delicately
a palm to hide behind.

Never knew, whats wrong,
never felt whats right
but, in the silence of his lonely dreams,
sometimes he cried.
He did run all his life,
he did fall sometimes...
but unforgiving was his heart
for gone day's crimes

there by the rags and the amputation
scavenging the shadow of the symbol
lives still the glow of his lost lantern
these are the lines of severance
a love letter sealed into the art
of the surgeon
the parts of him not here
fly like birds in an unrequited sky


This life takes leaving,
time unveils one more
unread book left on Life's shelf -

his weathered hand
on the old book
pauses,
as his fingertips
trace the delicate spine
he wonders
where the time went

He wouldn't think of trangressions,
wouldn't think about regrets,
or what may come in the dawning
that was not here yet.


His memories smudged among
the thin crevices of what is reality
and that which is sometimes not….
But now only too aware of the pace of time
He tries what he has not ever done
while he treads those withered hands on the book,
pauses now on something engraved deep, written in gold.
for all the words which broke heart a many,
& all his deeds, which struck'em misery
A tear silently wets his eye, as if
He now knew what's been lost,
his own truth engraved deep, written in gold


Lines 1-5 by Sara at The Shores of My Dreams

Lines 6-9 by Dan at Poetic Justice

Lines 10-14 by Absolutely Miles Away

Lines 15-22 by Soham Das

Lines 23-30 by Crimsonsonflaw

Lines 31-33 by Janet Leigh

Lines 34-40 by Autumn Moon

Lines 41-44 by Sara.

Lines 45-56 by Sarayu from Hues of Thought

Visit SquareTraveler

One of our poets recently posted a rather stunning little short piece called Life is. Stop on by and check it out.

Thanks for supporting all Poets Who Blog.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams.

Wallace Stevens Award Winner announced

The Academy of American Poets has chosen Charles Simic as their 2007 Wallace Stevens Award winner for which there is a $100,000 dollar prize. Congrats to Mr. Simic.

To subscribe to the poets.org newsletter visit here.

Read this weeks Carnival entries at Afterglow

Support all poets who blog by leaving comments on the poems that you enjoy.

A big thanks to Rax for hosting this week!

Billy, Bob and Me

Billy the Blogging Poet has posted the latest addition of the Ringing of the Bards. He kicks it off with a poem by Bob Church and then shares links to the poets who submitted.

Check it out at Musecrafters

Everybody Loves a Carnival

This week The Ringing of the Bards will be hosted by Rax at Soul's Phantasm.
Head on over to her blog for all the details.

Its a great chance to have your poetry blog linked to and to have new readers be able to enjoy a sample of your work.

To volunteer to host a carnival go see Billy, a tireless promoter of online poetry, the blogging poet.

Group Poem

Add your words to this poem, as many as you want. I will link to you in this post.

The King by PWB poets

The fallen King he spoke of war
casting from his bloody hands
all blame


eternity watched him from its perch
amused at his follies
ticking for his thirst
his was a vampire's abandon
they found him lapping up a river of blood
a river that led him all the way to hell
and now he burns there peacefully



peacefully,
or so it seems;
the king of
ungratified thirst-
who knew?
that he would
drench in pain
a soldier in misery,
queue of gloom-
and he would stand first?
wither and pine-
for a hand
from sorrow's land?


Yet the mettle blinks its eyes
the land being fathomed by breath of vies
The melting pot with prying veil
inherited in armor with hearts forged with steel
far distant the drums of morning dirge,an octave of mirth
though sounds of enemy fills him with earth
the quenched soul gasps and exclaim in lust...







lines 1-3 come from Sara at The Shores of My Dreams

Lines 4-10 come from Shakir at Crimsonflaw

Lines 11-23 come from Poison Coated Elixir at Seraphic Girl

Lines 24-30 come from Dream Catcher at The Augmented Reality

Peek at Soham Das

The next poet kind enough to take part in our Introduction Series is Soham Das.

The poem below is but taste of what you will find at The Soul and The Witness. Please drop by there and dive deeper into this poet's lovely and lyrical work.


The Chronicler


I am not a story writer…
I am a chronicler of human deeds…
Got no soul to burn,
nor any minds to feed
I see pain as you should see them,
but marred is your heart
with cheap bourgeoisie shame.
Told you, I am not a writer,
just a chronicler of human deeds.
Got no love,got no family
neither, friends did I ever need.

Have seen this world a lot many times,
heard its mirthful songs and its chimes
Have seen life's ironies in its glory,
have seen men die a death many times gory.

Still remember,the frail woman crying for her only sonny
Didnt forget either, men spilling red blood money
I am not a story writer,just a chronicler of human deeds.
I have got no soul to burn,nor any minds to feed.




This work by Soham Das is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.



Meet this new member of PWB,Soham Das-

An Indian, hailing from East India, writes poems with strong hues of philosophical, emotional and life struggle aspects in his works. A VLSI engineer by profession, has interests in poetry, story writing, photography, electronics and culture. His work revolves in and around the daily lives of people in India and most particularly about his native state.

I would love it if you could swing by and check out The Carnival of Beauty at Fallen Words.

Remember its important to the art we love to support all poets who blog!

Your manager,

Sara

One of our poets, Rax, has been hard at work crafting a compliation poem.

She weaves together her own words with that of other poets to create a unique poem that is wonderous in its own right, and only more so when you follow her breadcrumbs to the sites of the poems she mentions within it.

Gaze into her scrying glass at Soul's Phantasm

Carnival Comes to Fallen Words

Hello poets,

This week I am hosting The Ringing of the Bards Poetry Carnival at my writer's group blog.

Swing on by Fallen Words and check out all the details.

Looking forward to reading all the amazing poetry submitted. Support all poets who blog and spread the word about this carnival.

Thanks.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

Peek at Reluctant Scribe

I am proud to bring to your attention the work of the latest poet to be featured in our Introduction Series. Ario Farin's work can be found at Scribblings and Sketches.

I visited there because it is the latest blog to be added to our blogroll. While there I found the poetry displayed to be both stunning, for its simple beauty, and lush, for its depth and thoughtfulness.

Not only is the poem below a standout but also check out Tenderness and my personal favorite Sketch

Please make sure to stop by Scribblings and Sketches.
and support this poet and all poets who blog.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams.




Stolen moment


She speaks of distance and regret
As if they are raspberries,
Chilled from the fridge,
Sweet and a bit fleshy.

She remembers, she forgets,
You were gone, I was thirsty.
The fall of her orange dress
Into the dark chocolate of her lap,

Hard and sharp.
She returns one, neatly squashed,
Between her index finger and thumb,
A shade and tang that lasts.



by Ario Farin

The Ringing of the Bards Poetry Carnival is being hosted this week at Knocking From Inside

You can leave a permalink here

or email the link to your poem to tielansari@gmail.com

Make sure you mention the name of your blog, the name of your poem, and your screenname.

Any poem can be submitted to be included but there will be a special section that has the theme Freedom.

The Carnival goes live on July 14th. Get your submissions in right away.

Lend me a Line

It's group poem time again. Each one so far has turned out amazingly unique. Here's a line to start with:


She stands, still as silence,
the tip of her tongue
is at last the debris
in her unsculpted substance.

Her eyes look restlessly
at the sun's setting brilliance.

The breath is a lie
causing muted violence,
breaching silences that should never have
lasted beyond the first whispered prayer-

a semaphore of heart as to be perceived,
the drop of tear her eye conceived



First line by Sara

Lines 2, 3, 4 by Crimsonflaw


Lines 5 and 6 by Lioness.

Lines 7 and 8 by Dream Catcher

Lines 9 and 10 by Deb

Lines 11 and 12 by Dream Catcher



Thanks, poets, for heloing to shape this piece. I love when members of our blogroll jump in to make this site a better place. Remember this blog belongs to the poets linked here, not me alone, so if you have any ideas for posts let me know.

Your Blog Manager,
Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

It's a Love Carnival

Deb is hosting a blog carnival this week. Here are the details in her own words:

The Ringing of the Bards Carnival returns to Girls Want Porn this weekend, and I’m in the mood for LOVE POEMS. I don’t care if it’s Blissful Love, Happily Ever After Love, Unrequited Love, Lost Love, Family Love, Brotherly Love or Love for All - I’ll take any and all poems about Love for this week’s carnival.

Just email deb AT chameleonsdream DOT com by Saturday July 7 with:

1. The name and URL of your blog
2. Your name (however you want it to appear)
3. The name of your poem
4. The URL to your poem
5. Finish the line: “Love Is _______________________” however you want, as long as it’s no more than 5 words.

I hope that you'll be submitting at least one poem - you have some beautiful love poems up!

Meet Brian

This poet from our blogroll posts at Brief Poems

Using brevity he constructs poems that grab you by the throat and leave you thinking. It amazes me that he can convey so much with so few words.

A standout poem on his site that really spoke to me was Modern Medecine. In two verses he draws a sharp focus onto the struggle of everyday living.

Stop by, read his work, and let him know your thoughts. Support this poet and all poets who blog.



Your Blog Manager,

Sara from The Shores of My Dreams

Peek at Fenny

The next poet to be highlighted in our Introduction Series is Fenny. Her site uses art and words to both inspire and evoke emotions deep within readers. Her poems have an honesty that I find quite poignant.

Read more of this poet's work at

Fenny's Bla Bla Blog



Two glass chambers filled
with tiny grains of
sand trickling
from one
into the other
quietly and steady
another obsolete hour away


©2006 Fenny

Find Your Muse

I happened to be reading Deb's blog today and noticed she has a great feature where she gives suggestions for first lines you could use in a poem.

Are you in need of some inspiration? Head on over to Find My Muse

Want to find my readers for your blog?

Submit a post to Queen_of_Pentacles@sbcglobal.net

with this information

(1) Your Name as you'd like it to appear
(2) The Name of Your Blog
(3) The Title of Your Post
(4) A Description of your blog (Three lines only)
(5) The URL to Link To Your Post.


Deadline June 30th, one minute before midnight. More details here

Peek at Beloved Dreamer

The third poet to be highlighted in our Introduction Series is Beloved Dreamer

When not writing poetry she also draws a variety of subjects- Nature, Landscapes and People. Her poems take the images she sees and makes them into word pictures. She attended The High School of Music and Art, The Art Students League and graduated with a BFA from St John's University.



The Worn Stone

Fresh flowers lay before a worn gray stone
lilacs, I knew that you had loved them once long ago.
And ivy too had gently told of times passing,
slowly covering the grayness.
The name and the date you left us.

I plan every spring to bring them again.
And in their sweet,sweet smell
I see your haunting smile.

Colors of brilliant purple and pink come back again each spring.
And make his silent home a happy place

We once joyfully picked them together.
Fragrant delicate flowers to grace our hair.
But that was before the snows of winter took you else where.

So with each spring, I try to bring you back.
To once more hold you close and see this cold world though your gentle gray eyes.


Thanks to Beloved Dreamer for sharing her work and for making PWB a better site.

If you would like to be featured at PWB send a poem to IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com with the subject line PWB.

Newsletter

In the latest email from Writer's Market I read about a new poetry newsletter that will debut June 29th and go out bi-weekly after that.

Poet's Market is edited by Nancy Breen and will include advice from editors and publishers.

To sign up, go to Poet's Market

Group Poem 4

Add one to three lines to this poem. I will link to you in this post and note what part you contributed.



Slither by PWB poets

Darting through dark shadows

it came swift and silent
true of purpose, sad of intent,
a lost river looking for a dark island.


Mouth calling out through the rushes,
breath catching through the stones,
chasing and branching out, fingers reaching


out for some badboy scheme,
a blessed,holy prayer.


With a sigh, it paused
and gently sniffed the night air,
then quietly slithered on

cold and satin
turning in upon itself
easing on, uncaring.

Looking for a victim;
Trying to sense it's dinner. ...


Proceed with care,
or it may be

you

First line by Sara

Lines 2, 3, 4 by Crimsonflaw

Lines 5, 6, 7, by Rax

Lines 8 and 9 by Kim

Lines 10, 11, 12 by Lioness

Lines 13, 14, 15 by Rob Kistner

Lines 16 and 17 by markbnj

Lines 17, 18, and 19 by Kilroy

Thanks to all the poets who contributed to this piece!

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

Send me a poem

Submit a poem to IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com and I will post it on here and link back to your blog. ( This poem does not have to be previously unpublished but must be your sole work alone.)

I encourage all the poets and readers who drop in here to stop in the featured poets blog and read more of that person's work.

Thanks for helping to make Poets Who Blog a wonderful meeting place for all online poets.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

A Peek at Rob Kistner

Uninspired

€

relentless whirr
cycled pulse drones
overhead

coarse whisper from above
promises relief

in vain

blades disturb page edges
at rest before me

in irregular rustle they taunt

impatient
untouched

virgin
undefiled

ignored

no burden of remorse
no weight of mystery do they bear

no sting of anger
no wink of mirth
with which to be dispatched

no coin of phrase to spend

dissonance spills through the open window
the buzz, chirr, and leggy rasp
muffled keens, distant yelps

the edgy din of crawling, prowling night

intrudes in damp insistence
to fill my head
and leave not one small space
for wit or insight

all in vain

there is no relief

nothing clever
or profound in the air this night

hot, sticky, thick

uninspired

…

rob kistner © 2007


The second poet to be featured in our Introduction Series posts his work at Image and Verse.

Rob was gracious enough to share with the readers of Poets Who Blog some background information about himself and his site:

________________________
ABOUT ME: I am a writer, poet, artist, singer, song lyricist, and contemporary furniture designer. You can see examples of my creations throughout my blog.

At 60 years old, I'm lucky to live an adventurous life. Went to three different colleges in the 1960's, furthering my education at the "university of the road" cross country on motorcycles, then in traveling R&B and Rock & Roll bands for quite a few years.

I was fortunate to have been one of the country's first home theater architects, having evolved from designing and installing custom residential audio systems in the mid 1970's.

I was a member of George Lucas's Lucasfilm LTD, THX Division. What a great time! It was a blast having an office on Skywalker Ranch being surrounded by, and encountering daily, remarkably creative individuals.

I have now settled into the Pacific Northwest. I am thrilled to spend available time exploring this magnificent part of the world, while doing my best to be a loving husband and father.

________________________
ABOUT IMAGE & VERSE: This blog celebrates “creativity”. It features samplings of my writing, artwork, photography, and furniture designs — as well as rants and musings regarding creativity, and the general ebb and flow of life as I see it.

There is also a selection of recorded, “spoken word” versions of some of my poems.

I have included as well, some contemporary craft pieces which my wife Kathy and I co-created.

There is an assortment of links to other sites I find of interest.

I hope to share and communicate with a broad spectrum of individuals. This includes other writers and artists, whether full time, or with casual avocations – and with anyone who simply enjoys creativity.

I intend to develop the features and capabilities of this blog as it unfolds. The “spoken word” pieces are the most recent creative addition to the site.

There is a survey on creativity located on the blog. I graciously invite you to participate. Your opinions are most welcome and appreciated.


Thanks to Rob for taking part and helping to making Poets Who Blog a successful endeavor. The goal of this site is to direct readers to poetry blogs where they might find work that speaks to their soul. If you would like to be the next poet featured in our Introduction Series send a poem, links, and bio to IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

Father Day Poems

Have you written a poem about your father? If you would like to share it leave a link in the comments section and I will link to your poem in this post.

I would like to direct your attention first to a poem by Rax, a talented poet who I read often. She posts at her blog, Soul Phantasm.

Maps by Rax

Father and Father Revisited - Your Day. By Daydreamer


What Daddy Did by Sara ** Warning- adult themes and unhappy subject manner**


My Taveling Dad by Sorceress