Poetry Challenge #296-Refrain for Commenting
Every romantic worth their salt knows enough of Lord Byron’s poetry to spout “She walks with beauty, like the night” blah-blah-blah…that’s a prompt for another day. For today, May 17th marks the birthday of another poet in the family, the one who, in letters, addressed Lord Byron as “Dearest Duck.” Who might that be?
His wife of course! Anne Isabella Noel Byron, 11th Baroness Wentworth and Baroness Byron (née Milbanke; 17 May 1792 – 16 May 1860), nicknamed Annabella. According to Byron’s official Britannica biography, Lady Byron was “an unimaginative and humorless wife,” who bore (a daughter) and bored him. They separated after a year. Lady Byron, by all accounts much happier away from him, became a wordsmith and mathematician to boot! Who knew? What she wrote, we’ll leave to you to discover, for although dear Annabella is listed as a poet, we couldn’t find any of her poems. And so that, dearest ducks, is that!
Poetry Challenge #296
Refrain for Commenting
Pick a wise quotation from the list below or an adage you know. Use it as your title and write a poem that uses the line 3 or 4 times. You can use it exactly the way it’s written or you can change it slightly. You can embed it in the poem, split it onto two lines, or have it sit apart from the rest of your poem. However you use it, it will become a refrain. Use the repetition to get the sound you want.
Here are a few choices. Feel free to find others.
“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
"Leave no stone unturned."
"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."
"Actions speak louder than words."
"Two wrongs don't make a right."
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Now that you’re done, here’s Lory Byron’s poem, “She Walks in Beauty.” But don’t delude yourself into thinking it’s about Annabella—rumor has it the only reason they married was to squelch rumors that he was having an “incestuous relationship” with his cousin.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2500+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Finpal Asks Norman "What's Your Favorite Animal?"
Norman T. Goldfish answers questions from readers. Scroll down to read his responses.
Hey Kids!
Do you have a pet? Norman does. His pet is an animal. But, it’s not his favorite animal. Can you guess what Norman’s favorite animal is?
Scroll down to read Norman’s answer to Josh . . .
But first . . . a Finny:
Q. Why are do blue gills always wear blue?
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
This is not Norman, it’s a friend eating lunch
Finny Answer:
Q. Why are do blue gills always wear blue?
A. Because they don’t want to get caught red-flippered!
Hey Kids!
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #295-This Land is Your Land
Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation—our first Native American Poet Laureate! She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 9, 1951, lives in Tulsa now, as she did during my years in Tulsa, and so in a way, I feel she is my personal poet.
However, after having served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States (from 2019-2022), for the past several years she has been all of our poet.
“I feel strongly that I have a responsibility to all the sources that I am: to all past and future ancestors, to my home country, to all places that I touch down on and that are myself, to all voices, all women, all of my tribe, all people, all earth, and beyond that to all beginnings and endings.”
-Joy Harjo
An internationally renowned performer and writer, Joy Harjo is the author of ten books of poetry, including Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years, plays, memoires, and children’s books including a new picture book of her poem “Remember.” As a musician and performer, she has produced seven award-winning music albums including her newest, I Pray for My Enemies. She was the first Artist-in-Residence for Tulsa's Bob Dylan Center.
Poetry Challenge #295
This Land is Your Land
About her work, Poetry Foundation says: “Harjo draws on First Nation storytelling and histories, as well as feminist and social justice poetic traditions, and frequently incorporates indigenous myths, symbols, and values into her writing. Her poetry inhabits landscapes—the Southwest, Southeast, but also Alaska and Hawaii—and centers around the need for remembrance and transcendence.”
For this prompt, write a “Place” poem.
As an example, consider Harjo’s “Invisible Fish” (above) and how by using a few specific words she transports us to that dusty, desert. Try to likewise infuse your poem with symbols, myths, values specific to that place.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Experience Joy Harjo’s Eagle Poem yourself; her words in her voice: Eagle Poem - Audio Poem of the Day | Poetry Foundation
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
HOUSTON! Get Ready THTRB is Coming Your Way! JUNE 8-Save the Date!
Houston Friends It’s a Party and You’re Invited!
PEANUTS, POPCORN, CRACKER JACKS!
COME JOIN THE FUN AND YOU’LL NEVER LOOK BACK!
When: June 8, 5:00 pm
Where: Blue Willow Bookshop
Click to the Blue Willow Bookshop Event Link. All the details are below, too.
ONCE MORE WITH FEELING . . .
WINNER of the "WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" April 2023 QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
It’s That Time Again! What Time? Time to announce the winner of the 1st Quarter of 2023 “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” Quarterly Give-Away at Kelly’s Fishbowl!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media.
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random random drawing. And in the interest of transparency, we recorded the event. As we know you’re on the edge of your seat, anxiously waiting to find out if you are IT!
Watch the Winner Selection YouTube Video! (Not showing up on your device? Click HERE!
And the winner is . . .
Not so easy…to find that out, you’ll need to watch the next video because Dylan and Aiden want to announce it themselves! Click Here for the YouTube Link!
And the winner is . . . Emily!
(If you’re that Emily, you’ll be notified by email, so check your spam folder.) Lucky Emily will win dinner with a chicken or her choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
Poetry Challenge #294-Truth in the Night
Tra-lah! It’s May! The Lusty month of May! Let’s celebrate with another May, known for writing poetry and novels as true as the green of spring, fresh and pungent as pavement after a rain: poet/novelist May Sarton!
Born Eleanore Marie Sarton on May 3, 1912, in Belgium, her family moved to Cambridge, Mass in 1916 to escape the German army during WW1.
To say Sarton was born a poet, is no stretch. Her first series of sonnets was published when she was seventeen, in Poetry magazine, and seven years later in her first published collection, Encounter in April.
May Sarton wrote poetry, novels, documentary scripts for the war office… Unabashedly—shockingly to some—Sarton shared her truth. Truths many didn’t want to read, at the time, but that didn’t dull her quill.
“Examined as a whole," Lenora P. Blouin wrote in May Sarton: A Bibliography, "the body of May Sarton's writing is almost overwhelming. It reveals an artist who has not remained stagnant or afraid of change. 'Truth,' especially the truth within herself, has been her life-long quest."
Poetry Challenge #294
Truth in the Night
In her poem Bliss (above), Sarton takes us into her bedroom to see, hear, feel with her as she lay away in the middle of the night. It’s a simple moment and Sarton’s language is simple, but rich.
For this prompt, think of one time, one moment, one special place.
Write a poem describing the look, feel, sound of that moment.
Conclude your poem as Sarton did in “Bliss,” with a line summarizing the feeling that moment evokes in you.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Play like Millay!
May Sarton’s poetry and especially her novels are fabulous reading. Here’s Early Bird Books List of May Sarton’s Best Books.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Ask Norman: Why Were You So Shy?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Hey Kids! In Norman’s new adventure: NORMAN ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH, his human enters him in Pet-O-Rama, but when it’s time for him to perform, our finny friend, Norman gets very quiet. Why do you think he acts shy? Can you remember a time when you were shy?
Look….at…all…those…humans…….gluuuu-me-otta-here!
Ready to read Norman’s answer to Keisha? Scroll down . . .
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Poetry Challenge #293-Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Everyone has heard of William Shakespeare, whose birthday could be today since the exact date isn’t known. Records show he was baptized in April 1564. (If you know how or why April 26th is the date we celebrate let us know.)
We know the Bard wrote at least 39 dramatic plays, many of which are still regularly performed.
And, according to Oxford, added 1700 words to the English language. (There’s some debate about the veracity of that number but he’s credited with 420 for sure.) Here’s a list—No. Stop! Don’t look at the list now. Save the clicking for later. NOW…It’s Shakespeare’s day, join the celebration!
Hit it Cole! Brush Up Your Shakespeare, start quoting him now… from Kiss Me Kate:
Poetry Challenge #293
Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Maybe you have a favorite line from one of his plays or sonnets:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet XVIII)
“To be, or not to be: that is the question” (Hamlet)
“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?” (Romeo & Juliet)
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day” (Macbeth)“All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players:”
Let’s celebrate Shakespeare by putting one of his lines in a poem of your own. You can use the whole line as the first, last, or middle line of your new poem.
Or, if that doesn’t work for you, try writing one word on each line the way you would for an acrostic poem and begin your poem’s lines with the word from the quote.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Shakespeare It!
Once you’ve finished your poem, reward yourself with a movie. There are zillions of Shakespeare inspired movies out there. Or popped some corn and go for pure fun: Shakespeare in Love!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .