It’s Day 13 of our 2016 daily write-in. This year’s theme is FOUND OBJECTS. We have a new writing prompt for every day in February.
For those of you who are new to my blog, please read my introductory post about the February daily write-in. You’ll find more information and all of the Week 2 FOUND OBJECT prompts at this post.
We’re almost at the mid-way point! The project has grown in both participants and in poems produced this year. Tomorrow, along with the Week 3 prompts, I will share some early project statistics with you.
Important reminder: I can only take contributions left in the comments. Unless you have an art element that must be emailed, please leave your poems here, marked with the day, so I know which object you are writing in response to. I’m thrilled that so many people are participating this year, but I’m unable to keep track of poems sent in by email. Thanks for understanding!
FOUND: Sculpture? Skelton?
When Linda Baie of the blog Teacher Dance sent in this object, I knew I had to include it.
As you know by now, I don’t ask for information on the objects. Sometimes the contributor identifies what’s in the picture. This was not one of those times.
I have very little idea of what this object might be. I’m excited to hear what everyone makes of it!
It makes me happy when I hear that the Found Object of the day took someone down an unexpected path. Diane Mayr wrote in, “The object looked to me to be a seed pod, and when I was researching seed pods, I found the Jimson weed. Wikipedia had an excerpt from The History and Present State of Virginia (1705) in its article on Jimson weed. I ‘borrowed’ it for this poem.”
Psychedelic Jamestown, 1676: A Found Poem
By Diane Mayr
An early plant
gather’d very young
for a boil’d salad
by some of the soldiers
ate plentifully of it.
The effect of which
was a very pleasant comedy.
They turned natural fools.
One would blow up
a feather in the air.
Another would dart
straws at it with much fury.
And another, stark naked,
was sitting up in a corner
like a monkey, grinning.
A fourth would fondly kiss
and paw his companions
with a countenance
more antic than any
in a Dutch droll.
A thousand such simple
tricks they played
and after eleven days
returned themselves again
not remembering any
thing that had passed.
***
I also guessed at what the object might be and ended up leaning on information from an article in my poem. My response is 75% found poem. The last four lines are my own addition.
Found Poem
Pufferfish: National Geographic Kids
By Laura Shovan
These clumsy
swimmers
fill their elastic
stomachs
with water,
blow them
selves up-
several times
normal size.
Imagine seeing
a trick like that
right before
your hungry eyes.
***
Jessica Bigi’s poem, along with adorable art, made me laugh out loud. I didn’t “see” this when I looked at our Found Object, but of course it could be…
DAY 13 art and poem by Jessica Bigi.
Aunty
loved
sewing.
She
sewed
all year
long.
She sewed
till
that day
she saw
her
pincushion
running
after
her.
***
Porcupine Found Poem for Two VoicesClose Encounters – Advice?
And if you know a puffer fish
at times, they make a ball.
They float away from danger,
quite the smartest act of all.
No one can imagine hidden
in the amazing moon-like puff,
is a prickle that more than tickles
and you’ll soon be feeling rough.
Don’t take a bite or lickle it.
It’ll stop your taste of any dish.
And you certainly cannot tickle it,
the pretty prickle puffer fish.
Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved
***
More play with form! Mary Lee Hahn has what is sometimes called a “counting out” rhyme, a form that hearkens back to schoolyard games.
Jumprope Rhyme
sticker
pricker
porcupine
burr
spiney
tiney
pokery
fur
seed-head
skeleton
sculpture
fish
never want to
meet you
or find you
in my dish
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016
***
Donna Smith says, “Just started listing all the words to go with spiny – no clue what it was, but that was okay. And since my maiden name is on the prickly, spiny list… I wrote that out, too!” What a clever, creative response to our found object!
A Pointed Remark
Ah, looks like a spiny problem –
A prickly situation!
I bristled when I heard the barbs
With spinous insinuation.
A piercingly sharp comment –
Painful thorn in my side;
It’s best to dodge the scratches;
Avoid the burrs of the snide.
@Donna J Thistle Smith, all rights reserved
***
Charles Waters’ poem makes a nice pairing with Donna’s response for today.
CACTUS
By Charles Waters
Green with envy,
your needle point prickliness
hides the ugliness you
feel inside yourself.
***
Please visit Carol Varsalona’s blog Beyond LiteracyLink for a full post about her process in drafting today’s poem.
Prickly Pal
looking at me,
what noticings
do I see?
-wooden carving
-round hole on side
-sharpened quills
-big open eyed
Will you join me
for a feast
at my table,
you woodland beast?
But wait, you are not
a friendly guest
your sharpened edges
would prick my chest.
©CVarsalona, 2016
***
Catherine Flynn took two of our guesses and combined them into one poem.
“Defense Mechanism”
By Catherine Flynn
Instead of blending
into the background, melting
out of sight, pufferfish shout
“BOO!”
Ballooning, tripling
in size, drawing
their swords, warning
“STAY AWAY!”
Porcupine of the sea.
***
We had some funny poems today. From the first line of Jone MacCulloch’s poem, I was smiling along with our object.
Oh hedgie
you prickly little rascal
I want to hold you
in my hands
but
those poky spikes
keep me away
Who made you?
Why do you smile?
Were you carve from one piece?
What secrets do you keep?
© 2016 Jone Rush MacCulloch all rights reserved
***
DAY 14 FOUND OBJECT PROMPT
See you tomorrow for Day 14 and the Week 3 FOUND OBJECTS.
Interested in what we’ve written so far? Here are links to this week’s poems:
Sunday, February 7
FOUND OBJECT: Blood Letting Knife
Poems by: Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Laura Shovan, Catherine Flynn, Linda Baie, Molly Hogan, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine.
Note: You will find links to all of the Week 1 poems at this post.
Monday, February 8
FOUND OBJECT: SCULPTURE IN THE WOODS
Poems by: Laura Shovan, Jessica Bigi, Heidi Mordhorst, Carol Varsalona, Linda Baie, Margaret Simon, Donna Smith, Diane Mayr, Joanne R. Polner, Kay McGriff, Molly Hogan, Mary Lee Hahn, Catherine Flynn, Jone Rush MacCulloch.
Tuesday, February 9
FOUND OBJECT: TIRE TRACKS IN SNOW
Poems by: Molly Hogan, Jessica Bigi, Linda Baie, Violet Nesdoly, Carol Varsalona, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Laura Shovan, Diane Mayr, Jone Rush MacCulloch, Catherine Flynn, Kay McGiff, Charles Waters.
Wednesday, February 10 at Reflections on the Teche
FOUND OBJECT: LOTUS PODS
Poems by: Diane Mayr, Patricia VanAmburg, Jessica Bigi, Molly Hogan, Laura Shovan, Charles Waters, Buffy Silverman, Catherine Flynn, Linda Baie, Carol Varsalona, Violet Nesdoly, Heidi Mordhorst, Donna Smith, Mary Lee Hahn, Margaret Simon.
Thursday, February 11
FOUND OBJECT: WALNUT DOLL
Poems by: Diane Mayr, Carol Varsalona, Laura Shovan, Linda Baie, Violet Nesdoly, Donna Smith, Jessica Bigi, Mary Lee Hahn, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Margaret Simon.
Friday, February 12
FOUND OBJECT: CREAM? MERINGUE?
Poems by: Patricia VanAmburg, Diane Mayr, Jessica Bigi, Margaret Simon, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna Smith, Linda Baie, Carol Varsalona, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Laura Shovan, Heidi Mordhorst.
Amazing responses! I’m glad I’m not the only person to find a poem in my research, but not the right answer to my question: what is it?
SPOILERS!
This should answer your question, Diane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcDfYV5GsRc
Mystery solved-a puffer fish skeleton. It was fun trying to figure out the mystery.
I liked that you found a way “in” through a pod, and created a good story, Diane.
it is a puff fish I know this but wasn’t sour if it was real or hand made but I just couldn’t resist making it a monster pincushions Everyone’s pomes are so wonderful and so different I have been enjoying reading them this past two cant what for the new week of writing and pic
I had the same reaction, Jessica. It looks as if it had been carved from an apple or a potato to me.
I was thinking clay or wood
I tried, I really did–but for some reason this just creeped me out too much to write about. I should have gone with my first instinct and written not TO it but AWAY from it!
Day 13
A Pointed Remark
Ah, looks like a spiny problem –
A prickly situation!
I bristled when I heard the barbs
With spinous insinuation.
A piercingly sharp comment –
Painful thorn in my side;
It’s best to dodge the scratches;
Avoid the burrs of the snide.
@Donna J Thistle Smith, all rights reserved
Just started listing all the words to go with spiny – no clue what it was, but that was okay. And since my maiden name is on the prickly, spiny list… I wrote that out, too!
Donna, I love the way you used the spines in your poem as an action/character trait. Brilliant!
Wonderful reactions, but it is indeed a puffer fish skeleton I found on the beach of the Sea of Cortez long ago. Jessica, love that pincushion response, and everyone else’s too. I had to do more research too, but didn’t think of a found poem, clever. And the connection to a porcupine is right, isn’t it? The only way to pick this up is to grip it with fingers through the eye holes.
What an amazing detail, Linda. There could be a poem about the act of picking this skeleton up through the sockets.
Laura, after writing my post I see that today’s object was really a fish. I toyed with that idea but kept going back to the wooden object being a porcupine carving. Since I took the stance of a student who was befuddled I wrote a draft that needs work. But isn’t that what writing should really be, a work in progress until it finds its proper word weaving? My post and draft are at http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2016/02/unusual-digital-prompt.html. I humbly submit this in light of the wonderful writing from each member of the group.
Shortcut to the poem:
Prickly Pal
looking at me,
what noticings
do I see?
-wooden carving
-round hole on side
-sharpened quills
-big open eyed
Will you join me
for a feast
at my table,
you woodland beast?
But wait, you are not
a friendly guest
your sharpened edges
would prick my chest.
©CVarsalona, 2016
I puzzled over the day 13 photo. I thought along the same lines as Diane, thinking it was some kind of seed pod. Wonderful poems came out of the mystery.
Here’s my poem for DAY 14. I tried to make it Valentine-ish.
Sonnet to a Potato
(with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee boiled, peel-mashed, deep fried as chips
in gravy drowned, sweet, baked, spiced hot with dips.
I laud thee for thy subterranean days,
thy secret growth all hidden from sun’s rays.
Fair starchy flesh thou’rt comfort to my lips.
Thy calories they fortify my hips.
Sweet staple nightshade fruit, I give thee praise
for skin of white or yellow, russet, red
for Yukon Gold, Kerr’s pink, purple or blue.
Thou giv’st thyself in pancakes, latkes, bread
skins, salads, hash browns, scallops, soup and stew.
Though sometimes named tater or spud instead
To thee, Potato, this sonnet is due!
~ Violet Nesdoly
“They calories they fortify my hips.” I am DYING over here!
I’m in awe of all these poems and the poets who created them! Here is my Day 13 contribution:
“Defense Mechanism”
Instead of blending
into the background, melting
out of sight, pufferfish shout
“BOO!”
Ballooning, tripling
in size, drawing
their swords, warning
“STAY AWAY!”
Porcupine of the sea.
DAY 14 By Jessica Bigi
Loaded Back Potato
L icks
O lives
A vocados
D ill
E ndive
D elouses
B uttery Broccoli Beckon
A vocados
C heater Chees Chilly
K ael
P otato
O nions
T omato
A leman foil
T easpoon of salt
O ven Backed Smiles
Made changes use this this one
DAY 14 By Jessica Bigi
Loaded Back Potato
L icks
O lives
A vocados
D ill
E ndive
D elouses
B uttery Broccoli Beckon
A vocados
K ael cheesy chilly
E ndives
D elouses
P otato
O nions
T omato
A leman foil
T easpoon of salt
O ven Backed
(o ven backed smiles) should be at the end
Laura, I decided to satisfy my inner cravings while the house is quiet so created digital compositions. The link to the Day 14 comfort food poem is at http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2016/02/indulging-inner-cravings.html (Indulging Inner Cravings).
The Shortcut to the Poem follows:
Pierced by arrows of love
filled to the brim
a salty masterpiece-
comfort food
on a wintry day.
I also would like to invite the bloggers of this community to the ISTELitChat next Sunday night at 9pm EST. I will be guest moderating the chat. The topic is the Power of Poetry. I know that this group of writers have powerful voices that should be heard via the chat.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Day 14
Loaded Language
“Does this potato come with any toppings?”
“Lady, that’s a loaded question.”
“Whoa, that baked potato must be loaded!
Look at his white stretch limo!”
“Get a load of Baked Potato–
she thinks she’s so fancy in her cream-colored coat,
butter pat hat and her chives-and-cheese
statement necklace.”
“Baked Potato’s been down at Benny’s Bar & Grill all night.”
“Yep, he’ll be heading home loaded again…”
© Heidi Mordhorst 2016
I guess it’s the times that made me go the way I did, a little funny, a little sad.
Society Woe – Mistaken Identity
They heard some words about
a potato loaded.
The lady at the back screamed out, so loud.
He said ‘twas from the kiosk at the corner,”
but all he felt was turmoil from the crowd.
Again, he mentioned “loaded” to the people.
This time, they froze, raised hands high in the air.
He laughed and shouted, “Wait, you’re all misguided;
this is a tater, not a shooter. Don’t despair.
His over-loaded, steaming baked potato
cheered those who had felt foolish and mistaken.
“Whew!” they answered, then asked about the butter,
then sour cream, the shredded cheese and bacon.
He answered this by pulling out his package
The odor swirled, and everyone cried “MORE”!
People need to listen well to others,
especially to a stranger at the door.
Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved
I didn’t research but it doesn’t surprise me that it’s a seed pod. Here’s mine: https://deowriter.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/found-objects-poetry-challenge-day-13/
Day 14
Ode to a Loaded Potato
Oh, potato,
humble one,
Our relationship
Is over-done;
I cannot have
Another taste
If I want to still
Reduce my waist.
And so baked friend
I say to you
A fond farewell –
So long, adieu.
Maybe someday,
When I am able,
With rekindled love
And reset table
I will indulge with
Sour cream,
Crisp bacon bits
And cheesy stream.
But for now
My love must wait;
I flirt with celery
On my plate.
[…] February 13 FOUND OBJECT: PUFFER FISH SKELETON Poems by: Diane Mayr, Laura Shovan, Jessica Bigi, Margaret Simon, Linda Baie, Mary Lee Hahn, Donna […]