It’s Poetry Friday! Happy birthday to the many February and March bloggers in our community. Karen Edmisten is hosting the Poetry Friday link-up this week. Stop by Karen Edmisten* for links to poetry posts from around the globe.
Hello, Poetry Friday friends.
It’s the last week of the February Poetry Project.
I always have a mix of feelings as we head into the final days of this writing practice. If I’ve managed to draft a poem every day, there’s a sense of accomplishment. There’s the exhiliration of seeing the finish line ahead! But there’s also a bit of sadness, knowing that our community of poets won’t be meeting so frequently until February rolls around again.
Are you thinking, “What is this poetry project of which you speak, Laura?” Read about this year’s project here. And there is background on this project — now in its ninth year! — at this post.
2021 Theme: Bodies
Read more about this theme at my Week 1 project post here.
Every day, a member of the project shares a prompt related to our theme. With their permission, I am posting those prompts here on my blog, for those who’d like to follow along with the project. Your daily task is to write a poem based on that day’s body-inspired prompt. The point of this exercise is to practice the habit of writing regularly, even if it’s just for one month.
For those of you following along, the last week’s prompts are in this post. Feel free to post your poetic responses in the comments.
Ready for the next set of prompts?
DAY 22: Monday, February 22, 2021
Prompt by Diane Mayr (Share with permission)
If we look at the body, we also have to look at the malfunctioning of it, and, efforts at remediation. I recently read an article that mentioned quack medicine and I went looking for a little history. I found this page, which includes scans of quack medicine ads and labels.
I won’t vouch for the accuracy of the written portion, but I found the ads and labels leading me off in a hundred different directions. It may provide you with poetry fodder. I hope so, but if not, with the US death toll reaching 500,000+, maybe it’s time for a poem about vaccination.
DAY 23: Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Prompt by Kathy Mazurowski
Procedural memory is a form of long-term memory that enables people to learn and execute tasks. It has been described as a kind of implicit memory: Unlike when a person recalls facts or images, someone using procedural memory may not be consciously aware that it’s being accessed.
Check out this article about Procedural Memory.
Photo credit: Jimi Jo M Friedman, on Instagram @jmfriedmanphoto
DAY 24: Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Prompt by Lisa Vihos (Shared with permission)
Photo by Jimi Jo M. Friedman (Shared with permission)
Today’s prompt is inspired by an image called “Winged Woman,” by a friend of mine, artist Jimi Jo M Friedman.Look for bodies (could be people, animals, mythical beings, or angels) in unexpected places in nature: in clouds, trees, water, flowers, rocks, mountains, valleys, hills, or….???Write a poem about what you find.
There’s more to this photo than meets the eye!
Octopuses (not octopi!) are the masters of camouflage, not only matching the color of their skin to their surroundings, but also the texture (like the one disguised as coral in the photo). Engineers have even developed 3-D technology for “soft robots” by studying this phenomenon.
For your prompt today, perhaps think about the ways we try to blend in, or how we use our bodies for defense, or even about tricks of the eye. Maybe even think about other animal bodies that are unique, wacky, or extraordinary in some way.
[…] Happy writing, everyone! To catch up on any prompts you missed, Week 1 is here. And Week 2 is here. And the last set of prompts are here. […]
[…] Happy writing, everyone! To catch up on any prompts you missed, Week 1 is here. Week 3 is here. And the last set of prompts are here. […]
[…] Happy writing, everyone! To continue your February writing habit, the Week 2 prompts are here. Week 3 is here. And the last set of prompts are here. […]
Lots of interesting diverse prompts this week! Thanks.
Yes! The poetic responses have shown a lot of breadth.
It’s been an amazing month, Laura, so much learning along with the writing! Have a lovely ‘last’ weekend of February!
Thanks, Linda. You too. This year has been especially strong.
I’m having fun writing and as much fun reading all the wonderful responses. There are so many different ways to respond to the same prompt! I so appreciate you hosting the annual event. Thank you.
Thanks for being part of it, Linda!
I love the prompts this week and hope to get them written. I am thrilled to be part of this yearly project.
Take as much time as you need, Jone.
Another amazing week of prompts!
It’s been another week of amazing prompts. I am with you on the mix of feelings. It’s an intense month, and by this time I’m excited I’ve written every day (so far), tired from trying to keep up with all the poems, and knowing I will miss it when the month ends.
What a fabulous group of prompts, Laura. I hope February has yielded a lot of creative fruit for you!
More fabulous prompts!
[…] I didn’t get to every February prompt offered by Laura Shovan, I gave one or two a try every week. The poem I want to share this week is from a prompt by Randi […]