the sound of music •♪•♫•♪•

•♪•

•

•♪•

•

•♪•♫•♪•

•

i don't know about you, but i find inspiration for poetry everywhere. many of my poems start with an image or a song. i often listen to music while i'm writing, do you?

•

•♪•♫•♪•

•

the prompt this week is to use music as your inspiration. maybe you have a favorite song or have heard one recently that made you start thinking of a poem. i usually go to http://www.youtube.com/ either looking for a song or a singer/band. sometimes i type in a word or phrase and see what songs come up in a search ~ or you can just browse. most of the music videos have versions which contain the lyrics either in the video or in the description below the video. you might find a line which you want to incorporate into your poem. you can also look for an artist/band or specific song at http://www.songlyrics.com/ {the lyrics are not always correct though.}

•

•♪•♫•♪•

•

you can include a link to a music video or the music video itself in your post if you'd like. sometimes the videos will not allow you to embed them on your website. i have found that if i select a video which has had less than 500,000 views, it will almost always play on my blog. {i never click on a video with less than 5,000 views in case there may be a virus.} or include a link to a video {ie: http://youtube.com/ sample-video-identification number which is found in the address bar at the top of the page} or at least a footnote referencing the song which provided the inspiration for your poem. i include the lyrics at the bottom of my post as several readers have said they like that, though it does make for a long post. {smile}

•

•♪•♫•♪•

•

•♪•

•

•♪•

•

i hope you find your inspiration in a song this week!

thanks for playing along and Happy New Year!

dani

my heart's love songs

•

•♪•♫•♪•

•

•♪•

•

•♪•

•

Solitary

Greetings, Jammers!   We've been heartened by the wonderful participation Poetry Jam has had these past weeks.  Thank you, all, who have participated, and do spread the word.

We think we have another good writing challenge for this week. The theme is solitary, and I suppose I could just leave it at that but I'll throw out some additional  ideas to perhaps inspire your creative juices:

A solitary wine glass:. Where are you? At home? Elsewhere? What fills it? Oor is it empty? Does the glass itself have significance to you? A gift maybe?

A solitary coffee cup: Where are you? At home? Elsewhere? Is anyone near?

A solitary candle: Did you light it? What does it signify?

A solitary rose: For what occasion? For whom? Or from whom?

A solitary walk: Where are you? On the beach? In the woods? Walking through your old neighborhood?

You may want to just reflect on the word itself.  Is "solitary" positive or negative for you?  What are your solitary joys, sadnesses?  When you think of it, life itself is a solitary journey, isn't it?

These are just a few ideas. Take the word 'solitary' and go wherever your mind takes you. We are hoping for some interesting writes. Many are in the midst of a busy holiday season right now.  Perhaps not much 'solitary' time for writing.  But we'll be here all week, so hope you will find time for a write. (We encourage you to write a NEW poem, even if it takes a few days.)  I will be around to visit all who write / share a poem, and I hope if you post a link you will visit as many others as you can too, as we all enjoy comments.  Come back a time or two during the week to read new additions!

Oh, and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate!

Posted by Mary who blogs at In the Corner of My Eye

Occupy THIS

This week let us occupy ourselves with ~

(that is, engage, absorb, inhabit, hold, dwell in, and otherwise take up the cause of)

the power verb

OCCUPY

in any form ~

Perhaps you are preoccupied, even obsessed, with something? …

Maybe what moves you is an occupation, a person’s or a foreign army? …

Does the Occupy movement itself ignite a protest poem? …

Have fun!

Posted by Chris who blogs at Enchanted Oak.

Past and Future



Photo: Old and young, a Yi village in Western China, 2005



Past and Future

Now there's a broad spectrum of time to think about. We all have a past and a future, everything has them. They may be earthly or not, imaginary or in some other dimension. And who can forget Dickens' Christmas ghosts (of past and future)? 

Some people seem to have a particular affinity for a certain period of time. Some seem always to be looking to the future and others to live in the past.   And there's always the tantalizing idea of time travel.  Lots of places to go with past and future. What periods of time do your like to imagine about?  There are people, places, events, feelings--all sort of things go with past or future.

So see where these ideas take you. Use one or both.  I look forward to your efforts posted here with Mr. Linky. 

Peggy Goetz

Blogging at On a Day Like Today




Poetry Jam Reinvented

Hi Poetry Jammers!  Let's get Poetry Jam "on the map" of the blogosphere.  I  want to tell you all that we have a new team here, a very dedicated team.  Each of us is dedicated to doing all that we can to further the cause of Poetry Jam.

New prompts will appear every Wednesday (or perhaps late Tuesday night)  here in the US.  You will have a week to respond to them.  And we sincerely hope that you will.  We also hope that you will respond at least to some of those who responded to the same challenge you do.  Blogging is reciprocal, after all.  We are a small enough site that it is  possible to visit a lot of posters, I think. I (Mary) will be responding to everyone.  I consider it the right thing to do, but also enjoy comments on my writings, as do others who share.  See you all late Tuesday or Wednesday for a new prompt.

I have also added a Blogroll of people who have participated in at least one of the last two challenges. I will continue to update this with participants and also try to keep it current (listing regular participators), so I hope you all will continue to come back!

I am posting this Monday night.  Watch for Peggy's prompt later Tuesday night or early Wednesday. She has a good one. Please follow us if you want to be updated as to when a new challenge appears.  Thank you for taking part in Poetry Jam.