Writing

Day 19-Poet’s Billow Challenge: My Treasure box speaks

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

For today’s poem, write a dramatic monologue in the persona of an inanimate object. To stay true to the theme, give voice to one of your old stuffed animals, dolls, trucks–any toy that meant something to you when you were a child, or at some other point in your life. Perhaps the voice will speak about something it has witnessed. Perhaps, like the horse, it will share its wisdom or philosophy of life. I have chosen one of my most meaningful possessions – my Treasure Box to speak:

This is excellent! – the chance to get out of the dark and stand up and speak. Of late, you’ve neglected me. Perhaps it’s because you’ve stored me in a place that you seldom reach. It’s dark up here and life get’s a bit lonely  sometimes. There was a time when you tended me so lovingly, always feeding me with food from your soul.

Did something change that caused you to neglect me?

You do recall, that I’m the keeper of so many of your secrets. I’ve looked into your journals and through them, I’ve heard your unencumbered laughter, felt the deep ache in your heart that you never thought would go away. Some of my contents are still dried with your downpour of tears.

You haven’t forgotten have you? Remember that little poetry book that your dear friend gave you when she self published. Do you remember her words in the autograph she wrote for you. I recall how surprised you were to find that poem she wrote for you where her words illustrated how much she  looked up to you, the irony being  that you always wanted to be like her. You also kept the eulogy that you read at her funeral – Another special person gone too soon. She knew didn’t she, that she was leaving for a better place when she threw that outrageous party on her 39th birthday?

Then, the hymn sheet for your dear mother when she passed on . That hymn sheet is symbolic of so many regrets and sadness for the life she had.

And the bookmark from another close friend whose life was claimed just before she turned 41. She was so beautiful!

Do you still regret moving on with your life when the two of you had been so so close? But beyond the sadness of it all, I know that you kept that bookmark as a reminder of the great times you had together. Remember those Friday evening pub drinks where everyone looked at you because you were the only person of color and she didn’t care. Wasn’t it exactly that rebellious nature that attracted you to her from the start?

She spoke of you fondly to someone  just before she went off on holiday – not knowing that that she was leaving never to return after a car accident. Do you still have regrets or have you let it go now?

By the way, I still smell of sage which you spilt  on me one day. But perhaps that’s a message for you. After all, I am your Sage am I not?

I am the keeper of your achievements – like that French badge of honor for the work you did, the photograph of your team when you won that special award and some of your favorite birthday and anniversary cards.

Remember how your eldest daughter always drew pictures of mountains and the sun rising behind. That was how she saw the world as a little child. Then your baby girl – you kept her handmade birthday card – the black one with red tinselled hearts. She has always been so creative and now she  is wise beyond her years and tries to play the voice of reason for you. Listen to her! She longs for more of your attention and love.

And of course there is that photograph which took on a life of its own everytime you looked at it, a reminder of the best of times and the worst of times, the joy and pain of a great love.

Ah my dear, I’m so grateful that you’ve given me this chance to remind you that I hold your life story, your deepest emotions, your smiles and your tears, your anger and remorse, your unravelling and your healing, your darkest and loneliest nights. But I also hold your happiest delights.

Perhaps it is time for you to take me out of my dark hiding place for a while and decide what you still want to hold on to and what you’d like to let go.

But before I go, I just want to say how proud and honored I am to be the keeper of your treasures, to know you so well and to have been trusted with both your light and your darkness.

I think it’s time for you to decide on adding some new treasures and while you are at it, perhaps you’d like to remove my old sage fragrance. How about a few drops of  Frankincense and Myrrh instead ?– in fact, I wouldn’t mind being kitted out with new  clothes.

Namaste

Treasure box

Day 18-The Poet’s Billow Challenge: Changing Scenery

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

For today’s prompt, write a work poem. What’s your typical Monday look like at the office? What’s your dream job? Maybe write a list poem about the contents of your briefcase or toolbox. Are you a stay-at-home parent? What’s that look and smell like? Use the senses and specific diction to bring your job and work to life. This is my take !

Just one experience and I swiftly knew

I couldn’t sit in an office without a view

What exhilaration I felt, speeding along

On open highways, tapping to my favorite song

The adrenalin rush of a crowded space

The excitement and anticipation on every face

As I stood at the podium to announce the line up

Everyone hoping that they’d take the winner’s cup

Then the aftermath, conversations, hugs and cheers

Another chalk up to one of those good years

The scenery has changed significantly now

I have more liberty to the who, what and how

After all these years of answering to a boss

I have no regrets, more feeling of triumph than loss

Now I get to listen to the song of the birds

Get lost in the meaning of the most creative words

Less need to suffer the dreaded Monday blues

In the work that I do and- who? I get to choose

Still get around to the tall glass buildings

Large reception space and lofty ceilings

The realm of power houses and famous brands,

Or driving through small towns and farmlands

I now love to choose from a repertoire of skills

Which ones to use to earn enough to pay the bills

Best of all, is spending more time in the sunshine

Enjoying the fact that the smell of freedom is mine

I know that it won’t always be that smooth and easy

But hoping I only do the things that truly please me

Day 17 – The Poet’s Billow Challenge: The letter

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

For today’s poem, we’ve been challenged to  write an epistolary poem, or a letter poem. An epistolary poem can come in any form and be about any matter. I have chosen to write a fictional letter to myself to be opened on my 70th birthday. I chose a letter format for this reflective piece.

My Dearest Chev

If you are reading this letter, it means that you have reached

your 70th birthday and since my instructions were clear,

this should be your first birthday wish for the day. I hope

your children are throwing a big birthday bash for you.

That was always one of your gripes – that everyone forgot

about your birthday after you turned one because of that terrible incident

at your 1st birthday party. I know you made up for it  in how you  raised

your family but still – this is an incredible milestone for you.

 Enough of the chit chat – I really wanted this letter to serve as a 

 reflection of your life since I last saw you so many years ago. Did you ever go on

that Santiago trail to Spain? If you did was it good for you? Did you find what you had

 been searching for all your life? Or did you return home and find that what  

you had been looking for had been right there in front of you all the time?

What about your great dream – to make your life count, to make a 

 contribution to the world? I know how hard you had already worked

 when I last met you. But you were never satisfied were you? You had been

 fascinated by those epic dreams – always convinced that your visit to Egypt

and St Etienne du Mont were signs that you needed to save the world.

 Did you my dear?

What about your family? Are your children doing well? I always thought

 your little one was just like you. I remember how she dressed in your clothes

 and she loved your stiletto heels, your sunglasses, your perfume.

 Did you both get over that terrible fight you had  when she complained that you

were always working?

Oh I have so many questions to ask. Did you meet your dear friend

on the Hudson river, did you Salsa dance in Mexico? What about

Timesquare? You always said that you wanted to see in the new year

with your family amidst the throngs of Time square. Did you ever

get to dance on the table again? You said you were done with fast cars,

did you downscale for something smaller?

But you know the question I’m dying to ask. Did you eventually meet

him – the one you talked about in all our conversations, the one you said

felt like the other half of your soul, the missing jigsaw piece, the one

who broke your heart and stole it back again?  Did you find that magic

you were so sure was out there if you just followed the signs? And….

Was it all you had dreamt of ? Did the reality match the fantasy? Oh

my dear, it seldom does,but if you found it, I hope you soaked  up the

adventure as you always did in all other things.

I must say goodbye now. Before I do though, I wanted to remind you to open

your treasure box that you filled with all your prized keepsakes over the years.

All the reminders of so many blessings you’ve had in your life and to

give thanks to the greatest artist of all time for making you the

special work of art that I know you still are. Your gratitude may just

earn you another 20 years. But even if it doesn’t, I have no doubt that

in your remaining years, the best is yet to come!

Happy Birthday my dear and above all – let peace abide in that restless

soul of yours…..

Kindest regards

Chevonne  

Day 16-Poet Billow’s Challenge: It’s not a fairytale

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

For this prompt, create a new poetry form. You can focus on rhyme as does the sonnet, repetition of words or lines as do the pantoum and sestina, or subject matter as does the elegy.

Invent the form and then write the poem.

I decided to model my form loosely on the pantoum (Pantoumime) with my rules as follows:

  • Poem to comprise of 4 stanzas
  • Poem starts with a question that is repeated in each stanza but shifts

position until it is in the last line of the last stanza

  • You may alter the recurring question by use of punctuation or emphasis through Italics
  • The poem should deal with a perplexing issue

Why does nothing ever stay the same?

Walking down the aisle, fixed with a smile,

Nothing was impossible if we imagined it!

We vowed that nothing would ever change.

Fool to believe that we could keep that pledge.

Why? …. Does nothing ever stay the same?

In this world of looped-virtual, soap opera-reality,

You switched channels on me, wanting variety.

Did someone change the rules while we slept?

Am I the only one feeling cheated and bereft?

Why does nothing ever stay the same?

I thought it was all about us and a happy family,

The years have soldiered on with limping legs,

Patched up veterans standing in old enemy lines,

Reverting to lonely trenches – not artillery strikes.

Why does nothing ever stay the same?

The colour of your name

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

Now I see

Life in abundance.

Through you, I am so blessed,

Destiny’s guide, my soul-mate, clear as

Crystal!

————————————————————————–

This form of poem is called a SIDLAK – Thank you Quirky for sharing with us.

Its structure comprises syllables of 3/5/7/9/  with the last line being a colour to give you a total of five lines.

The last line must be a COLOUR that describes the whole poem or the feelings of the writer. Life comes in different shades and hues. The colourful the merrier. Try it out with your true colours.

This is a special dedication to my dear friend Christel whom I met 3 years ago on a Jazz train in Switzerland and from the pavement in GStaad, she has been an inextricable part of my life ever since. Christel,you see me as no one else can – in my true colours. With lots of love – Chevvy

   For you: one day we will cry me a river on the Hudson🌹

Day 15 – The Poet’s Billow Challenge: All I dream about

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

This challenge required that we compile a list of cliches and mix and match words from them to compose a poem. See how many of the cliches you can recognise:-)

Walk softly

between the lines-

can’t hide it.

It’s in the storm,

the flame,

wrenching pain,

quiet fear-

in the track of the ink,

that you can tell,

the floating feeling

I have with you.

Roller coaster,

heart-stopping

shivers down my spine,

Every time

you come across.

Like a dream,

then waking up,

lost track of time.

Damned if you do-

damned if you don’t,

head over heels

in love with you.

All I dream about!

Day 14: Poet’s Billow challenge: Pyramid of love

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

Today’s challenge

Choose 4-5 books about varying things–a collection or two of poetry, an autobiography, a book about stones, a novel. Pick up a book, randomnly open to a page, glance down. The phrase your eyes catch: write it down. Pick up another book and repeat the process 10 times. Then, see what you have and revise it into a poem. You will be amazed at the way the universe’s synchronicity manifests itself in such an approach.

I chose the following  books: The soul of Rumi by Coleman Barks,Peaches for Mensiour le Carè by Joanne Harris,I know why a caged birds sings by Maya Angelou, Eat Mangoes Naked by SARK, Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock and Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. Enjoy!

You knew that I was a bird with broken wings.

You saw the condemnation of five syllables:

Pandemonium, as it spread across an old sky.

With pampered politeness that tipped the scale,

you reminded me that pleasure can be found

tucked into pockets and corners of the mind

where burdens that were clogged, tipped the scale

relieved from feeling overwhelmed and besieged.

You’ve given me a motive to write, fulfil each moment

to fall in harmony and rise like pyramid mounds,

miraculous levitation of rocks which had obscured

my path to an airy enclosure, now my source of dreams.

You wake in my early morning and melt my meaning

as honey melts in milk. So let’s proceed in pleasure

dancing with the pits, not the side of hell but at the

morning staircase of  a life where everything just is.

Let’s join hands like interlocking polygonal blocks,

those which stood the test of time as archeology finds.

Fall in harmony with me for a while, since this experience

is not eternal. We both know the reality cannot be.

This rose never stays long enough for weeds to grow

Do not fear though, I’ll  see you everywhere.

 I’ll be there …..

Day 13 – Poet’s Billow Challenge: Recipe for a good marriage

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

Today’s challenge asks to write on a poem in the form of a recipe. This poem doesn’t have to be about food but an abstraction like love, wealth,pride. I’ve chosen marriage. 

This recipe has been crafted from a combination of my own experiences and lessons learnt and observations from friends, family and colleagues and not to be read as an expert’s advice but a creative piece for reflection – your comments are very welcome.

Recipe for a good marriage

Ingredients

This recipe will require 4 key ingredients which are further broken down into other individual ingredients. Some proportions will vary according to personal taste and dietary requirements

(1) ¼ portion of mutual attraction

  • Physical – shop around a bit to determine suitable quantities you require in relation to beauty, physique versus sex appeal. Note that the sex appeal which exudes from your potential partner is not always to do with physical features (Note also that physical features do change with age so choose with this in mind)
  • Things in common – Buy enough common interest to enjoy together but get a sufficient bunch of individual and diverse pursuits to stay interesting and not be overly dependent on each other
  • Chemistry – feel the attraction through that magical click of mind, body and soul. This is often not a tangible ingredient. You’ll just know when you enter the store
  • Communication – buy a bunch of verbal and body language skills and a bottle of intuition
  • Intelligence – Try to find equally matched quantities of intelligence
  • Passion/romance – You might need to shop around for this special ingredient in the spice shop. A packet of mixed spice is recommended including mild, medium and hot
  • Companionship – If all else fails, this can be your saving ingredient, therefore it should be high on your shopping list

    (2)    ¼ portion of compatibility

Suggest you buy all these in bulk, you won’t always know when you may need it.

Try  to get a complete pack that includes all of these ingredients

  • trust
  • humour
  • space/freedom
  • respect
  • tolerance
  • patience
  • forgiveness
  • finance
  • values and beliefs

(3)   ¼ of satisfying sex

  • mind – A Bouquet garni of mind over matter is vital, and is good to include in a marinade before putting your dish in the oven
  • mood – A box of dinner treats, chocolates, wine, fireplace, music, dance, and thoughtfulness must be acquired according to taste and be added to the marinade
  • moves – Ensure that you buy a packet of liquorice all sorts here since you’ll need to vary your flavor as and when you choose and buy a box of headache tablets in case you need them

(4)  ¼ of family

  • children – This might be optional but if you consider it a crucial ingredient, decide on quantity and how you want to prepare it ahead of time since your meal will need to include it everyday like salt
  • extended family – Be sure to look beyond seeing this ingredient as a trimming since it can make your meal wholesome or spoil the taste completely
  • time – Buy plenty of time to make allowance for preparation, flavoring and shelf life of your meal. It is also important that there is enough time for everyone’s plate including your own

Method

Sift through portions 1 and 2 and mix and stir until all ingredients are smooth and creamy. Preheat the oven. Heat portion 3 separately until it has reached the right temperature and mix well with portions 1 and 2. Place in a large casserole dish and bake for as long as you can. You will need to keep basting your dish with portion 4. While portion 4 is very important, you may have to alter according to taste.

This serves a maximum of two as a main course. Dessert is optional and dependant on whether you have a sweet tooth. Note that dessert if not considered carefully, can ruin your meal.

Day 12 Poet’s Billow Challenge: In light and shadow

by Chevvy, posted in Poetry

Today’s challenge is to be a Flâneur! As Bijan Stephen writes on the Paris Review blog:

“The figure of the flâneur—the stroller, the passionate wanderer emblematic of nineteenth-century French literary culture—has always been essentially timeless; he removes himself from the world while he stands astride its heart…the flâneur heralded an incisive analysis of modernity, perhaps because of his connotations: “[the flâneur] was a figure of the modern artist-poet, a figure keenly aware of the bustle of modern life, an amateur detective and investigator of the city, but also a sign of the alienation of the city and of capitalism,” as a2004 article in the American Historical Review put it.

What is this despairing, despondence choking my heart?

Turning it into a block of stone, a magnetic force-field

that draws me through narrow, forlorn streets of Paris,

a place I call home, but increasingly feel I don’t belong.

Like a tourist, I wander through the streets at night

sometimes, at anytime of the day – when I feel restless,

Longing for the wonder I see in their eyes, now lost to me!

A city of my birth in which I no longer feel wild and free.

Standing beneath an arcane lamp post across the street,

I light up another cigarette and watch the snaked queue

outside the Moulin Rouge. It’s eleven o’clock, a bustling night.

The snake slithers and curves around shops, decrepit and sleazy.

There is an air of marvel, mixed with impatience as foreigners meet.

I hear the American voices above the din, bold bitching, words

about poor service followed by explosive laughter, contrary to

the lilting pitch of locals’ exchanged greetings, Bonjour, ça va?

I take my place in the queue, snaking my way to the entrance,

In tow,up the stairs of red carpet opulence, duping these visitors!

The casino-style ambience, black-clothed tables, champagne on ice,

a splendid show, well worth the price for the captivated audience.

After the show, resuming my place, beneath a shadowed lamplight,

watching the dispersing champagne crowd, voices ever so loud,

delaying returning to my narrow abode in its narrow cobbled street,

watching the city’s light and its shadow, a return of lonely discontent!

Stubbing my cigarette, I sigh: the mirror has two faces, c’est la vie!