Weekly Poetry Challenge Stars | Theme Prompt #175: Merril D. Smith

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

23 Comments

Hello, everyone:

Many of you participated in NaPoWritMo, the National Poetry Society’s writing contest where you’re asked to write a poem a day during the month of April. Let me congratulate all of you who took part. In fact, many of you didn’t miss this challenge, taking part in both at the same time! You all deserve accolades for your hard work.

Elizabeth, from her blog, Tea & Paper, picked this month’s theme: “The Day After.” This theme seemed tpo resonate with everyone. I believe I’ve read some of the most emotional poetry since the beginning of this challenge, all in one week!

Here are a few that stirred my soul:

“Blessed,” Annette Rochelle Aben

“The Day After,” D. G. Kaye, Writer

“The Day After,” Kim Blade

Yet, this one image and the accompanying poetry brought me to tears. Poetry is funny like that. It touches your soul in unexpected ways.

I first saw this image taken by Merril after she shared it on Facebook. The photo captured the aftermath of raindrops falling into a puddle. Notice the circles radiating outward, how they interlock and connect. In those circles I felt the past, present, and the future of humanity hovering within those raindrops. It was a profound moment.

On Sunday morning, Merril shared the Shadorma sequence below and the photo. In the particular Buddhist tradition I follow, the Bardo is the place between death and rebirth where one dwells for a time before they choose their fresh life, or if they ascend into Enlightenment. I was so moved by Merril’s words; I shared this poem with my husband.

Congratulations, Merril D. Smith, it’s your turn to pick the theme for next month’s challenge. Please Email me your choice at tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com before next month’s challenge.

Image Credit: Merril D. Smith

“Circles”

And after,

do the birds still sing–

the bardo

in-between

past and future, everything

rippling, light circles

to before,

the after, before

time begins,

radiant

waves humming—the sound of dreams–

forever’s spindrift.

©2020 Merril D. Smith

Source: Circles – Yesterday and today: Merril’s historical musings

See you tomorrow for the new challenge!

Category: Tanka Tuesday Poetry StarsTags: , , , , ,

23 Comments on “Weekly Poetry Challenge Stars | Theme Prompt #175: Merril D. Smith”

  6. Congrats to Merril – a perfect photo to accompany sobering words. And yay, I’m glad my poem stirred your soul Sis ❤ xx

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Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre flash fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry. Colleen's syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and in “Hedgerow, a journal of small poems.” She’s won numerous awards from participating in the Carrot Ranch Rodeo, a yearly flash fiction contest sponsored by carrotranch.com. In 2020, she won first place in the Carrot Ranch Folk Tale or Fable category, with her story called “Why Wolf Howls at the Moon.” Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.

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