#TankaTuesday #Poetry Stars No. 274 | #PhotoPrompt

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inPrior Years Poetry StarsTags:, , , , , , ,

Welcome to our weekly poetry stars’ celebration. This week’s challenge was to write our choice of syllabic poem, using a form from the cheat sheet or a syllabic form from the Poetscollective.org. David, from the Skeptic’s Kaddish, provided the photo below.

Many thanks to everyone who joined in below:

1.Reena Saxena9.Cheryl17.Colleen Chesebro
2.ben Alexander10.Jules18.Ruth Klein
3.Harmony Kent11.Veera19.s. s.
4.willowdot2112.Kerfe20.Sally Cronin
5.Gwen Plano13.Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr21.Annette Rochelle Aben
6.Lauren Swanberg14.Yvette M Calleiro22.Jude

When David sent me this photo, I immediately saw the potential in the image. It was a photo of his father taking photos. The best part—we couldn’t see what he was seeing. That left so much room for speculation on our parts. In my humble opinion, this is the perfect inspiration for crafting great poetry! At the same time, the photo was deeply personal to our friend, as his father had passed.

© David, The Skeptic’s Kaddish

The exploration of “what was beyond the photo lens” resulted in some of the best poetry I’ve read in a long time. Could this be a lesson for us in finding inspiration? The next time you find yourself stuck because you don’t know what to write about, imagine yourself behind the lens of a camera… what do you see?

I found Reena’s gogyohka, written in breathy phrases, to be a powerful read!

This tanka by Tzvi Fievel shares some amazing imagery!

Willow’s nonet, The Lens of the Soul, written both forward and backward is an excellent example of the nonet form. When you read the poem the first way, you get one meaning, but the more powerful meaning comes from reading the poem in the reverse.

through the lens of the omnipotent
to soar high beyond the body
to attain the higher plain
past the confines of life
further than the eye
the horizon
life beyond
captured
truth

********

truth
captured
life beyond
the horizon
further than the eye
past the confines of life
to attain the higher plain
to soar high beyond the body
through the lens of the omnipotent

© Willow Willers

This week, I’ve asked Willow to choose the #PhotoPrompt for next month’s challenge. Please email your photo (with credits) to me at least a week before the challenge to colleen@wordcraftpoetry.com. Thanks.

See you tomorrow for the new challenge!

Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

34 thoughts on “#TankaTuesday #Poetry Stars No. 274 | #PhotoPrompt”

  1. Thank you Colleen I am so honoured to have my poem chosen. Thank you David for sharing your beautiful photo so full of possiblities.
    Well done to Reena and Tzvi Fievel and also to everyone who entered.💜💜💜

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  2. Congrats to Willow, Reena, and Tzvi, and everyone who participated. Wonderful poems this week! And a great photo choice from David. Have a wonderful week, everyone 💕🙂

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  8. Wonderful prompt from David. I’m sorry I missed this one while out on the trail. Willow’s poem was fascinating and beautifully poignant. Off to read some poetry!

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