Tag Archives: Lexington Poetry Month

LexPoMo: the sweetest summer fling

LexPoMo2016aToday marks the beginning of Lexington Poetry Month, a love affair with poetry that takes the local writing community by storm every June. People who’ve never written poetry sign up for the LexPoMo Challenge. People who haven’t looked at a poem since grade school go to public readings and open mic nights. It’s a heady madness that catches even bookstores, publishers, coffee shops, and bars in its sweep.

Still riding the momentum from April’s NaPoWriMo success, I’m more excited than ever about this year’s LexPoMo Challenge. For my primary prompt source, I’m using the June writing prompts from South Africa-base Writers Write. The prompt for today’s poem was “chewing gum.”

One-track mind

Chewing gum is more
problematic than it might seem:

what if I need to walk, or juggle
flaming batons, or perform

open heart surgery? Most people
should not be allowed to drive

while chewing gum.

(You can also find this poem on the LexPoMo page at Accents Publishing. You will not find the above logo there, however, as I created it myself. 🙂 )

The merry month of May

A small part of me is relieved to have official respite from the enforced discipline of the NaPoWriMo challenge, but I chiefly feel wistful that this most convenient excuse to put aside things other than writing has come to an end. Now I really do have to address all those deferred duties (ugh!), but I intend to maintain the daily habit of writing.

I will most certainly not post every day, though. It’s great motivation, but it’s not truly sustainable, either for me or for my readers. It stands to reason that I’ll continue to post regularly because I’ll continue to write regularly (this post grew out of my notes and reflections on the month’s activities), just not every day. You’re welcome. [wink]

Besides, I have other things to do during the month of May: welcome my eldest home from college, see my youngest through the end of her school year, teach a writing class (here’s a link if you’re interested), attend family graduation events, and…

…get ready for June, which is Lexington Poetry Month! Yes, my daily writing goal will get a nice boost from my local writing community. I plan to take part in that month-long writing challenge as well as various other poetic activities around town. Information on the 2016 celebration hasn’t been posted, but next week is the release party for the 2015 anthology, & Grace. (I’m ditching a Very Important Board Meeting to attend — shhh, don’t tell anyone!)

Stay tuned!

Day twenty-nine poem, LexPoMo 2015

LPM2015-01-1024x768I am sad that this is the final day of Lexington Poetry Month. I posted this poem yesterday, the next-to-last day. There are so many other things I need to do today, but all I want to do is write poetry so I have something to post on this precious last day.

This poem arose from the amazing confluence of recent events and some articles on inspiring but painful transformations in institutions I hold dear. At such times, discomfort may be the one solid thing that anchors us.

Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

The only constant

How much like dying
this change seems –
the agony of cells’
reshaping, one tissue
expanded, another withered –
the loss! the loss! we weep
for that which is no more and writhe
with joy in the unfamiliar
thing we are becoming.

Day twenty-eight poem, LexPoMo 2015

LPM2015-01-1024x768This is a found poem inspired by words from Rosie Seymour’s final guest blog post for Mslexia, a wonderful U.K. publication for women who write.

Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

how slowly the world of publishing

Success seems so sudden
when you aren’t a part
of the process. Writers seem to
burst onto the scene
from nowhere and shoot
to great heights but they don’t.

They edge their way
in with this piece and that, testing
the water, slowly
building
a reputation, showing
they can nail
a brief and hit a deadline.

(found poetry: https://mslexia.co.uk/rosies-last-post/­)

Day twenty-two poem, LexPoMo 2015

LPM2015-01-1024x768This was inspired by a poem posted today as part of the Lexington Poetry Month challenge.

Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

Calved
(with thanks to Rudy Thomas)

another poet* reminds me I am far more
the poetry I have not written

an iceberg, whose mass lies most
unseen and fresh beneath

a sea cold enough to kill
but too dense to freeze

*“The Voice,” Rudy Thomas (http://www.accents-publishing.com/blog/2015/06/22/the-voice/)

Day eight poem, LexPoMo 2015

LPM2015-01-1024x768This poem was inspired by an ICAD Challenge prompt from last week: draw a map. I’d include a picture of the card I created, but I like the poem better.

Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

Draw a map of the world

as it appears inside
the back of your skull
lines of sight that project
through your eyes

tattoo continents and oceans
with inky residue of blasted
dreams so you will not
be able to forget

the way home

Day two poem, Lex Po Mo 2015

LPM2015-01-1024x768I borrowed another prompt from my friend April; today it was “go.” Several meanings of the word came to mind, including that it is the numeral five in Japanese.

Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

Go

five days have I come
down to water’s edge
and bowed, head touching
knees, so that the fifth
day I might begin

the long journey home

Day one poem, Lex Po Mo 2015

LPM2015-01-1024x768I cribbed a prompt from my friend April, who’s participating in a photography challenge this month. (Be careful what you post on Facebook; you may end up in my poetry.) Today’s prompt was “release.”

Reblogged (and slightly revised) from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

Letting go

some things seem to stick with a body
longer, the way a small bone
goes sideways in the throat to become
lodged

It’s here!

My copy of the 2014 Lexington Poetry Month anthology finally arrived yesterday! I’m delighted and honored to have one of my poems included in the collection (“Drafting,” p. 42). You can order your very own copy at http://accents-publishing.com/thiswretchedvessel.html or view individual poems at http://accents-publishing.com/blog/2015/02/08/lexpomo-2014-anthology-official-selections/.

LPM2015

Day thirty poem, LexPoMo 2014

LexPoMo2014-blog-pic02-1024x878Reblogged from the Lexington Poetry Month blog.

The dry spell ends

it was raining most gloriously
soft, gentle, steady
and she wanted it to continue
all night long