Today’s poem prompt is the King of Wands from the Enchanted Tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
Creative conquest
How strange it is for me, a warrior
clad in metal-studded leather, to stride
this embroidered land – its quilted
sky and paisley mountains, its calico
fields and gingham rivers. Am I the needle
piercing the world and drawing it
together with thread or the scissor
that divides and shapes it?
Welcome, global readers and poets!
This feels fragmentary, but I’m not quite sure where it wants to go. I’ll publish it as is for now and tuck it away in the back of my mind, in hope that it will ripen into something more satisfying.
Today’s poem was prompted by the Three of Staves from the Prairie Tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
Not all sailors go to sea
He thinks of the wide, flat horizon, the full-
circle sight line, the endless ocean
of prairie and desert. He dreams of undulating
grassland, waves of heat and light and wind
that roll without cease, without tide between
vague shapes that might be clouds
or mountains. He longs for the sharp ozone
bite of a gathering storm and the clean, dry
scent of sun-baked dust.
Welcome, global readers and poets!
The Hermit from Lewellyn’s Classic Tarot inspired two poems, which kind of makes up for me missing a day of posting and writing. Kind of. (Click here to see the card.)
Here’s the first…
Certainty
questions still haunt us, an old man
with burning eyes, raging in the dark
swirl of the storm — where is the light
to guide, to offer real or illusory
comfort? madness carries its own
order, a closed system in the chaos
…and the second.
Inquiry
Is it still snowing? What wisdom glimmers
in the swirling gloom, swings wildly
with the tossing wind? What could be
more comforting among these cruel
rocks than sturdy feet and a solid staff?
Welcome, global readers and poets!
This poem was prompted by Strength from the Paulina Tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
What the lion thought
It is probably unwise to judge a person
entirely from a single bite, but if her hand
is any indication, the lady with the fish
on her head should taste delicious!
Welcome, global readers and poets!
This is yesterday’s poem; I accomplished a good many things yesterday, but posting wasn’t one of them. The Emperor from the Zombie Tarot was the prompt. (Click here to see the card.) I tried to make this a haiku, but the last line just seemed clunky with more syllables. If you think of a five-syllable line that works, please post it in the comments.
Good advice
Whatever happens
my son, you do not open
the front door.
Welcome, global readers and poets!
Today’s prompt was the Two of Swords from the Rosetta Tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
Local color
X marks the spot where the war began, here
in our very own Blue Rose Tavern. The Lunese
are notorious for changing their minds
then changing them back again, but on that ill-starred
day the Lunese ambassador waxed or waned
one time too many. The Librite deputy minister lost
her legendary equanimity, and the two exchanged
sharp words before they crossed swords. The war
itself was brief, of course, as the Lunese rescinded
their declaration within days of issue and the Librites
regained their composure after a few minor skirmishes.
Welcome, global readers and poets!
Today’s poem was prompted by the King of Wands from Volume 2 (As Below) of the Book of Shadows tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
Bearing witness
She rises before the council, her passion
a bright flame, casting heat and light
on all who hear her testimony.
Welcome, global readers and poets!
Today’s poetry prompt was the Page of Swords from the Mythic Tarot. (Click here to see the card.) This image makes me think of two of my favorite books from childhood: At the Back of the North Wind and The Neverending Story.
***
Warm is the wind
that blows through
the imagination
Welcome, global readers and poets!
As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, I’ll be leading a writing workshop in May – Saturday, May 14, to be exact. I’ve led past workshops at the library, but this time I’ll be at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, another wonderful resource for the community. If you’re local or just curious, here’s a link for more information:
http://carnegiecenterlex.org/adult-class/writing-with-tarot/.
Today’s poem was prompted by the Nine of Pentacles from the Crystal Visions Tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
Time and this garden
It is always twilight, maybe dawn. Spring flowers carpet
the ground, and apples hang on the branch, so ripe
they perfume the air. Nests burst with hatchlings, and adult
birds gather for migration. Nothing is settled but nothing
truly changes. Everything is in the process of becoming
something else.
Welcome, global readers and poets!
Today is the NaPoWriMo halfway point, and I feel pretty good about my participation this year. I’ve only missed posting one day: yesterday, because yesterday’s poem was a little too ambitious for the time I had to devote to it. I couldn’t give it enough shape to even make sense. I’ll keep working, though, and it may yet make an appearance this month.
As if to reward me for refusing to panic that I didn’t have a post yesterday, today’s poem popped up almost fully formed. The prompt was the Five of Cups from the Zombie Tarot. (Click here to see the card.)
Remnants
The dead do not always depart. They linger
in the notes of a song, the seasonal changes
of light, the blooming of a particular flower.
We feel them hovering, watching, and we wonder
what they want from us, why they cannot leave us
to bury the guilt with our grief.
Welcome, global readers and poets!
The Daily Compost 