One Single Impression and News

The prompt at One Single Impression this week: “copse”.  We are facing another heat wave this week.

Copse

meditation morning
below gnarly oak branches
-escape from heat

News: My poem, “Nirvana” is published on-line at Four and Twenty: A Short Form Poetry Journal.  Click on the shirts, p. 22.  

Another poem will be featured on Sept 1.  I have weekly poetry prompts to thank for planting the seed of each poem as well as my writing group for their feedback in revision.

For more wonderful poetry on this week’s prompt, visit here.  Thank you, Kitehorse.

One Single Impression: Ocean

“Ocean” is the prompt from Sweetest in the Gale (formerly Fledgling Poet) at One Single Impression. 

Seaside, Oregon 2009

I have been reading Jane Reichhold’s Writing and Enjoying Haiku this summer.  It’s been my summer book study over at “Check It Out”.  Just so happens that I revised this haiku originally posted in 2007.

foamy ocean waves
lace pattern on wet sand
crab scuttles alone

Revision 1:

ocean crochet
solitary crab scuttles
ebb tide remnant

Revision 2:

solitary crab scuttles
over foamy crochet
ebb tide remnant

To read about my revision process, visit here.  And be sure to visit others take on “ocean” at One Single Impression.

Summer Smackdown Check-in

I missed last week.  Was at the coast with family for more vacation.  But I did get my revision completed before I left and sent out to my writing group. Hooray for that!

So this week, writing group (AKA Southeast Stories) met for an extended time and lunch.  It was a special celebration as it marked a year since we first met and formed our group.  Currently there are five of us who meet monthly, all working on a variety of genres.  I love that we have found a lot of common ground to laugh, talk, and share our writing life with each other.

I love the input from these women.  Watching this story evolve is an amazing experience.  I have listened to authors  shared about their writing process, about how the characters take one these lives of their own.  I could not imagine it until now.  It is happening to me.

What else is happening is that I am having difficult concentrating on any other writing other than this project.  I keep looking at the weekly writing prompt for poetry and come up empty minded. 

But, I am scribbling thoughts on post-its about the current project and the inside head conversations are non stop about the project. Thinking about where to revise and leave some of the story behind. 

Funny, on Monday, when the group met, I came to a point where I realized that perhaps, just perhaps, there was a different ending point.

I am doing a personal book study about writing haiku. It is the focus of my Poetry Friday posts at Check It Out.  I decided it was a great way to up my game in that area.  I have had the book on the shelves for a couple of years and have perused but never actually read cover-to-cover.

I plan to work on the project this weekend while avoiding the heat. My goal is get it sent to someone outside the group by the end of August. Others are checking in about their revision at Brimstone Soup.

Summer Revision Smackdown

I wish I could say that I really did but…distractions! First the book club women and I visited a bead store in Seaside, Oregon.  Huge distraction,  reminded me of the beading I have waiting for me. 

The biggest distraction last week was my ailing cat.   I found myself yesterday, hanging with her instead of  revising (which I had set the day aside to do).  Maybe it was the gloominess of the day. Yesterday was a fall day, cloudy, cool, with impending rain which arrived in the early evening.  I found myself napping and Mocha along with the pooches were at my side.

She’s a fighter that cat.  Probably from her scrappy, feral beginnings.  Still chowing down food. 

So today and tomorrow are my days to revise and send to the group. We meet next week.  This month marks one year since our critique group formed.

The Recipe Poem: Tribute to Mocha

How to Say Good-bye

Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect provides a poetry challenge each Monday. This week it’s to create a recipe poem.

                                                                                              
Mocha before her nose became cancerous.
 Mocha, aka Mocha Latte, and Mochabeans, (15) has cancer of the nose. Six weeks ago, we drove her to the vet thinking it was time. Jumping out of the vet’s arms, we chose to board her as we left for the weekend. We knew this day would eventually arrive. I will spare you the details of her nose but last night her eye started tearing as well. Weight loss as well, even though she eats like a pig.

I found her at a latte stand, 1994. A beautiful diluted calico, probably born feral. She was the most independent of the three cats. Three years ago, when she became the only cat, she finally decided to trust us enough to venture onto our bed and be part of the family along the two doxies. Last night she slept there all night, unusual and even stuck around this morning as I wrote.

So my recipe is how to say good-bye:

fold her into your lap
sprinkle love words
knead fur, take note
of her frailty
mix in memories
mousing skills, shyness, love of the garden,
and faithfulness
sift in trust and compassion
melt love into her fur
hold on- let go
once more
fold her into your lap 
shed tears

Sweet, sweet, cat I do not want to say good-bye.

 Postscript: 1:30 PM: Just returned from the vet.  Mochabeans got a reprieve.  The vet said based on the fact that she is eating, drinking water, active, we could choose to wait so we did.  When asked if it were his cat what would he do, he said he would wait.  She has lost more weight so it is a matter of time but not today.  As I write, she went outside to lounge.

Summer Revision Smackdown Summary

 

June 2009 is past. I was on the road when it left us. My last week of the Summer Revision Smackdown was without meeting goals.  A lot of time spent getting ready for the Disneyland trip and some play.

I did spend time in my head thinking about revision. And I plan to set goals for this month in the area of revision. I revised five poems and sumitted four to a local ezine for poetry. 

My biggest July goal is to get a project ready to send outside my writing group.  I have had an offer from someone to read it and give feedback. This terrifies me a bit.  I am working on the second have of the project which is intense.

Holly and Jolie are doing an awesome job of getting everyone pumped up about revising.

Tea Date with Blogging Friends

Marilyn and Annie, two blogging friends.

My drawer was #28.  My fortune:
“Quiet perseverance will bring lasting happiness.”

 

Garden Umbrella

Marilyn shows us how to make the tea.  See the fairy sized black tea cup? The tall skinny upside one is the aroma cup. You sniff before drinking.

I am a tea-cozy girl.  This tea time was a very new experience for me.  It was such a wonderful afternoon to meet up with blogging friends.

Summer Revision Smackdown Week Three

Hey! I actually did 75% of my goals this week.  Hooray for me.

This Past week’s  goals:

1. Changes on MG writing from May’s discussion.

2.  Revisions to the two poems for submission.  Send to writing group in prep of Wed. meeting.  YEP!

3. Attend Wed. writing group mtg. YEP!

4. Finish school with students. YEP! (Realize this is not really a revision goal.)

I actually had four poems that I revised for my writing critique group on Wednesday.  It was so helpful to have others listen to different versions of each poem as I read aloud.   My plan is to submit them to the 4 and 20 poetry ‘zine.  (Which I am learning that I have to figure out their audience).

It was decided that we just need to “fling the words and see where they stick.”

 My writing critique group is a highlight of each month.  Its our first anniversary next month.  There are five of us currently and we have finally settled into a groove.  Each member brings to the group a different perspective that I so appreciate.

I really revised five poems this week because I revised a poem that I had brought to share about that decision pet owners soemtimes have to make: to euthanize your pet. (One memeber had to do just that this week).

The first goal ( make changes to MG  story) will move to this week’s goals.  I really want to get those changes in before I go any further in the story.  I just returned from a morning event with the local SCBWI.  Linda Zuckerman was the guest speaker and I was SO happy that I went.    Her talk was on characters of your story.

As I listened to her, I thought of some questions about my own charaters in the MG story.  Are they compassionate enough? Do they change enough throughout the story? Are they spunky enough?  And then a really big question surfaced about the beginning of the story (and at this point not for the public to know). It was encouraging to hear her state that we have to rewrite and rewrite because that’s a lot of what I have been doing.

It was the best week of the three so far regarding SRS.

So my one goal for this final SRS Week is to finish: 

Changes on MG writing from May’s discussion.

I am leaving for vacation at the end of the week so I really would like to get that accomplished.

Thanks to Holly and Jolie for the challenge.

Garden Adventure

Last year the garden went fallow.  Too tired from grueling pursuit of national board certification and taking off  on a road trip as soon as school finished.

But this year, I started seeds the beginning of May (wished I had done them earlier).  Today I planted 20 tomatoes. Four varieties: Moreton New Jersey,Ramapo (New Jersey), Cherry, and Roma.  The NJ tomatoes were from Rutgers University.

 

In between the rows I laid down newspaper, the leaves from last fall, and purchased compost.  Toward the rear of the garden, there are squash and cucumbers.  Later this summer, I plan to plant kale.

Now it may look like I planted a crop of plastic bottles but they are actually acting as min-hot houses until the tomatoes get established. Later this week, I will take them off and re-use them to cover the peppers I am planting.  The big green thing in the lower right front is a random dahlia that is growing.

One Single Impression: Walls

Today’s prompt at One Single Impression is “walls”  What walls do you have? Real? Imagined?

wall, a phantasm
between siblings, hands reach out
grasp, collide, forgive

talk over coffee
brick order cancelled

For more, visit here.