At the end of July, the Poetry Sisters, Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Sara, Liz, Andi, and Tricia, challenged writers to create an acrostic poem taken from Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise. As I pondered this exercise, I went down a rabbit hole searching for the right words and format. Perhaps, after a few days, I am ready to toss out into the universe my thoughts on rising amidst a discontent world full of challenges.
"But still, like dust, I'll rise" is the strike line I use in my offering.
Be aware of discontent.Uttered on a restless night-Tempting hearsay, chains of talk,Such disruption isn't right.There're too many waging tonguesInclined to talk out-of-turn,Likely not being kind withLittle need for deep concern.Listen to earth's stilled silenceInstead of the malcontent.Know that each life is precious.Each day should be well-spent.Discover new approaches toUndertake with gratitude.Slow down. Be in the present.Try out a new attitude.Imagine all the peopleLiving together in peace,Looking into a futureRising with hopeful belief.Inspired by hands unitedStretching across the globeElevate voices ignited.REFLECT - RECHARGE - RISE©CVarsalona, 2022
Written with gratitude to Maya Angelou and John Lennon.
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As the night grows still and a hush surrounds the house, I find satisfaction that I completed another writing challenge. Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for bringing together a united group of dedicated eduwriters who meet each Tuesday to share their slices of life.
Carol, I love the rhyme of this poem, and how it moves from the negative into the positive. You conquered a tough challenge!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris. I thought I would never finish this poem. I should have documented my endeavors.
DeleteSee you at my blog for SJT. I look forward to hearing how you nurture your soul.
DeleteA wonderful wish for all of us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining me, Margaret. This challenge was more challenging than I could ever imagine but I am pleased that I completed it. See you at SJT.
DeleteI always enjoy your poems. I feel like they reflect exactly what I'm thinking but cannot put into poetic words.
ReplyDeleteDebbie Lynn, you are such a great supporter of nature and my poems. I truly want to thank you for this. Tomorrow is Spiritual Journey Thursday and I am hosting. The theme is Nurturing Your Summer Soul. Maybe you would like to join in because your slice does just that.
DeleteLike Chris, I really loved how it went from negative to positive. Your poem mirrored the sentiment of rising so well. #inspired
ReplyDeleteVivian, thank you for noting that transition. I worked very hard to accomplish that. Peace to you, Vivian.
DeleteCarol. like so many others I love how your poem ends on a positive note. If nothing, the past two years has taught us how fragile life is. We should rise above the negativity and focus instead on the joy the surrounds us and the joy we can bring to others. We need to be supporting shoulders.
ReplyDeleteBob, supporting shoulders is a good thought for a poem or a blog post. Thanks for always sharing positivity. I have to say that your posts bring joy to so many of us and your comments do act as supporting shoulders.
DeleteBob, tomorrow is Spiritual Journey Thursday and I am hosting. The theme is Nurturing Your Summer Soul. Maybe you and Kathy would like to join in to let us know how you nurture your souls during this intense heat.
DeleteCarol, thanks for the invite. I have a 9:30 doctor's appointment tomorrow for a problem I am having and tomorrow's is also my birthday so we will be out. When we get home I will see what I can come up with.
DeleteHappy Birthday, Bob. Celebrate with high energy. I will send you the graphic I created for you to at least see.
DeleteOhhhh, wow. Carol. "Discover new approaches to/ undertake with gratitude." This poem provides both gentle chastisement and encouragement. As others have mentioned, it literally "rises" with the negative-to-positive shift. Yay! Thanks for joining the challenge!
ReplyDeleteTanita, thank you so much for stopping by. Gentle chastisement - what a thought! I appreciate the challenges that the Poetry Sisters offer. It gives me a chance to stretch past my comfort zone in many cases. Since I offer that advice to teachers, I want to be able to feel the discomfort myself and the pride in knowing that I accomplished the task.
DeleteCarol, lovely thoughts about rising. I love the addition of John Lennon's lines in there too. I like how you used the strike line as an acrostic. I don't remember seeing that before. Is it a golden shovel? Or does this form have another name? Ditto Chris' comments about the rhyming. Spectacular!
ReplyDeleteYES to this:
"Looking into a future
Rising with hopeful belief."
It is a real hope of mine for the world to move beyond discontent to gratitude and positivity, Denise. As for the format, I know that the line came from Maya Angelou's poem so it qualifies for a golden shovel poem but I switched the layout so I could have an acrostic. I am so thrilled that I was able to rework the poem many days and times to complete the challenge. I hope to see you at SJT. I sent a logo to you via email.
DeleteDenise, I reversed the order of each word in the strike line to create an acrostic. You ask what is the format. I am not sure because the poem uses the flow of the strike line but in an acrostic-like format. It's a little of this and that (my Nonnie made her fabulous recipes with a touch of this and that). I turn my thoughts now to Poetry Friday.
DeleteI love that you approached this as Tanita did, with each letter of the phrase starting a line. My favorite part of the poem is:
ReplyDeleteImagine all the people
Living together in peace,
Looking into a future
Rising with hopeful belief.
This is really lovely.
Tricia, I appreciate your visit tonight and your comment. I kept thinking while writing that John Lennon created his song, Imagine, so many years ago and the world is still not living together in peace.
Delete