Is it a game, or is it an actual writing exercise? Actually, a little of both. It is fun and can really get the creative juices flowing, particularly if a number of folks get involved and inter-post response time gets short. Think of it kind of like Poetry Uno!
Here is how it works:
1. I will start by revealing a randomly selected topic. 2. Create a short poem to the best of your ability on that topic. 3. First person to post their finished poem gets to sets the next topic. 4. A topic can be either an object or concept (just keep the topics tasteful). 5. If you didn't get your poem in first on the previous topic, you can still post it until the first poem on the new topic is posted.
If you are a "winner" at posting first, don't feel shy about trying to post first on the next topic you announce. Just giving the topic doesn't mean you have to let someone else have first dibs... Just don't have a poem written before you announce the next topic. Remember, impromptu is the goal
Okay, ready?
Topic: Thunder Storms
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
Swimmers get out of pools Golfers that golf are fools Roofers find someplace low Good Dad's let their Kite's go... Lumber Jacks and Huggers de-treed All of them agreed... There ain't no need to wonder... Death is calling in the thunder.
----
Next topic: A Fear of Public Speaking
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
I'm not particularly proud of this but I feel it is the appropriate contrast to Ray's eloquent verse....
..also, I love public speaking and hope to make a fortune at it some day..
A Fear of Public Speaking By Rosaline Public Speaking makes me vomit Stuff shoots out just like a comet Sorta green Subtle sheen Guarentees my speech will bomb it.
Next: Wasp Nests in the rafters.
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"My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
Wasps Go Buzzing in the Night Wasps Go Buzzing in the Day Little Baby Bunting Goes Dancing all the Way Rafters way up high The night is drawing nigh Baby Bunting Goes a Hunting To remove them before day.
There's one thing I really can't stand, Even worse than swimsuits with sand. That dog in the night His barks frantic and might - y
oops-Lemme start over.
Dogs Barking At Night, by cocobeem
There once was a dog down the street He was black and brown with white feet He dug up grass And licked h- ahem. I'll try again.
Dogs Barking At Night, by cocobeem
Once there was a doggie, so fluffy white and fair. He had a fluffy owner, they made quite the pair. But when the owner went to sleep, we all thought she was dead. That friggin mutt wouldn't shut up So we beat it on the head.
Next topic: Snakebites
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Is this subject for me because I have ocd? I would not say that to be obsessed with worries is to be blessed. I would say that it has given me humility and that it it has made me appreciate moments of tranquaility. Many have ocd to some degree. And I like to think there is more to me than ocd!
There once was a baby of beauty whose care was my joy and my duty He lay in his small bed covers over his head and stuck in the air was his booty.
Next topic: linear accelerators
eta: P.S. Roper, it looks like you've seen "So I married an axe murderer" as well.
-- Edited by arbilad at 15:39, 2007-06-17
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Linear Accellerator by RayB When I think I'm under stress And want relief from my duress I remind myself that I'm not a pawn, or subatomic tachyon That in a circle accellerates So scientists can peep my traits
--Ray
NEXT Topic: My Solution to Illegal Immigration
-- Edited by rayb at 10:50, 2007-06-18
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
By Brandi, Heather, Feather, Devauxn, and William Jefferson Clinton Baxter-Markoff-Black-Hontze
Mz. Simmons' 5th grade English class The Uppity-Correct School of Inclusivity Boulder, Colorado
If Bush wouldnt steel elektions, And steal all our protections, And make our water taste yucky, and make Iraq a place th ats suck-y, And give money to corpoations, And not have us to learn about m*st*rb*t**n And keep forcing his god down our throats, And keep killing the cows , pigs, sheep, and, goat's,
Then maybe the world would be more safer for us to grow up in.
(Teacher note: Although we don't hand out grades here, if we did, this one would get an A+!)
Sweet, Sweet Tomacolatte Early in the Morning Sweet, Sweet Tomacolatte Stolen Early in the Night Who Could Be so Cruel In Stealing... My Afternoon Delight!
How canst thou not malign jock rot, said I? It is a scourge most vile, hated, not dry. When will it stop? The question must be asked. But it is most clear, stay away from lye.
eta: Next topic: The sun never sets on the British Empire.
-- Edited by arbilad at 16:01, 2007-06-19
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
The river rocks the drifting splinters of wood. It tumbles over smooth lozenges of licked granite. Frothing down a stairway carved by its ancestors, The river rocks slowly back and forth, back and forth, Gathering in threads and swirling pools of excitement. Too soon gathered in long brown ribbons. Creekbed veins pump muddy mucky smooth sluice Joined by friends and sloshing together they form a river with a name That carries a fleet of fat frowning fish for furlong after furlong Until it fans out, lapped up, over level seasonal plains and fertile fields, Before slowing in the clog of green carpetted swamplands And then beyond... Out to the edges of oblivion, To join all the dead rivers gone before and the new ones yet to be. An eternal river of light and wind, floating and refined, There are no more boundaries here, only the ebb and flow of dreams. Until the void cools and the memory of mighty waters congeal And dash once again upon Jagged rocks to be made smooth By the eternal rocking river.
--Ray
PS> Next Topic: Gethsemane
-- Edited by rayb at 01:44, 2007-06-20
-- Edited by rayb at 00:12, 2007-06-22
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Christ Jesus gave me my life and rest If I but give my will, then pass the test Gethsemane was his ultimate feat What peace shall come when with him I will meet
Next topic: grizzly bears
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
What is fouler than a kipper snack? Your tastebuds it will vilely attack. Smear in anchovy paste Run away in great haste I am thankful that there is a lack.
Next topic: Book of Abraham
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I like walnuts and salted peanuts But about the type I don't much futz. Eat them as you may like Give them to your small tyke Opening them may give you deep cuts
eta: good thing I didn't name a next topic, Euphie beat me to it! BTW, Coco, I'm just a hack when it comes to poetry. I know just a few styles, and I force the words to fit the patterns, such as limerick, iambic pentameter, etc.
-- Edited by arbilad at 12:54, 2007-06-21
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
and bolts and drywall screws they clutter up my bench But that's okay I have to say my palate delights in smoked herring and mustard sardines -- yes anchovies too But fish egg bait Not on my plate they taste worse than my wrench and nails and dirty shoes
oh what a mixed up nut...
-- Edited by Cat Herder at 12:58, 2007-06-21
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
French-cut swimsuits out on the beach French-cut hairstyles, dyed and bleached French-cut booties on your little baby boy And french-cut green beans, my pride and joy!
Next topic-- Dill Pickles Rock my World
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
Rocking her chair, Coco at the table Eating dill pickles, as much as she's able When the chair breaks, dear Coco will fall And bring down the table, pickles and all
next: if you're happy and you know it...
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The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. - Julie Beck
My wife left me food That was very sweet and kind My taste buds rejoice
next topic - sweet potatoes
-- Edited by arbilad at 13:37, 2007-06-21
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Since I don't have a wife or a husband for that matter, I will insert my two cents. I agree that Ray's poem was amazing!
I think it is so important to create. Sometimes when I hear or read something far beyond my abilities, it makes me feel that my efforts don't have a point. And yet, I know how important it is for my mental well-being to create. I know some of my poems have struck a chord with others as well.
Poetry is so wide open and individual that there is room for all!
To conclude, this thread is great! Well, I know you are supposed to sum up what you already said in a conclusion. I wanted to work that in there.
I tried and I tried but I couldn't think. My brain was fried. I often have problems with attention. But it is not due to an addiction. I think the gaps where concentration is breaking helps me have space for creating. I heard that some people with perfect recall have no insights at all. but if my brain is fried, I must rest and eat so the feeling will subside.
Actually, I don't think the BrainFried was not an actual topic given. But nice recovery, zealia!
So, to get everybody back on track, the current topic is: aha from nature
(according to the rules, folks could still post against the current topic until someone else a poem and was first to assign the next topic... So, as it happened a couple times here just recently, if the poet doesn't assign a new topic, the next person can posting another on that same topic -- thus making the previous poster draw four with your slamming down the wild card and changing color when you post your poem with the new topic It gets fun when you're working against beating someone else to the punch, isn't it? )
-- Edited by Cat Herder at 13:59, 2007-06-21
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
Thunder, lightning, sideways rain It messes up my thick brown mane I see the black clouds looming in I don old clothes with a growing grin I finally find informal fun I go and grab my water gun All is shiny, wet and new I think I'll start the bar-be-que
Topic -- Dead Houseplants
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne