COME ONE, COME ALL/ July 23

July 23, 2010
By

by Carolee, Deb & Jill

It’s show time! It’s time to post your original poem, written in response to Monday’s prompt — write a poem inspired by your favorite poem — or any other inspiration from the week. (We love it when you write to our prompt, but we also love it when you write on a whim. We all know how fickle that muse can be.)

Leave a link to your blog post, or leave your poem itself, in the comments! And remember: Although we love seeing our badge in the sidebar of your blog, we would appreciate it if you would also link back to the site in each of your poem posts. Linking within your post helps people travel back and forth from your site to the Big Tent Poetry site, and it helps perpetuate Big Tent Poetry “findability” in Google searches — and that helps us all.

Let the show begin! This post is “sticky” — it will stay right here in the spotlight for you all weekend.

Here’s how prompts work under the Big Tent

You’ve got all week to write your poem, based on this week’s prompt. Come Fridays (today!) you’ll find a “Come One, Come All” post (this one!) where you can 1) leave a link to your poem or 2) leave the poem in its entirety.

We want to give you all weekend to post your work and read each others’ work. Take your time. Enjoy all the poems that are new to the world.

Some hints

Hint: We’ve set Big Tent Poetry to Central Time.

Hint: An easy way to check on new post comments is via a RSS reader, if you use one. Here’s the address you would add to your reader: http://bigtentpoetry.org/comments/feed.

Hint: Since we’re a new site, and you’re new to it, your comment(s) will be held for moderation for your first few posts. We’re checking the filters often, so don’t despair! That said, if it takes more than a half a day to see it come live on the site, do email us at info (at) bigtentpoetry.org. (But be patient, okay?)

Circus etiquette

We figure you know how to play in the poetry community, but here are the basics:

Be nice. Have fun. Remember we aren’t a critique forum. We want to support each other as we bring more poetry into our lives. Only provide critique if someone specifically asks for it.

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74 Responses to “ COME ONE, COME ALL/ July 23 ”

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  1. Tiel Aisha Ansari on July 23, 2010 at 12:01 am

    I wrote a poem that was evocative, rather than descriptive.

  2. rob kistner on July 23, 2010 at 12:12 am

    …celebrating Gary Snyder: The Sudden Doe

    • rob kistner on July 24, 2010 at 2:46 pm

      Wanted to share a piece I just finished, inspired by my favorite poet/lyricist, Joni Mitchell — Burn

  3. Joyce Ellen Davis on July 23, 2010 at 12:13 am

    Okay, so I am STILL up (after posting this to the wrong place). I wrote words for X.J. Kennedy’s LITTLE ELEGY (For a child who skipped rope). Please click on my name if you want to read them. My own poem follows.

    • Elizabeth on July 23, 2010 at 12:06 pm

      Am not sure how it happened, but your comment from today got stuck in those from last week. I did find it and responded to it. Thank you much,

      Elizabeth

  4. barbara on July 23, 2010 at 12:31 am

    Poem in July/more process than poetry

  5. Elizabeth on July 23, 2010 at 12:49 am

    Warning: this one’s a bit long,

    Counterpoint Harmony

    http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/counterpoint-harmony/

    Elizabeth C.

  7. derrick2 on July 23, 2010 at 1:42 am

    Here’s my favourite:

    http://melrosemusings.blogspot.com/2010/07/firm-favourite.html

  8. vivienne blake on July 23, 2010 at 2:15 am

    I posted my thoughts and poem on favourite poems on RALL’s POW site, as her prompt was “What’s on your mind?” So here is just a sestina on poetry: http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/sestina-a-love-story/

  9. COME ONE, COME ALL/ July 23 | Big Tent Poetry on July 23, 2010 at 3:02 am

    [...] poem, written in response to Monday’s prompt — write a poem inspired by your fa… click for more [...]

  10. Stan Ski on July 23, 2010 at 3:18 am

    Here’s mine: INFLUENCE

  11. Big Tent July 23rd « The Laughing Housewife on July 23, 2010 at 3:41 am

    [...] Jul The Big Tent prompt this week was to write a poem inspired by your own favourite poem.  I have two favourite [...]

  12. Tilly Bud on July 23, 2010 at 3:43 am

    Mine is from Wilfred Owen: http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/big-tent-july-23rd/

  13. Iain D. Kemp on July 23, 2010 at 6:13 am

    Where were you?
    … after Wes Magee

    Maria was dicing carrots
    nutters were flying to hell
    the smell of tar
    polluted the bar
    the day the towers fell

    Cats playing with a dead mouse
    hamburgers with relish as well
    hands on heart and head
    starting to count the dead
    the day the towers fell

    Half the world was sleeping
    news was starting to swell
    rattling cages
    that had stood for ages
    the day the towers fell

    Elton cried and wrote
    a witch cast a spell
    bells ringing out
    little boys shout
    the day the towers fell

    Bodies piling higher
    panic and fear to tell
    death and smoke
    an unholy joke
    the day the towers fell

    I remember my location
    and the phone´s ringing bell
    when out of the blue
    I suddenly knew
    the day the towers fell

    This week’s podcast is “Frogs and Chewing Gum” – listen by clicking my name

    Best

    Iain

    • Joyce Ellen Davis on July 23, 2010 at 11:53 am

      My son worked in the courthouse about 3 blocks away, the day the towers fell. This small poem of yours reminds me of photos taken after Hiroshima, shadows burned onto walls, that sort of thing….

      • Iain D. Kemp on July 23, 2010 at 1:31 pm

        Thank you Joyce

        Iain

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 12:52 pm

      repetition is a great choice in this — the stories we tell again and again, the images we see over and over.

  14. the odd inkwell on July 23, 2010 at 6:20 am

    As a writer of small poems, this was quite a challenge.
    My favorite poem wasn’t on a website anthology, so I posted it beneath my response.
    When I first read the original poem, I instantly wanted to be the subject of the poem, so I wrote my response as if I could be.

    http://inkwellwhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/on-busons-window-ledge/

  15. Rallentanda on July 23, 2010 at 6:25 am

    Mine is inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘ Winter ‘.

    http://rallentanda.blogspot.com

  16. gautami tripathy on July 23, 2010 at 6:25 am

    I in a way cut out few of my own poems and wrote this!

    http://firmlyrooted.blogspot.com/2010/07/cut-and-dried.html

  17. Nathan Landau on July 23, 2010 at 6:28 am

    I’ve always admired some writers’ ability to come at an idea in a sidelong manner. I haven’t got it yet, but my attempt is called Disparity.

    • Elizabeth on July 23, 2010 at 12:27 pm

      Excuse me Nathan, but what do you think steganograpy is if not a sidelong manner? If you haven’t got ‘it’ yet, where does that leave the rest of us, lol? Thank you so much, again,

      Elizabeth

  18. Rachel Barenblat on July 23, 2010 at 6:28 am

    Happy birthday, Carolee!

    My poem wasn’t inspired by my favorite poem per se, but by this week’s reading from Isaiah in the Jewish lectionary. And it’s another mother poem — what else is new. :-)

    Comforter
    http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2010/07/a-mother-poem-for-shabbat-nachamu-comforter.html

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 12:58 pm

      thanks for the birthday wishes, rachel! off to read your poem … :)

  19. nan on July 23, 2010 at 7:15 am

    My poem is paying attention.

  20. Rachel on July 23, 2010 at 7:20 am

    My poem, “Quickening,” after Jane Kenyon. Fun prompt!

    http://eskenosen.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/quickening/

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 1:01 pm

      so glad you enjoyed the prompt!

  21. Marian Veverka on July 23, 2010 at 7:33 am

    Mary Oliver is among my most favorite poets. There are too many favorites to choose just one. So I tried to write a poem in her style. I didn’t come verey close, but it was fun going thru all her nature poems. I wish I could write like Mary Oliver.

    The cheap imitation can be found on

    http://marianv.blog.co.uk/2010/07/22/poem-for-big-tent-poetry-9023854/

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 1:11 pm

      none of us can write like mary oliver. and it’s not b/c she’s a fabulous poet (though she is), it’s b/c we’re not mary oliver.

      we are carolee. we are marian. we are vivienne. we are deb. :)

      the energy in this prompt, for me, is identifying what holds our attention in the works of others and to see how we personalize it and play with it in our own work. i think your poem, and the poems of the other circus-goers this week, do that. thanks for writing!

      • Erin Davis on July 25, 2010 at 11:53 am

        In response to your last lines: You’ve captured it quite beautifully in words!

  22. Mary on July 23, 2010 at 7:42 am

    In response to a Billy Collins poem:

    http://inthecornerofmyeye.blogspot.com/2010/07/turning-ten.html

  23. Weasel on July 23, 2010 at 7:45 am

    I chose Allen Ginsberg’s Howl as one of my favorite pieces. And the poem I wrote is called Street City Blues.

    http://systematicweasel.blogspot.com/2010/07/howl-by-allen-ginsberg.html

  24. Francis Scudellari on July 23, 2010 at 8:11 am

    My poem of inspiration was “The Hollow Men” by Eliot, and my piece is:
    Saint Nicholas

  25. pamela on July 23, 2010 at 8:24 am

    One of my favourite poets has always been Poe.
    I love the darkness and despair he created.
    So with that said here is my (feeble) offering to the prompt!
    Pamela

    http://flaubert-poetrywithme.blogspot.com/2010/07/shattered-big-tent-poetry-12-favourite.html

  26. brenda w on July 23, 2010 at 8:32 am

    I confess to having written the first draft of this piece in December. I tightened it up some and offer it now.

    http://bozone-bw.blogspot.com/2010/07/catch-monkey.html

  27. Shayla on July 23, 2010 at 8:38 am

    This wasn’t based on my favourite poem, but I tried to write it in the style of a poet I’m currently reading, Doug Anderson.

    How to ruin a nice moment

  28. Kelly on July 23, 2010 at 9:29 am

    Will try to post later tonight. I’m attempting a villanelle and it is taking longer than expected! Great prompt, Carolee!

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 1:25 pm

      very ambitious, kelly! glad you like the prompt!

  29. EKSwitaj on July 23, 2010 at 9:50 am

    There was really only one poem I could go to with this.

    Manifesting after Emily Dickinson

  30. Tumblewords on July 23, 2010 at 10:28 am

    Interesting. I’m so much for enjoyment and so little for critique that I can hardly determine what it is that turns my crank. :) But…here it is.

    Second Hand

  31. Linda Watskin on July 23, 2010 at 11:02 am

    I immediately thought of Laura Gilpin’s poem “The Two-Headed Calf” . I used several lines as an epigram.
    http://word-painting.blogspot.com/2010/07/ordinary-lunch.html

  32. The Life of a Birthday « Prose Posies on July 23, 2010 at 11:10 am

    [...] Read more poems written to this prompt at Big Tent Poetry. [...]

  33. Cara Holman on July 23, 2010 at 11:13 am

    What else could I write about today, but…

    The Life of a Birthday
    http://caraholman.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/the-life-of-a-birthday/

  34. Lee Pursewarden on July 23, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    AFTER A POEM BY ALBERT CAEIRO

    “At night I suddenly awake”
    & the glow of red numbers fills the room
    12:21, its fearful symmetry seems forced
    until 12:34, a message fraught with terror.
    Outside, the neighborhood, the street, other apartments
    have shrunk to this room, to its crimson digits.
    There is no sound to the wind in the dry leaves
    traffic has disappeared, no emergencies are allowed.
    By then it is 1:11; what could be simpler
    more precise? until 1:23, then dreams of Pythagorus.
    I awake at 2:22, then doze off at 2:34
    until startled at 3:33, awaiting 3:45 that
    “suffocates all existence on Earth & above…”
    I watch the red numbers reflect off the wall
    flipping & changing to 4:32, then 4:44
    & finally sleep at 5:55, sensing the end
    when light erases the room’s darkness
    the red digits fading, fading.

    by
    Lee Pursewarden
    July, 2010

    (inspired by section XLIV of “The Keeper of Sheep” by Fernando Pessoa, writing as Albert Caeiro)

    Link to an article about Frenando Pessoa: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/752

    • Lee Pursewarden on July 23, 2010 at 5:09 pm

      Forgot to say, the lines in quotes are from “Caeiro’s” poem.

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 1:37 pm

      as someone who spends many nights watching the clock, i agree the digital numbers are haunting.

  35. Lindsey on July 23, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    Here is my poem http://dishwaterdreams.com/2010/07/2153/ I chose a Rilke poem as my favorite.

    • derrick2 on July 23, 2010 at 2:02 pm

      For some reason I can’t post a comment on your blog. I enjoyed your narrative very much. The language was just right.

  36. Linda Goin on July 23, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    Hi folks! I really enjoyed the prompt this week and a photographer friend helped out by providing yet another prompt and a photo for my poem. Will be visiting you all over the weekend…

    http://lindagoin.com/2010/dancer.html

  37. Joseph Harker on July 23, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    A tribute in the form an homage to a place that is full of significance, or something: Washington Square West

  38. Robert Lloyd on July 23, 2010 at 10:27 pm

    I think I’m playing the week on week off game here. Its been busy but the latest Big Tent prompt inspired me and I forced time for it. I can’t wait to read everyone’s inpiration. In the mean time I offer you mine.

    Rodney Dangerfield Taught Me Poetry

    http://burdensandsmiles.blogspot.com/2010/07/rodney-dangerfield-taught-me-poetry.html

    A snippet of my poetic birth is included.

  39. vivienne blake on July 24, 2010 at 9:49 am

    This has been an incredibly productive prompt. Thank you. Thinking about my favourite poetry sent my mind into reverse, to my UN-favourite, so I have posted my response to Ted Hughes’ Crow: http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/un-favourite-poetry

    • Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 1:44 pm

      productive is good!!! as is having the ingenuity to turn the prompt on its head. :)

  40. Carolee on July 24, 2010 at 11:45 am

    hi, everyone!

    here’s my poem for the week:

    http://caroleesherwood.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/inspired-by-my-favorite-poem/

    will read your work as the weekend unfolds. right now, children are demanding lunch: the nerve!

  42. wayne on July 24, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    thanks for the prompt….here is mine inspired by the poems of the BEATS
    http://waynepitchko.blogspot.com/2010/07/beats-go-on.html

  43. rob kistner on July 24, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    Here is a poem I just finished inspired by my Joni…

  44. Moonwaters | Amputated Moon on July 24, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    [...] Big Tent Poetry’s [...]

  45. Pam on July 24, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    I have always been inspired by the poetry of A.R. Ammons and it was very difficult to pick just one. I opened his collected poems and found “River.” Here is the result of the inspiration:

    Moonwaters

  46. Erin Davis on July 24, 2010 at 10:38 pm

    Hello! I thought I posted this on Friday, but it looks like it didn’t stick. If I’m duplicating, I apologize. Here’s mine for this week’s prompt:

    http://freckledwriter.blogspot.com/2010/07/sacrament.html

    Happy birthday, Carolee!

    • Erin Davis on July 24, 2010 at 10:45 pm

      Apparently, I posted this previously under “Monday Prompt.” Oooops! I should know better! :0)

      • carolee on July 25, 2010 at 8:44 pm

        thanks for the birthday wishes! glad your link found its way to the big gathering!

  47. Jeeves on July 25, 2010 at 8:08 am

    Poem inspired by A K Ramanujam’s Self portrait

    http://poemsotherwise.blogspot.com/2010/07/mirror.html

  48. neil reid on July 25, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    Unexpected, more than surprise. Drafty for sure.

    Which child first?

  49. irene on July 25, 2010 at 4:53 pm

    I wrote. I thought I had nothing to write. It’ll take a while for me to get to reading everyone.

    Life studies

  50. Brian on July 25, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    http://hummingbunny.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/seeking-divine-intervention/

    Been away from the community for a long time.

    • carolee on July 25, 2010 at 8:49 pm

      welcome back!

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