Each month this blog will feature a word of the month to stimulate a poem. Anyone who wishes to share a poem is invited to participate. The point is to enjoy the challenge of writing a poem inspired by a single word. It doesn’t matter if this is your first poem or five hundredth. It’s all done for the fun and exercise of writing.
Cutoff for posting the current Word of the Month poem is the last day of the month.
On the first day of each month, a new word will be posted to challenge your imagination for that month.
Please post your poems on this page, so everyone can find the poems easily.
Thank you and have fun!
David
PS: The word for January is Yes.
word for Jan 1: yes
Please go to:https://thevibrantchanneledcreator.wordpress.com/2021/01/01/say-yes-to-cartoons/
and please try to look at the related posts at the bottom to scan 7 years of posts. (if you have the time)
Yes v No
Three little letters,
Can hold so much power
They can open a world,
And despair can devour.
They can be a denial,
Or be a confession,
They can register hope,
Or even depression.
However the other,
Whose letters are two,
Hold even more power,
An opposite view.
The word I refer to,
Is the two lettered no,
When that is expressed,
There’s nowhere to go.
Yes, allows a caveat,
A condition or two,
No, is like a full stop,
The end of the queue.
Toni Newell 2nd January, 2021.
Love this
Wow, Toni, you really nailed the difference between Yes and No. So well done.
YES
Fingers crossed,
I won’t stress,
I’m hoping dad,
Will just say yes.
I’ve asked mum twice,
She isn’t sure,
I’m hoping dad,
Is my saviour.
I want to go,
To this party,
Play with my friends,
Hope they agree.
I’ll make a promise,
To pitch in,
I’ll do my chores,
If they give in.
Toni Newell 2nd January, 202
I can see that you had some thoughtful moments with this word and some fun! The world of Yes, the world of no, and then there is the world of wait.
How many times did I ask my father for permission and yes? Wow, like a golden ticket! Thank you for sharing.
Y.E.S.
For all the Supermarket Salmon
I went in for macadamias
I got myself a cart
I looked at all the arrows on the floor
Began my aisle-land journey
I made my search an art
taking in specials, products, sales du jour
When all-at-once it started
first up one aisle down the next
the supermarket salmon in their quest
to go against established flow
taking up whole aisles
There was no question one gal did it best
I looked all over for a sign
a way to help ther see
…communicate yet cheerfully benign
When all-at-once I saw it
red square with just one word
Y.E.S. it boasted there upon the sign
Did my best though silently
to redirect her gaze
when it hit me who the sign was really for
In small print at the bottom edge
the acronym explained
YIELD for
SUPERMARKET
SALMON
on the floor
So I yielded, my shortlist acquired
But really, just the same
when’s it my turn for consideration, when?
I watch for arrows, turn around
Go aisles away from goal
If I can do that, so can they, amen?
Why would I want this breed o spawn
in this supermarket river
why not have them follow special rules
It occurred to me
as my groceries were sequestered in bag
It’s certain that we come from different schools.
by Linda Trott Dickman ©2021
Oh, the supermarket arrows on the floor! My store recently removed them; we apparently were too stubborn to obey. I also liked your play with this word, ailse-land. What a fun poem.
I would always say yes to salmon. Interestingly, in Aus, we had/have arrows at entrances/exits but not in the aisles. Thank you for sharing. Cheers
RECOGNIZING ME
They said it would come.
Just a matter of time, they said.
I prayed it would not.
It happened just once. My heart sank.
Puzzled, confused—no ‘yes’ in her eyes.
But still my face smiled . . . the most loving-warm smile.
“my child”
Last spoken words.
Mom knew.
Cory Corrado (2021/) ©
Very touching, I can feel it. Thanks, Toni
Oh, Cory, this is beautiful.
Sunlight in the Shape of a Heart
By Linda Boyden ©2021
By a weathered fence,
two oak trees stand
snaked together
trunk to limb
limb to trunk
frozen in a marriage
of pith and bark,
leaf crowns merged
into lattice.
Yes, I’ve wondered
how they’ve survived,
winding and straining
against each other for light
during their pliant youth;
how at some point
they grew into truce,
surrendered into
a state of twisted beauty.
Overhead, the clouds disperse,
the sun returns;
light flashes through their trunks
onto a splintered plank
of a wooden fence:
sunlight in the shape of a heart.
Oh Linda! This is just stunning! You put together shapes with wonderful words. Now I want to see!
Thank you so much for your kind words. Our Oak trees were infested by bark beetles so had to be cut down. This is in their memory.
So beautifully narrated, the imagery is exquisite. Thank you.
Thanks so much, Toni. Glad it spoke to you.
Cory, I cannot imagine how this feels. My husband experienced this with his mom just before she passed. Devastating. Your poem with so few words, says so much.
YES (Haiku)
Blossom covered trees
Dressed in white and full of love
Her answer was yes
Toni Newell 3rd January, 2021.
Such a pretty image. So lovely, Toni! Beyond beautiful!
Simply beautiful!
YES, NO, MAYBE
I asked if she’d come to the movies.
She thought and said, “Yes, all right.
But you’ll have to pay for my ticket.”
I said I thought I might.
I bought her a box of chocolates,
Which I thought would hit the mark.
But I chose a milk selection
And she said she only ate dark.
I got tickets in the back row
Which made her rather suspicious.
She thought that, for a first date,
I was being a bit ambitious.
I asked if I could hold her hand
And she said, “Yes, I suppose.
But don’t get any ideas,
That’s as far as it goes.”
When the hero kissed the heroine,
I suggested we should too.
She said, “My mother warned me
All about boys like you”.
But then she said, “All right then,
Kiss my cheek if you must.”
I found it really thrilling
But I don’t think she was fussed.
Now I’m sure you’re sitting there wondering
How far this story goes.
Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you.
The rest of it’s full of noes.
Bryn Strudwick
Love this and particularly the ending!
Love this, Bryn!
New Year’s Resolutions
Yes to an exciting new day
No to grumbles and grouches
Yes to the joys unveiled
No to anxieties appearing
Yes to the goodness surrounding
No to the evils blaring
Yes to the poems in life
No to hurtful words
Yes to a good new year
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Hollie Dagata
1/8/20
YES!
“Yes.” I have said as a Mom of four
Many, many times. I can’t keep score.
They ask, “Can we go?”
I find it hard to say “No.”
Soccer?
Football game?
Pool?
A play too?
Starbucks?
My friend’s house?
Just listing a few.
Playground?
McDonald’s?
Library?
Store?
Six Flags?
Chicago?
Movies?
And more.
Tia’s?
Sleepover?
Ice Cream?
The train?
5K?
Museum?
Candy Cane Lane?
So happy I have said each “Yes.”
But now my house is still a mess.
Marge Waldschmidt
From My List of Favorite Things
Do you have a list of favorite things?
If I offered one to you would you accept?
A simple nay or aye will suffice.
You only need to give me a reply.
To the majesty of a vibrant rainbow, I say yes.
To a slice of warm apple pie, I say yes.
To the sound of a toddler’s gleeful laugh, I say yes.
Did you see something that makes you smile?
Does anything fit your style?
A simple nay or aye will suffice.
You only need to give me a reply.
To the music of a gentle guitar, I say yes.
To a snuggle with a cute puppy, I say yes.
To the gentle kiss from my sweetheart’s lips, I say yes.
Did you enjoy my list of favorite things?
Did any coincide with your list?
Simple things that yield big rewards.
Anyone would be such a sweet award.
Beverly Ann McCall, January 10, 2021
I would say yes to your whole list, Beverly, maybe substituting my cat for the puppy.
A Nonet (or maybe a Yesnet)
When you were a young boy, in that phase
Saying “No, no, no” all the time,
I’d tickle you, tickle you
Asking, “Should I stop now?”
“No!” You would giggle.
I’d tickle you
More until
You said,
“Yes.”
(c) 2021 Susan Bickel
Try something you haven’t before.
Run, not walk out the door.
Love the now and how.
Say yes to something different.
Think about what could be.
Accept what can’t be changed.
Let it all flow by, let some sink in,
Lock into your mind. But,
always with—-yes to possibilities