This poem came from the June 9, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from jolantru and sponsored by janetmiles.




Dust motes dance down the sunbeams
to settle softly on the floor,
collecting a fine film in the corners.

Dust speckles on the pale page-edges of books
were once paper themselves,
frayed into freedom.

Dust flecks on cabinets
have perhaps blown in through open windows
and settled somewhere welcoming.

Dust blankets on old furniture
lie thick as gray velvet,
protecting impressions of years gone by.

Dust streaks on a white car tell the tale
of where it has been, the colors of beach sand
and the earth by the sides of the roads.

Dust is time’s keeper,
accountant of hours unspent at labor:
apply to assistant, Memory,
for those records.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, history, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

Thank you all for participating. The most popular choices in the recent topic poll were:

Stages of Life
Cultures of the World
Folk Tales
Horror (Shapeshifters)
Languages

I have slated them into the upcoming months thusly:

August: Stages of Life
September: Folk Tales
October: Horror (Shapeshifters)
November: Languages
December: Cultures of the World

The original proposal for languages suggested setting a variant subtopic (having been inspired by last year's "Languages, Linguists & Linguistics" topic) but didn't include any ideas for subtopics. What kind of subtopics under the very broad umbrella of "languages" might appeal to you?

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, networking, poetry, poll
Current Mood: busy

This is an advance announcement for the July 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "cyberpunk." (Post-Cyberpunk also counts.) I'll be soliciting ideas for computer geeks, rebels, jacked-up idealists, shadowy rulers, body modifications, weird technology, future history, social theories, cultural repair jobs, cyber plot bugs, dystopian settings, "utopias" that actually suck, and poetic forms in particular.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read more about it! )

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poetry, science fiction, writing
Current Mood: busy

Based on yesterday's call for proposals, I have assembled a poll to determine the most popular topics among the ones that people proposed. Leading topics will get penciled into my calendar for Poetry Fishbowl dates later this year.

Please read the voting guidelines before you vote. The number of votes you get to make is based on your level of participation in the project. In a previous poll of this type, someone lamented that they didn't realize what the voting parameters were, so this time I'm trying to make them more noticable.

Everyone may vote for ONE topic, even if you have never participated in a Poetry Fishbowl. New folks are always welcome.

If you have previously posted a prompt in a Poetry Fishbowl OR donated any amount of money in 2009, you may vote for TWO topics. (If you are really excited by this poll but haven't had a chance to participate before, there's a a permanent donation button in my LJ profile. In cyberfunded creativity, it's okay to raise your level of participation when you want.) This rewards people for getting involved, because the fishbowls only work if you feed the fish.

If you have donated a total of $25 or more to the Poetry Fishbowl project in 2009, you may vote for THREE topics. (If you are really excited by this poll but haven't reached this threshold, there's a a permanent donation button in my LJ profile. In cyberfunded creativity, it's okay to raise your level of participation when you want.) This is an extra perk for the most enthusiastic supporters of the Poetry Fishbowl project. Partly this is good business sense, because I want my regular customers to have a great time. But more significantly, cyberfunded creativity is about patronage of the arts; patrons get to influence the flavor of creative material that enters the world.

Poll #1423336 Future Topics for Poetry Fishbowls
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Which of these topics would you most like to see in future Poetry Fishbowls?

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poetry, poll, writing
Current Mood: busy

This is a call for suggestions of upcoming Poetry Fishbowl topics. I already have one slated for July, but that's the last on my list.

What new topic(s) would you like to see me plunk into a fishbowl? Was there anything you really enjoyed last year that hasn't been repeated this year yet? Please make your suggestions in the comments. (If you can't think of any topics on your own, but you love someone else's suggestion, it's okay to say "I second the suggestion of [Previous Topic]," etc.

Later I will collect the proposed topics and put them into a poll to determine popularity.

EDIT: Previous topics eligible for repetition are:

Paganism
Nature
Civics & Politics
Languages, Linguistics, & Linguists
Folk Tales
Horror
Science & Its Stories

I have omitted "speculative fiction" as a generic category because 1) I schedule a speculative topic about every third month, and 2) I'm trying to vary the focus by using assorted subgenres. So if you want a speculative topic, subgenres are preferable.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poll
Current Mood: busy

This poem came out of the June 9, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from dianavilliers and sponsored by janetmiles.




There are garbage dumps and rubbish heaps,
junk drawers and corners of closets,
filled with useless things
that are interesting to look at:

arrowheads and broken beads,
pot shards, spindles, buckles,
paper clips and pencil ends,
messages to people no longer living here,
plastic animals, tiny red wagons, rattles,
dead batteries and computer chips,
even a mouse-sized motorcycle.

They jumble together like space junk,
accreting and dispersing,
teasing the eye with hints of meaning
that never fully materialize.

These are the things that hold civilization together,
the odds and ends of life that have meaning
only to their owners – and yet
they are the things that speak down the centuries
to those who come after.

It suggests
that the Universe
is the junk drawer of the gods.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem came out of the June 9, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was prompted by madshutterbug and sponsored by janetmiles. This is an acrostic poem; it spells its own title down the lefthand margin.




Friendship is a force
Radiant as sunlight and
Invisible as gravity,
Enveloping us in
Nodes and lines of connection,
Directing our lives
So that we
Hover always
In each other’s awareness:
People need people.

Tags: community, cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem came out of the June 2009 Poetry Fishbowl, courtesy of the generally sponsored poetry fund. It was inspired by a prompt from minor_architect.

Frizzled chickens are real, and a popular form of show bird or pet. Due to a quirk of genetics, their feathers arc away from their body instead of toward it, creating the "frizzled" appearance. These birds look very unusual.




Once there lived and once there was
a witch in the hills of Poland.
She had a little hut with a brown tabby cat
and a flock of black chickens.

One day at the market,
the witch heard a poultry dealer say,
“This chicken’s feathers are all backwards.
Nobody wants to buy a chicken with frizzled feathers!
I shall have to sell it to the butcher.”

The witch looked into the cage.
Indeed, the chicken’s feathers curled away from her body!
“Things that are different are good for magic,”
the witch said to herself. “I shall buy this hen.”
And so she did.

The frizzled hen scratched for grain and bugs,
and drank water, and left behind droppings,
just like the ordinary hens. She laid nice brown eggs,
some of which the witch took into the kitchen,
and some of which remained in the nest to hatch.
When the chicks hatched, some of them looked
like the black cock who fathered them,
with his sleek smooth feathers –
but some of them looked like their mother.

Then one day a thief tried to steal some chicks.
The frizzled hen squawked and flapped her wings
and pecked the thief until he bled.
Her strange feathers made her look huge and fierce.
The thief ran away, screaming about demonic chickens.

The witch just smiled,
and thanked the frizzled hen with a handful of corn.
“So,” said the witch to her apprentice,
“that is the magic of noticing and knowing.
I noticed the frizzled hen and brought her home.
I know she’s not demonic, just an ordinary bird
with extraordinary feathers. But he doesn’t know that!”

The apprentice laughed,
and went to collect the eggs.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

Some general funding has arrived, so here is the generally sponsored poetry poll following the June 9, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. You get your pick of one poem in the $10-15 range.

Poll #1415000 Generally Sponsored Poetry from June 2009 Fishbowl
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Which of the following poems would you most like to see published?

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poetry, poll
Current Mood: busy

This poem came from the June 9, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from haikujaguar and sponsored by janetmiles.

Ooo ... brownies. Have some recipes too.





“Patience is a virtue.”
                          – Bread

“He who hesitates is lost.”
                            – Brownies

“Grow up.”
    – Broccoli

“Never forget what it’s like to be six.”
                                        – Brownies

“You are what you eat.”
                           – Stew

“Chocolate is the food of the gods.”
                                     – Brownies

“Plan ahead.”
     – Jello Salad

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”
                                      – Brownies

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, food, humor, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

Here is another poem from the June 9, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from miintikwa, then cosponsored by miintikwa and jenny_evergreen. Yay, teamwork!

This poem uses no capitalization and minimal punctuation to create a soft-edged, dreamy mood. (Yes, I'm a fan of e.e. cummings.) It also uses plentiful sensory details to create a sense of "being there." The repetition of certain words underscores the theme of connection.




the first star kisses the glowing moon
the clouds catch on the crescent
and shred into soft tufts of cotton

the cottonwood trees release their fluff
to float over the still surface of the lake,
silence punctuated by the distant plunk of bullfrogs
leaping into the warm shallow water

fireflies twinkle as the shadows deepen,
taking wing in the soft summer air,
making quick flashes and slow glowing streaks
as they search for each other in the darkness

somewhere the moonflowers are blooming,
and the little roses that grow beside the roads,
their perfume drifting on the gentle breeze
so that it tastes faintly of honey

the hills cup their hands to hold the lake
as the lake holds the reflections
of star and moon, tree and firefly

these are the moments that fill the soul
the way the light and the water fill the lake

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, nature, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

Tuesday's fishbowl started off with a spurt of prompts, followed by a gap and then several more prompts later in the evening, which I enjoyed. I started at noon and worked until 11:30 PM, for a total of 9 1/2 hours allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote a total of 17 poems, mostly medium this time, plus one short and one epic. There was nothing rhymed or metered, and only one form poem, an acrostic. I did write several poems that used quatrains, couplets, or other regular stanzas. Most of the poems came from a single prompt, although a few combined prompts. This batch of poems also leaned strongly toward the humorous and whimsical, a nice change of pace from deep thought and controversy.

This month, 15 people sent prompts. There was one first-time prompter: welcome, madshutterbug. There were 44 comments including mine.

The following fishbowl poems have already been posted:
EDIT 6/24/09, 7/4/09: Added poem.

"Cats Who Fear No Evil"
"Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in the Kitchen"
"False Wishes Come True"
"In the Garden of Ouroboros"
"the moments that fill the soul"
"Time's Keeper"
"Washing at the Window"
"The Witch and the Frizzled Hen"

miintikwa is seeking cosponsors for "the moments that fill the soul," which needs $5 more to be fully funded. This poem has now been sponsored and posted.

This month's donors include: ellenmillion, talix18, miintikwa, minor_architect, jenny_evergreen, and janetmiles. Special thanks to first-time donor miintikwa. Thus far there are no general donations, so no poetry poll unless something lands in the general fund later. I will get the donor perk-post up as soon as possible.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, networking, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem was inspired by a prompt from ysabel and sponsored by minor_architect.




For millennia there have been
cats who fear no evil,
who hunted down demons
and plague rats and Nazi spies.

They only seem to be
staring at nothing,
hissing at shadows,
pouncing on bare floors.

In reality, they are
staring at visions,
hissing at wickedness,
pouncing on probabilities.

Today the cats who fear no evil
watch the stock market
as the bears and bulls stampede
and the brokers make a killing.

So when the fearless felines
stare, they see stock markets;
when they hiss, someone is cheating; and
when they pounce, Justice unsheathes ivory claws.

The Wheel of Karma
runs over all dogs in the end,
and puts their small souls into small bodies
that scurry from the hunters’ fangs.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, magic, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem was inspired and sponsored by minor_architect.




At night, I saw a falling star,
and I wished for fame.
Now everyone knows me as
“That idiot who knocked over the cappucino machine.”
Damn space junk.

At the mall, I threw a coin into a wishing well,
and I wished for money.
Then I got named committee treasurer.
Damn bus tokens.

At the rodeo, I saw a redheaded woman on a white horse,
and I wished for adventure.
The next day, a hurricane hit my house
and I had to flee across six states.
Damn hair dye.

What is the world coming to
when false wishes come true?

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, magic, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem was inspired and sponsored by talix18.




My hands slide through soap and water,
the slick heat scrubbing the dishes clean.
My fingers move without thought,
steady and deliberate; they know their work.
My mind is light and empty as a soap bubble,
the day’s worries washed away like crumbs.

Outside, the birds are flocking to the feeder.
With such tiny, mindless movements
they pick up a seed and peel away the husk,
keeping only the sweet nutmeat inside.
They do this over and over, tirelessly,
until they are full and ready to fly away.

Meditation is the art of being in the moment,
however imperfect, however prosaic.
It is movement without mind,
scrubbing awareness clean,
stripping away the chaff of distraction.

Lives are made up of moments
as days are made up of minutes,
a silk ribbon rolling through a keyhole,
ready to be picked up by a needle
and knotted into tiny embroidered blossoms.

It is not about doing nothing, thinking nothing;
it is about doing what we do yet thinking purely.
It is about twisting time’s ribbon into knots of noticing
as easily as birds twist grass into nests,
as beautifully as soap refracts sunlight into swirls of color.

Chop wood, carry water –
this is old advice.
Wash dishes, watch birds –
this is enlightenment made individual.
Stitch these instants into your memory
and they will sustain you in stillness.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This is the free poem for the June 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was prompted by puffbird and also somewhat inspired by the symbolism of the snake swallowing its tail.




The plants inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen.
The animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

The leaves fall and become compost.
The compost collapses into itself and feeds new leaves.

The rain falls to form puddles.
The puddles evaporate to form rain.

Leaves are eaten by worms that are eaten by centipedes
That are eaten by voles that are eaten by owls
That die and become food for the worms again.

These are the cycles in which the world was made,
Circles and spirals eternally flowing, head swallowing tail
In an endless process of life, death, and transformation.
Everything is curved and recursive; nothing is linear.

In the garden of Ouroboros, nothing is wasted.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, nature, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is the magic of everyday things. I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.

EDIT: The Poetry Fishbowl is now closed.

( Feed the fish! )

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, magic, poetry, writing
Current Mood: busy

Remember that tomorrow -- Tuesday, June 9 -- is the next Poetry Fishbowl. The topic will be "the magic of everyday things." I hope to see you then!

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poetry, writing
Current Mood: busy

This is an advance announcement for the June Poetry Fishbowl (gods and weather willing). This time the theme will be "the magic in everyday things." I'll be soliciting ideas for ordinary people, commonplace miracles, ordinary but important events, everyday objects or creatures, things we take for granted, folklore or superstitions about everyday things, and poetic forms in particular.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read more about it! )

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poetry, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem was written during the May 5, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was prompted by asakiyume and sponsored by janetmiles. This poem connects to several others written about "travel and exploration" this month, and you may recognize hints of them in the verses below. Also, this is the second poem this month that was sponsored later ... good poetry is like peanut butter, it sticks to the roof of your mouth. That always makes a writer feel good.




There is a place where all paths meet,
deep in the realm of dreams,
a place known and loved
by travelers of every land and age.

There they can rest from their wandering,
sit by the fire with friends they’ve never met,
and tell tales of secret roads they’ve walked.

Here the bird is free of the cage
and colored feathers flicker in the firelight.
Here the men of the river-city
sit with the sisters of the mist.
Here the sea-sailor and the star-sailor
share a mug of nut-brown ale
with a bard who fingers her harpstrings
while muttering under her breath.

This is the campground
that lies beyond the shores of night,
the turning point of all journeys,
and the only map you need
to find your way to the Crossroads
is the soul of an explorer.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, poem, poetry, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy