The Wordsmith's Forge

This month's theme was "Cookbooks and Cooking." I wrote from 1 PM to 5:30 AM, so about 14 hours 30 minutes, allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote 6 poems on Tuesday and 10 later in the week.

There was a lot of crosstalk this time, with 14 comments on LiveJournal and another 108 on Dreamwidth. A total of 17 people sent prompts.


Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Christmas Chilies"
"Cooking Is Everything"
"Crickets on the Hearth"
"The Greatest Accomplishment of a Bartender"
"Tasting Your Way Around the Sea"
"To Feel Safe and Warm" (complete with soup algorithm)

"Ouroboros Insects" (standalone, April 2021 Creative Jam) (linkback perk)
"One of the Hardest Arguments to Refute" (Polychrome Heroics: Finn Family, April 6, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl) (free epic)
"Ways to Make the Pain Go Away" (Polychrome Heroics: Iron Horses, December 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl)
"Quicker Than You Can Lower Them" (Polychrome Heroics: Iron Horses, December 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl)
"A Crazy and Drunk Life" (Polychrome Heroics: Iron Horses, December 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl)
"Repair Just About Anything" (Polychrome Heroics: Iron Horses, December 1, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl)


Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from May 4. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available. All sponsored poems have been posted.

This month's donors include: librarygeek, ng_moonmoth, hangingbyastitch, fuzzyred, technoshaman, mama_kestrel, and Anthony & Shirley Barrette. There were no new donors. There is 1 tally toward a bonus fishbowl.


The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

These small theropods hunted at night.  :D 

The following poems from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "Everything That Blooms," "In the Shade of the Mighty Oak," "Let the Children Lead Us," "Autumn's Palette," "Pumpkin Spice Prosperity," "Delight in Another," "A Sense of Weather Changes," and "Ouroboros Insects."


"Generations of Cooks Past"
It's about different ways that recipes can be lost and rediscovered.
54 lines, Buy It Now = $20

"Instinct and Taste"
Catcher coaxes Maggot into a cooking lesson.
401 lines, Buy It Now = $101

Catcher found Maggot
making fuzz sticks with
his knife beside the fire, so
that the icy wood could burn.


"Science on the Side"
A black woman scientist abandons the scientific community due to discrimination, and starts a food truck instead.
63 lines, Buy It Now = $32

Beulah Mack earned
a degree in food science,
but found that nobody wanted
to listen to a black woman scientist.


"Sharp Sauce"
Shiv and Gray explore hot sauces in the kitchen.
238 lines, Buy It Now = $119

Shiv was glad that Gray had
decided to stick around for
a little while after the wedding.


"Solace, Hope, and a Tasty Snack"
Genna offers to teach Hatter how to make Salted Caramel Powerballs.
229 lines, Buy It Now = $115

Genna felt grateful that she had
clothes suited to tropical weather,
because April in the Indian Ocean
meant a downright steamy day.


Several prompts contributed to a set of poems in sequence, so each should be posted in order whenever they get sponsored.

"Escape a Thousand Memories"
Story Date: April 2014
Summary: Kardal Abdullah moves to Rutledge, Vermont and explores opportunities for education and employment.
139 lines, Buy It Now = $70

Kardal Abdullah arrived in Rutledge
with the clothes on his back and
a duffle of grudgingly given supplies
from Britannians eager to get rid of him.


"Who Can Create the Future"
Story Date: June 2014
Summary: After passing a class on American food handling, Kardal applies for a job at Mandy's Diner.
76 lines, Buy It Now = $38

Kardal spent May
taking the class about
American food handling.


"Good Food Choices Are Good Investments"
Story Date: June 2015
Summary: After working at Mandy's Diner for about a year, Kardal Abdullah launches a Syrian food truck.
529 lines, Buy It Now = $265

Kardal completed his classes on
Entrepreneurship and managed
to save a good amount of money,
since he did not have to pay
rent at Family Business Rest.


"Layering Flavors, Tastes, and Textures"
Story Date: July 2015
Summary: Kardal tries a regular Vermont grinder, then invents the Hummus Buster sandwich as a Syrian equivalent.
156 lines, Buy It Now = $78

Kardal Abdullah was doing
quite well with Syrian Foods.


"A Vibrant Symbol of the American Dream"
Story Date: August 2015
Summary: Kardal's food truck attracts hungry teleporters.
670 lines, Buy It Now = $335

Syrian Foods was officially a hit.

Kardal Abdullah never had
a hard time finding a place
to park his food truck.


"The People Who Give You Their Food" (Creative Jam)
Story Date: 6 PM on August 19, 2015 outside of Aleppo, Syria
11 AM on August 19, 2015 in Rutledge, Vermont
Summary: A cape team wraps up a battle against terrorists in Syria, then takes salvaged ingredients to trade with a food truck in Vermont.
254 lines, Buy It Now = $127

The battle had gone quite well.

A team of soups, spanning
all cape colors, had pounced on
a squadron of Syrian terrorists.

... made of sodium.  :D 

Today is sunny, breezy, and warm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen doves, sparrows, cardinals, and goldfinches today.

I took some pictures in my yard.

EDIT 5/20/21 -- I finished trimming the grass around the wildflower garden.

EDIT 5/20/21 -- I pulled more grass from the wildflower garden.

EDIT 5/20/21 -- I cleared a spot in the west part of the prairie garden to plant something.

EDIT 5/20/21 -- I cleared another spot in the prairie garden.

EDIT 5/20/21 -- I planted wildflower seeds in the wildflower garden.

EDIT 5/20/21 -- I planted more wildflower seeds in the wildflower garden.

Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This is the current list of coping skills.

8. Play a game.

Best 1-player Board Games (with links for other numbers of players)

Low-Vision Board Games

Ways to Adapt Board Games for Special Needs

Best Mobile Game Apps 

Historic Games

Classic Games Without Equipment

Pen and Paper Games

Dice Games

Card Games

What are some of your favorite games?

These are the notes for "Ever Evolving, Changing, and Becoming."

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This is posted as a birthday gift for Anthony Barrette. It is spillover from the March 2, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from mama_kestrel. This is the first poem in the Strike of the Thunderbirds series.

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Today is warm and gray.

I fed the birds.  I've seen doves, sparrows, and cardinals.

I pulled some grass from the wildflower garden. 

EDIT 5/19/21 -- I cut grass around the edge of the wildflower garden.

Power is restored.  Most of water has been removed.  We still need to figure out whether the sump pump needs repair or replacement.  Progress.