Yeah me!Just had to share this little moment with you all. The poem I posted here, an acrostic using the word FAITH won best poem of the month in its category. I am thrilled!
I have never written an acrostic before, this was my first attempt and I am more than a little humbled to win because of the fine poets I was in competition with.
Acrostic Only posts prompts monthly that anyone can enter. Click here to find out more.
Poetry and I have been friendly for a while. Ever since ever I have written poems, though most of them deserve to be closed in the dusty books at the back of my wardrobe where they sit. Poetry wooed me early in life. I swooned and worshipped the ground it walked on. It doesn't mean I wrote it well.
Try it. Go on. I dare you.
We writers know, put words together well and they sing, get it wrong and readers hear finger nails on chalkboards. But poetry helps develop an ear for the rhythm of words and heightens my observations of life. In poems my heart unfolds. My prose can only benefit. I encourage you to try it, even if it is not your thing. Even though my own poetry is far from full bodied, crafting poetry is like a gym work out for writing muscles. Cross training for writers if you will. Prose can only benefit.
No Synonyms...
Someone once said, 'there is not such thing as a synonym, only the perfect word.'
That is what poetry forces me to look for. The PERFECT word. Choosing the one word that defies the emotional landscape. The texture and tone of any writing is word choice. And the less lines I am playing with the more zealous I am about the PERFECT word.
Poets I Admire
If you'd like to check out some poets I admire, the following bloggers know exactly how to turn words into a velvet pleasure. Many of them are published poets, all with serious talent.
Lori A. May at (doesn't actually post her poems but links to her latest anthology which is mind blowingly good! http://loriamay.blogspot.com/
Check them out. Tell 'em I sent you :)
What about you? Which poets do you admire? I'd love links to more poetry blogs too if you have any to recommend.
How wonderful, TAbitha!!! That's awesome! I love being encouraged, and that has to be such a fun encouragement!
ReplyDeleteI'm not much for poetry but when I was a teenager I wrote a bunch of cheesy poetry. It made Debbie Gibson look like Shakespeare, it was so bad.
ReplyDelete"There is no synonym just the perfect word." I love that!
ReplyDeletePoetry does make me tremble, but it does have an eloquent feel that I love. I can see how it would enhance my writing. Good point.
Please stop over at my blog, I have an award for you.
Congrats on winning the contest! How awesome!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You're a beautiful poet and definitely deserve this award!
ReplyDeleteIt was a deserved win Tabitha..! :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading it, even though it was after the winning announcement! :)
Tabitha, congrats on a beautiful acrostic. I love the Chekhov quote at the top as well!
ReplyDeleteWa-hoo! How wonderfully fun and exciting.
ReplyDeleteAnd, like Ava and others, I concur regarding the Checkhov quote. Very nice.
Thank you so much for those links to poets' blogs. I am a poet, mostly spoken word, but was encouraged by a friend, after a long drought, to start blogging as a way to start writing again. I have been nervous about posting my poems because I was unsure if they would be received well in blogs (that sounds silly now that I've been doing it, but I honestly thought that).
ReplyDeleteYou have been an inspiration. Thank you! I will get on it!
Big congrats!!!! I appreciate the links too. I can't wait to hop over and read your poem!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Tabitha! Good job!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Tabitha, and thanks for the great links. My favorite poet is Mary Oliver. She is the ultimate writer.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Very cool. I also look forward to looking through all those poetry links.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You totally deserve it. Your words are always 'perfect'.
ReplyDeleteHooray!! How great for you and thank you for the helpful tips! One poet I've admired is Marge Piercy. She's a novelist too and when you read her books it's clear she's a poet. Try her book of poems: The Moon is always Female.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful news!! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks so much, truly, for the recognition you just gave me. :) I'm very, very honored.
Congrats Tabitha! You go girl! :) Thanks for the links, I'm always looking for poetry blogs as well.
ReplyDeleteI have a blog for you that I enjoy much:
http://diamonds-and-dreams.blogspot.com/
Congrats Tabitha!
ReplyDeleteThis poem is one of my favorites:
More and More
More and more frequently the edges
of me dissolve and I become
a wish to assimilate the world, including
you, if possible through the skin
like a cool plant's tricks with oxygen
and live by a harmless green burning.
I would not consume
you or ever
finish, you would still be there
surrounding me, complete
as the air.
Unfortunately I don't have leaves.
Instead I have eyes
and teeth and other non-green
things which rule out osmosis.
So be careful, I mean it,
I give you fair warning:
This kind of hunger draws
everything into its own
space; nor can we
talk it all over, have a calm
rational discussion.
There is no reason for this, only
a starved dog's logic about bones.
Margaret Atwood
That's awesome, Tabitha! Contratulations to you!
ReplyDeleteTabitha, first and foremost I want to congratulate you. That was a fantastic Acrostic which I enjoyed immensely. Second, thanks for mentioning me but I no longer have the She Poet blog. Too much craziness in real life has forced me to leave for awhile. I will frequent many of those who supported me, including yourself :) I do have another blog but don't know how often I will post there.
ReplyDeletelifeunchartered.blogspot.com
Congratulations again! Keep writing no matter what. You have a unique gift.
Congratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I don't read much poetry, but I've enjoyed the ones I find on blogs. I've come to realize that poetry is the most concise of all writing. It always amazes me how few words can evoke so much emotion and so much meaning!
Congrats! I'm so happy for you!
ReplyDeletemuch love
Congrats! That's awesome.
ReplyDelete............dhole
Huge Congrats on winning! :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved the writing class I took. The teacher focused mostly on poetry and I feel like I learned a lot from her, but on my own, just me and poetry... LOL We don't do so well. I completely agree that poetry makes our prose better. Nice post Tabitha!
Acrostic sounds like it would be easy, but when you start the poem, you quickly realize that it IS about the perfect word. Congratulations to you - well earned!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in college, I wrote poetry. I still have some of it. The poems weren't bad, just not great and certainly not worthy of an award. Congratulations on your award!
ReplyDeleteHelen
Straight From Hel