Tag: 52formchallenge

The Sky Gave Me Its Heart

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 49: Cento~

The Sky Gave Me Its Heart

The sky gave me its heart
No one believed what happened
Will they wake with their hearts wanting to play
fallen Phoenix that sang out from the fire of union

There are wars where no one marches with a flag
so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes
with such love and power

Most carry their values and knowledge in a jug

I guess I should not have jumped naked
desperate in need of
a blessed gratitude
and even a man can become

A note on my original cento

I chose to create my poem from a single anthology: Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, edited and translated by Daniel Ladinsky. From this anthology, I decided to borrow one line from each of the twelve featured poets in sequential order. The line number from each line in the original poem coincides with the number of the line used in my cento. For example, the third line of Rumi’s ‘The Way Wings Should’ became the third line of my own poem, and so on through the poem’s twelve lines. My cento features one line from each of these poets (listed in order): Rabia, St. Francis of Assisi, Rumi, Meister Eckhart, St. Thomas Aquinas, Hafiz, St. Catherine of Siena, Kabir, Mira, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Tukaram.

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Cento form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

My Muse, she sings but softly

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 48: Rispetto~

My Muse, she sings but softly

My Muse, she sings but softly these warring days
With her harmonious sisters Voice and Verse;
Their chantsongs echoing faint and far away,
Will not reach me here to end this silent curse.
To dark and ancient music, to thund’rous drums,
We used to dance the twilight, shimmer, and hum.
I need their sweet music, their timbre, and tone.
I can hardly bear to sing my voice alone.

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Rispetto form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

June 20, 2020

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 47: Seguidilla~

The legendary dance halls
Of Barcelona     
Are empty; all the dancers
Are dancing at home.
Meanwhile, in Tulsa
Ignorance throws a rally;
Every seat is full. 

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Seguidilla form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

Witness the Power of Growing Things

On By Adam AstraIn Original Poetry, Poetry, Poetry ChallengeLeave a comment

~Week 46: The Nonet

Witness the Power of Growing Things

Witness the power of growing things:
Revolutions of nature, life
Like leaves and petals spreading,
Like stems and trunks rising,
Voluminous fruits,
Tender berries,
Bound in a
Single
Seed.

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Nonet form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

I Sing the Blues

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~Week 43: The Monotetra~

I Sing the Blues

When all the words I write confuse;
When my weak voice won’t reach the muse,
And life shows me no other hues,
I sing the blues; I sing the blues.

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Monotetra form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

Staying

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 42: The English Madrigal~

Staying

For now, we are content to stay inside.
The troubles of the world will wax and wane,
But as each season ends, our love remains.

Sometimes the storms of early May will hide
the sun and send a sudden rush of rain.
For now, we are content to stay inside.
The troubles of the world will wax and wane.

Although we’ve had to set some plans aside,
The garden will be waiting and will gain
As all of life will strengthen by our pains.
For now, we are content to stay inside.
The troubles of the world will wax and wane,
But as each season ends, our love remains.

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the English Madrigal form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

Wait and See

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~Week 40: The Cascade~

Wait and See

If we take it day by day,
We’ll see how it goes.
Tomorrow may bring something new.

Despite the walls placed in our way,
We’ll find the room to grow
If we take it day by day.

The gods of old have gone, and so
We last remaining faithless few
Wait and see how it goes.

The April sky is still sometimes blue;
It’s not always this cloudy grey.
Tomorrow may bring something new.

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Cascade form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

Old Eugene’s Quarantine

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 38: The Limerick~

There once was a fool named Old Eugene
Who wouldn’t stay home for the quarantine.
He said “Damn you all,
I’m going to the mall.
I’m almost out of my Ovaltine!”

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Limerick form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

A Cutting

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 38: The Ae Freislighe~

A Cutting

To find the life underneath
Sometimes it takes a cutting
A folding back of the sheath
To see the green life budding

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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the Ae Freislighe form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —

the word is still alive

On By Adam AstraIn Poetry, Poetry Challenge, writingLeave a comment

~Week 37: The Tricube~

the world is still alive

the world is
still alive
the spring song

chee-dee-dee
of the young
chickadee

the tulip’s
blades like green
flames rising


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Click Here to learn more about the Fifty-Two Form Poetry Challenge.

Click Here to learn more about the tricube form.

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— A sample of what you’ll find at my new blog, Astra Poetica —

~ Featuring a new form every week! ~

— Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws —