My latest collection of poems, Folks, is now available in Kindle format on Amazon.com. The collection features many poems about Black folks, some famous, and others not so much. If you've been following this blog, you may find some of the poems from there in the book. However, there are many that are fresh. If you have a Kindle, please take a look. Also, for those of you without a Kindle, please let me know if you want to see this book or any of the others in paperback. Leave comments and reviews, too!
Here is the link to my page: www.amazon.com/Sheryl-Singleton-Lynch/e/B073PXZPHG/ref=aufs_dp_mata_dsk
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I received this tweet this morning: Please have a look at all the talented poets featured. There's a lot of great writing going on...
twitter.com/MoveMePoetry/status/1561660987777974277?s=20&t=pLpgzlp65IfcWHX6GIMpwA Here are some of the poems I wrote this week in response to the #vss365 prompts: FYI: I learned this week that Hiraeth is a Welsh word that connotes longing, homesickness, grief.
1. Prompt = Hiraeth Sitting in my car In the Midwestern winter gray My thoughts turn East And I am seized by longing Consumed by hiraeth Not for you Not for riches or fame But for the self I abandoned All those years ago. I turn the key And set off to find her. 2: Prompt = Solitude Twenty-first century woman Slips out her door At the midnight hour To feed the birds (She wouldn't want to wake them) To find space to think Just she and the moon In a slice of solitude And the city fades away into the night. 3, Prompt = Yen I've got a yen A hankering for home Want to see and hear myself Reflected in the faces Of those I love Cash-strapped in a pandemic Wings clipped I soothe hiraeth with Zoom calls. I don't usually write structured poems, but lately I've been writing haikus, limericks and now, a duplex poem -- seven couplets, with the last line of each couplet becoming the first line of the suceeding couplet. This was a task given to the open mic poetry group run by Kew & Willow Books (Kew Gardens, NY) for their next session.
Duplex -- "Fast And Loose" Fast and loose was how we played it In a hurry to reach the end of the line In a hurry to reach the end of the line I failed to reach out to you I failed to reach out to you; I threw away my chance for love I threw away my chance for love Gambling on finding something better Gambling on finding something better I rolled the dice and lost I rolled the dice and lost Leaving our hearts' desires behind Leaving our hearts; desires behind Fast and loose was how we played it. Sheryl Singleton Lynch 18 Aug 22 I've been writing poetry on a daily basis recently, not just as part of the #vss365 exercise on Twitter, but as a result of other influences. Memory and the time of year seems to be with me right now. Here are three recent ones:
I. She had been a large woman Tall and heavy A quiet mountain Even in the face of life's insults Existing on crumbs and fringes Was it really a surprise To find her at the end Lying gaunt on a hospital bed Cancer feeding on her unmet desires? II. I live on a street With a number The kids say its meaning Is homicide I've never done that crime And yet the dead are all around me You don't have to shoot 'em Stab 'em Poison 'em Just live long enough And Time will do the deed. III. I stepped outside And the morning air Greeted me with a chill First hint of autumn Walking down the road I spot some leaves That have left The community of trees I realize that Death surrounds me It is the season For the parting of the veil Samhain comes much earlier these days. When I would walk into the old woman's house, it was like time travel, but with glitches. The smells had lingered for over half a century of poorly cooked meals, dust, laundry, and sweat. She had lived alone for decades with those aromas hanging. After she died and the house was sold, I wondered if there were enough open windows and fresh paint to bring the house back to present day. I've attended two sessions of Sherese Francis' ReVer(b)sions Lab, given virtually by the Lewis Latimer House Museum.
Each session has prompted me to write a poem. The results are below: CHRONOS, KAIROS, AND REVERBERATIONS I used to be unable To tolerate noise It triggered my fears Even the joyful noises Of folks laughing Music rising into the summer nights We always had some noise here The television, the stereo, garage bands, yelling up and down the stairs I was constantly on edge Until I discovered the magic Of the midnight hour When there's no one else around (Thank you, Wilson) I could finally hear myself think I could see in the dark I stopped yelling during the days Because there was space for my dreams. LISTENING I need you to turn the volume down so I can hear the music I NEED you to turn the volume down so I can hear the music I NEED YOU TO TURN THE VOLUME DOWN SO I CAN HEAR THE MUSIC! How do you expect me to time travel Shape-shift In the face of colonial clatter? In between the noise I can reach back And touch Bessie and Louis Be reborn in the Harlem Renaissance And emerge dancing in some juke joint I need you to turn the volume down so I can hear the music, find myself. This week I had the privilege to participate in the Living Poetry Project. This is a group that is creating a database of poems that composers may access to use in their musical works. One of my recent poems, Descending, has been published in the database. I hope it will provide inspiration to some other creative artist, and I may include other works going forward.
In other news: I have been participating in a daily writing exercise, #vss365 on Twitter for about a week or so. It really is good practice, and provides the satisfaction of having produced some at least one piece of creative writing each day. I had started out doing haiku, and thought that I would stay with that form, but my muse was having none of it. Gotta go where the wild mind leads. Here is what I've done so far: At the dawn of the age We worked with machines The size of a city block Making dial tone for the people. Memory lapses might be expected -- After all, that's a lot to keep track of. And when the memory would fail, stroke out as it were, We'd bring #circuit boards To slam into the frames, Hoping for electronic resuscitation. #vss365 #circuit RUBY BRIDGES Sun stretches Her #silhouette; child becomes The giant the time demands. #vss365 #silhouette #haiku Dreaming of you Singing doowop in the hallway Teenage Romeo #vss365 #hallway Phone lights my midnight Hallway; on the way to my Own enlightenment. #vss365 #hallway #Ominous sounds above me; My umbrella lonely Forgotten at home. #vss365 #ominous Seeking to #tie you Closer to me, I smothered Our new love instead. #vss365 I continue to add new designs to my SparksEdge store on Zazzle.com. Words I've heard to describe the designs include "whimsical" and "folk art". I may not be the most proficient artist, and the designs keep coming,,, www.zazzle.com/three_sistas_tote-149329481950366827 www.zazzle.com/on_the_town_tote_bag-149725398099589806 Please have a look, like and follow the store! Your support is appreciated. Also, if you would like to see the designs on other Zazzle items, please leave a comment. Thanks!
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