get your poem on #18

From now until midnight one week from today, comments on this post will be open, so you can leave a permalink to your blog post for this week’s contribution.

Be sure to check back through the week and see what others have written in response to ideas about trees, or writing from different viewpoints — or inspirations from other sources: Read Write Poem!

* * *

Extra news: And, if you didn’t know it (like …deb didn’t), next Friday (March 21, 2008) is World Poetry Day.

Update: We’ve eliminated the link to the blog posting environmental poetry for World Poetry Day, not because we don’t support that cause, but because the blogger had not given satisfactory credit to one of our participants. Copyright and courtesy must be given their due.

* * *

Extra-special (truly!) : Don’t miss Dana’s interview with Dorianne Laux. There’s great information and inspiration in this piece, written especially for Read Write Poem.

* * *

Please take a few moments to read the the about page, the code of conduct and our copyrights page. If you have any questions about the project after reading through those pages, e-mail us at info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.

Please note: If your comment does not appear, send an e-mail to info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org and we will fish it out of the spam filter. (Put but one link in your comment. The spam filter thinks more than one is fishy-business and will send you to the tank.)

Please also note: We encourage participants to link to the Read Write Poem site every week they participate and to tag or categorize their posts as “Read Write Poem.” Doing so each week helps new people find the project and increases the site’s visibility and rankings — and that in turn that means more people will see the work of project participants.

* * *

We always love hearing from you!

1. Mad Kane - March 17, 2008

Thanks for the inspiration. Here’s my tree-related verse:
Yard Yarns

2. Jo - March 17, 2008

Yes, thank you Juliet, I ended up writing a different one……..here it is:

http://florescence.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/a-tree-speaks/

3. gautami tripathy - March 17, 2008

I loved doing this. Thanks for the prompt, Juliet!

Here is mine:

numbing nirvana

4. art predator - March 17, 2008

I have two at

http://artpredator.wordpress.com/

1) untitled

http://artpredator.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/spring-poem/

and

2) “I’d Rather Be An Oak than a Eucalyptus”

http://artpredator.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/i-would-rather-be-an-oak-than-a-eucalyptus/

BTW, how do you make the titles of the poems link? do you have to know html? did I miss the instructions somewhere?

5. AnthonyNorth - March 17, 2008

Who wants to be a tree?

Branches of Life

6. Crafty Green Poet - March 17, 2008

Here’s mine:
http://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com/2008/03/barking.html

7. paisley - March 17, 2008

spellbound

i had fun with this one…

8. totomai - March 17, 2008

here’s mine.. inspired by one of my studies in college

http://filteredprecipitates.blogspot.com/2008/03/lament-of-rubber-tree.html

9. Rose Dewy Knickers - March 17, 2008

I have a poem about Bristlecone Pines.

Rose

xo

http://dewyknickers.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/carbon-trading/

10. Leigh Lear - March 17, 2008

here’s my try.
http://wordsfromanauthor.blogspot.com/2008/03/read-write-poem-prompt_16.html

11. ...deb - March 17, 2008

And mine: Chestnut-backed Chickadees in the Oregon White Oak.

Nice prompt, Juliet!

12. Read Write Poem - March 17, 2008

I had to find you in the swamp, Art, with all those links.:-) Post as many links as you want, but do it one comment at a time.

There’s simple code to for the linked title, I’ll email you a sample you can see, and modify.

13. Liza Lee Miller - March 17, 2008

Thank you! My poem is Tree=Life. I look forward to doing some reading! Thanks Juliet!

14. Tiel Aisha Ansari - March 17, 2008

I often write as or about trees:

Arboreal Desperation

15. Dave - March 17, 2008

Juliet already mentioned this last week (thanks!), but I’d also like to encourage everyone with tree-related poems to submit your links to the Festival of the Trees, which will be hosted next month on a Brazilian blog - our first bilingual edition! Call f0r Submissions

16. Dave - March 17, 2008

For my own submission, I don’t have anything new yet, but here’s an old poem that fits the bill: Confession of the Gallows Tree.

17. Christine - March 17, 2008

Hey, everyone!

Ophelia falls from a Bradford Pear Tree in Georgia.

18. Melanie-bd - March 17, 2008

Hi all,here is mine:

my poem

love-bd

19. LaurenceMcBeth - March 17, 2008

Here is my effort…

http://semi-retired.livejournal.com/23400.html

20. UL - March 17, 2008

Late on this obe, but had to submit even though I call it a draft -

http://ul-typingaway.blogspot.com/2008/03/roots.html

21. Linda Jacobs - March 17, 2008

This was fun but went in a totally weird direction.

<a
href=”http://lindaspoetry.blogspot.com/2008/03/trees.html”White Birch Tree

22. Linda Jacobs - March 17, 2008

hm…what the heck did I do wrong? I’ll try again. Oh, I forgot the bracket before White. Duh!

White Birch Tree

23. Dave - March 17, 2008

O.K., here’s a new one: Legerdemain

24. SB - March 17, 2008

I’ve been lax about prompts lately, but I do have 12 March 02008 - Snapshot Poem

25. seb - March 17, 2008

a tree’s lament

26. Noah - March 17, 2008

Disappointment

27. Via Negativa » Blog Archive » Legerdemain - March 17, 2008

[...] In response to the Read Write Poem prompt, “be a tree.” Other responses are here. [...]

28. Rob Kistner - March 17, 2008

Awakening

29. sister AE - March 18, 2008

There was only one tree I was feeling for this one.

http://havingwrit.blogspot.com/2008/03/stand-sure.html

30. sister AE - March 18, 2008

On the other hand, I guess there was another tree in me after all…

http://havingwrit.blogspot.com/2008/03/one-night-only.html

31. Kate - March 18, 2008

This came out of the last two prompts; trees and repetition both grow poems, and they’re both tough. The seaker isn’t a tree, but she’s kin to one.

It’s here, and thanks.

32. Bean - March 18, 2008

This might be a little unusual, but then again, so am I.

http://beansthought.blogspot.com/2008/03/be-tree.html

33. Melanie-bd - March 19, 2008

Somehow the poems got mixed up. This my poem for Read Write Poem.

my poem

Thanks for your comments on “Mourning Dove” but that poem was for Weekend Wordsmith. lol

Melanie-bd

34. Tree life (poem) « Words that sing - March 19, 2008

[...] This poem was inspired by readwritepoem’s latest prompt - to write a poem from the point of view of a tree. To see what other poets have done with the same prompt, click here. [...]

35. Lirone - March 19, 2008

Here’s mine

tree life

A fun prompt to work with

36. jillypoet - March 19, 2008

Mother as Oak Tree

This was probably one of my favorite prompts of all time. I love trees. I love imagining I am something else, or imagining what something else might say.

37. Amputated Moon » Tree Song - March 19, 2008

[...] This poem is based on the prompt from readwritepoem. [...]

38. Pam - March 19, 2008

Here is my poem, Tree Song.

39. SB - March 21, 2008

Another Snapshot Poem, Spring Equinox

40. odessa - March 21, 2008

here’s my small poem, almost like 2 haikus:

http://makeshiftwords.blogspot.com/2008/03/spring-17th-street.html

41. Jeques - March 21, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I’m new, gautami tripathy guided me here.

Here’s my contribution:

http://jeques.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/be-the-best-that-you-could-be/

I wish you well.

~ Jeques


welcome to read write poem

Read Write Poem is an online gathering place for those who love poetry — and for those who suspect that, with a little nurturing, they could grow to love poetry. Whether you are new to writing poetry or have been writing for years, you are welcome here. If you don’t write poetry but love to read and discuss it, this is also the place for you. Read more about the project.


Get the Read Write Poem badge for your site! We have two versions to choose from. Just click on the badge to the left to snag the code.


read write poll

Tell us about your interest in publishing your poetry in literary journals: (Select all that apply.)

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

other read write poem joints

Facebook (sign up to be added to our mailing list)
Twitter (sign up to be part of impromptu collaborative poem events and to learn more about what's going on with Read Write Poem)

participant-run journals, zines and sites


  • read write poem newsfeed

      Issue 3 of Ouroboros Review is live and includes the work of Dustin Brookshire, James Brush, Joyce Ellen Davis, Michelle McGrane and Carolee Sherwood!

      (Did we miss you? Tell us! Email news (at) readwritepoem (dot) org. Or send us your news!)

      -----

      Dustin Brookshire's Queens of Poetry anthology submission deadline is Sept. 30. Go here for more information.

      -----

      "W.S. Merwin join[ed] Bill Moyers for a wide-ranging conversation about language, his writing process, the natural world, and the insights gleaned from a much-lauded career of more than 50 years."

      He also read a great many of the poems from this year's Pulitzer prize-winning The Shadow of Sirius, published by Copper Canyon Press.

      This excellent program aired on June 26 and is well-worth the watch. Find it here, on PBS.

      -----

      Dave Bonta wants to know: "Why do poets say 'O'?"

      -----

      You can find a video of John Walsh reading "Gash" for Ouroboros Review here and look for a new issue very soon!

      Ouroboros Review is a biannual poetry and art magazine that will include three John Walsh poems in the upcoming issue.

      -----

  • random
    poetry prompt

      A different word or phrase will appear here each time you visit the site or refresh the page. Your current prompt is — discard

  • random
    collaborating tip

    Use instant messaging to write a poem with a collaborator by taking turns one word, one phrase or one line at a time. With group chat, you can do this with more than one partner.


  • random
    writing tip

    Write a narrative poem or an epic poem about an event in history that moves you. Do you feel drawn to a certain time period from the past? What about the music? It might be big band music, sixties folk rock, Duke Ellington jazz, Renaissance madrigals, Gregorian chants, sitar music, etc. Think of the food, the clothing, the setting and create a mood that’s evocative of the time period you’ve chosen.

  • random
    reading tip

    Savor the poem. Read it multiple times, slowly. You may even want to read small sections of it slowly, and give yourself a long pause after each to let the poem sink in. Read the poem at least once before you try to figure out its meaning or make any notes on it. Absorb the poem. Inhale its scent.

  • random
    poetry quote

    Like species, poems are not invented, but develop out of a kind of discourse, each poet tensed against another’s poetics, in conversation. — Forrest Gander