by Dana Guthrie Martin
I looked at oncle Jim’s work on Flickr and immediately thought, “How does this person know about my strangest, most disturbing, dreams?” I was especially struck by this image of a human with a donkey head* sitting in a field, holding a tattered umbrella. There’s clearly a surreal quality to this piece, but it also manages to somehow invoke a feeling of serenity.
As the community management team mentioned in our post about changes we’re making to Read Write Poem, we are folding the Read Write Image post in with the regular lineup of Read Write Prompts that we share every Friday. I hope you like this photo and can find a way into it for your poem this week.
Perhaps you can use the image to enter into a dream or surreal state. Perhaps you want to talk about why there’s a donkey-headed person (or a person-bodied donkey, depending on your perspective) sitting in the middle of a field. A dramatic monologue might even be in order.
Whatever you write, we look forward to reading it when you leave a link to your work on next Thursday’s Get Your Poem On post.
If you choose to include the image on your site along with your poem, make sure you link back to it. Also, attribute the photo to oncle Jim, as required by the Creative Commons license.
Note: Read Write Poem participant Dave Bonta thinks this is a kangaroo head and not a donkey head. He’s probably right, since he knows things. But you can make it be whatever kind of animal you like.
(Note: If you include this photo in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit the artist.)
It’s fun to write something whose destination is a complete surprise.
http://dazed55.blogspot.com/2009/06/xx-by-nwolc-sanford-he-huddles-in-wide.html
Kristy, such a fast response! Remember to leave a link on Thursday’s Get Your Poem On post so everyone will be able to see your work.
And just a reminder to everyone about our prompts: We share them each Friday in our Read Write Prompt post, then give people (nearly) a week to work on their piece. On the following Thursday, we share the Get Your Poem On post, which is where participants leave a link corresponding to the last week’s prompt.
Thanks Dana, it would be great to see this reminder in the body of the prompt post, since I never visit links in the comments of the prompt – only those in the “Get Your Poem On” post
Hi Catherine, the reminder is in the body of the prompt post as well. We state it in every prompt post, which might be why you don’t “see” it — because it’s so redundant that it’s become invisible.
Yes, it is a kangaroo’s head. I suprised Catherine didn’t mention it being Antipodean as well.
Thanks for confirming that, Rallentanda. Kangaroo it is!
The National Emblem
Poor ol’ Skippy
in tatters
public face
of the ruined continent
too ancient
too vast
too hot
too red
too brutal
No longer brown
Diseased
no longer naked
Skin cancered
on fluro astro turf
from somewhere else
crippled by white
appendages
Face of the nation?
Hardly
accidentally popped out of the bag
and now we’ll push it back again
Let’s pretend it’s a bad
Donkey Dream!
http://www.waynepitchko.blogspot.com
Nice sprompt this week
Wayne, don’t forget that we leave links for this prompt this Thursday when we post the Get Your Poem On post. A lot of people won’t see your link if you leave if on this post.
thanks….i been playing (trying to learn how to do some stuff here) hope i havent screwed anything up
Dana or someone…I finall got my url ybder my name…now i cant get the badge on my sidebar on blog…ive tried everythhing…help please
Wayne, I don’t know what to tell you besides what I said in my other comment.
Rallentanda, we are not all that familiar with kangaroos in New Zealand. Or snakes. I believe we are the only country in the world with no snakes. (Maybe Greenland doesn’t have any. Or Iceland)
I guess I don’t look closely at kangaroos faces, given that I recognise a kangaroo by its big hoppity haunches and its joey poking out of its pocket
Come on Catherine, you’re just a hop and a skippy across the water!
You Kiwis are always coming over here for shopping jaunts.You must have seen one in the main street!
Note to readers
Australia and New Zealand have a brother/sister
relationship and enjoy an occasional skirmish to flex their respective muscles. All in good fun!
[...] was inspired by the latest image prompt at Read Write Poem (prompt #81). To see the photo (”XX” by nwolc), which is really cool, follow the link to the prompt [...]
[...] Notes I wrote this piece based on Read Write Prompt #81, and I have to admit that entering into the image was a little harder than I anticipated it would [...]
[...] you able to respond to this week’s image prompt by nwolc? Perhaps you talked about a land of animal-headed humans or about how strange you feel in [...]
http://monthofapril2008.blogspot.com/2009/07/anihuman.html
Hey Just Someone, thanks for writing. Don’t forget to leave your link in the “Get Your Poem On” post!