by the Read Write Poem Staff
Look at you! Writing past the half-way mark! Today, Neil Reid invites us to keep going by writing about the elements:
Let’s be elemental. Fire, earth, water, wind. They touch our lives every day. Choose one that interests you, then take a point of view that is not so much your usual. Observe what interaction you’ve known, or not known, with this element.
You might make it personal or take the element’s point of view (how might humans appear to you from that stance?) or wander where you may. Tell us something about your element that we don’t know.
You’re welcome to make your own rules, and as always, the most important point is simply to write and share, however it comes your way! Have fun! ![]()
Reminders for everyone
Read the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge Kickoff post for details on how the challenge works — and how you can engage with Read Write Poem this month, no matter what your personal writing challenge is for the month of April.
Please read this page to find out how Read Write Poem’s prompt posts work. Remember that work linked from any post this month is shared in precisely that spirit: sharing, as opposed to critiquing. If you haven’t done so already, please read all the pages under About in the navigation bar.













Ooh I like this! I love water since I am a Pisces.
Air of love or anxiety or may be nothing
poemsotherwise.blogspot.com/2010/04/cigarette.html
Enjoyed this prompt
Dirt is Dirt isn’t Dirt is
good one!
azha irving replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 4:59 am
wow I must be tired I meant to say yesterday’s prompt wrought a fire poem from me… but ok another element coming right up!
Here’s my take on <a href=http://says-sir-ten.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-17-elements.html< ELEMEMTS
Done it again ! ELEMENTS
Mark Lysgaard replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 1:01 am
Hey Stan- It appears that your text is in white on a white background. Couldn’t read your poem.
~Mark
Stan Ski replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 2:09 am
It’s standard black on white on my screen. Not sure how I can help.
vivienne Blake replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 4:14 am
I really like the ideas and the words. Not sure about the ultra short lines. Reading it aloud, it makes me keep stopping and starting. But that is probably just my bad reading!
Trying to bring some current events into the mix, with a certain geological event across the sea…
Island-Mountains-Glacier
Here’s mine for today…not on prompt:
http://brokeness.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-16-running-from-myself.html
I decided to write about the Fantastic Four: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water plus those they serve.
http://babblingoninbabylon.com
I decided to write about the Fantastic Four: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water plus those they serve.
http://babblingoninbabylon.com/blog
this is also responding to the poetic asides prompt to write about death. so this is an elemental view of life and death
http://crankymango.blogspot.com/2010/04/convergence.html
“Drawing Exercise: Dissolve” is here -
http://bluehookah.blogspot.com/2010/04/read-write-poem-prompt-17.html
This is a record for me. I enjoyed this prompt thanks Neil!
http://flaubert-poetrywithme.blogspot.com/2010/04/refresh-me-again-napowrimo-17.html
…here are my NaPoWriMo #17 poems — 2 free verse, 1 tanka…
elemental…
This was just screaming for a ritual song. i imagined a tribe’s sorceresses fighting a magical battle using the power of the elements. Here you go:
Magic
Come ye sisters, gather closer
in the circle made of stone
We will be our fates composer
All together, neigh alone
Earth and water
air and fire
bring about
our heart’s desire.
Eastwind blowing, bring the eagles
golden hunters in the air.
With your power soft yet regal
sweep the enemy from his lair.
Earth and water
air and fire
bring about
our heart’s desire
Southern fire blazing brighter
Chase the enemy around
Stand to burn his troups and fighters
Keep our people safe and sound
Earth and water
air and fire
bring about
our heart’s desire
And when all the battle’s over
water from the west bring cold
Wash away the blood and cover
bodies that have been too bold.
Earth and water
air and fire
bring about
our heart’s desire
Mother earth with all your graces
Bring us peace forever more
Let us stay in these green places
Please forgive us war and foe!
Earth and water
air and fire
bring about
our heart’s desire.
vivienne Blake replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Up there with Hiawatha! Your rhythm and repetition conjures up visions of feathered braves dancing round the totem pole. Very enjoyable.
Catherine replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 6:38 am
I really like this, though “neigh alone” has me puzzled – horses?
derrick replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Definitely an elementary spirit to this.
Here is Irvine, Ca:
http://skankinmoon.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/92604-irvine/
My poem on yesterday’s prompt is here: http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com
Somehow that wasn’t quite as painful as usual! Got a bit lazy with the title and called it Earth
Will feel be better when we make 20..then only 10 to go…strange logic huh!
‘Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink’
http://rallentanda.blogspot.com
Will feel better when we make 20..then only 10 to go…strange logic huh!
‘Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink’
http://rallentanda.blogspot.com
Okay, then. Let’s Hear It For…AIR!
A silly one first:
Wind of Evil
What can I do to annoy you?
Aha, I see a volcano about to erupt.
I’ll blow all the ash, the smoke and stuff
all over Europe. I’ll put a spoke in their wheels
and glass in their engines. Let them see how it feels
to be earthbound for a while.
Crowds in airports, their journeys interrupted,
Cursing their luck and my ill-tempered puffs.
What fun I am having. It makes me smile
to cast such a ghastly blight on their lives.
Robin replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Good one. Seems a number of us wrote about Iceland’s volcano.
And one I prepared earlier. I do often write about the elements and the weather.
Aftermath
Heavy silence, absent birdsong
tempest rises, fear brings frissons
leaves thrashing, boughs bending,
branches knocking at my window.
Wind is howling in a circle
clamour crashes, shatters glass.
Exponential tumult grows as
alien forces push me flat
against the wall, my breath expelling.
Din assaulting, eardrums hurting
house vibrating, disintegrating.
Dive for refuge beneath the bed
with eiderdown around my head.
Hours later, morning breaking
I emerge and hear the silence,
see the purging nature wrought.
Heartsick, mourning the destruction
of my garden. Every bush
and leaf and flower, all are jumbled,
desolation everywhere.
Slash and saw and fell to burn.
Clear the way to start again.
Dig it, rake it, plant and sow,
reborn beauty soon to grow.
Exsultate jubilo.
Stan Ski replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Nothing scares like the howl of a hurricane.
derrick replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I like both of these, Vivienne. Nature will always have the last word!
I’m a little late on this one. The water pours out.
You’ll find mine here:
http://melrosemusings.blogspot.com/2010/04/saturday-spotlight-and-napowrimo-day-17.html
vivienne Blake replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 6:25 am
This one does it for me. But what about flat calm?
derrick replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Everyone needs a tea break, Vivienne!
Uma Gowrishankar replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Derrick, loved the avatars of wind and breeze in your poem.
http://just-somestuff.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17-she-asks-question.html
I’ve been indulging in some serious procrastination today – nearly midnight here, and I’ve just managed to get my day 17 poem up (using the “smell” prompt – “elemental” coming up tomorrow)
Sorry only stream of consciousness for this one… off to a party. The time difference works against me on the weekends.. here goes
http://redshoepoet.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17.html
This prompt fit perfectly for something that happened to me a few days ago. Thanks!
A teeny little poem. Fire…
http://www.redbubble.com/people/nebsy/writing/5019104-napowrimo-17
vivienne Blake replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 7:57 am
A teeny little poem that puts succinctly what could have taken pages without getting to the heart of the matter.
http://mothersparrow.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/the-robins-egg/
My power was out all day yesterday due to a storm we had here in Pittsburgh, so today I’ll be posting both my number 16 and 17.
Thanks Neil for the prompt. It seemed timely, well I tried writing about two calamities.
Elemental
my number 16 (about the smells) is on my blog now:
http://richelledodaro.blogspot.com
What great timing! I picked up a copy of “The Best of Earth, Wind and Fire” yesterday at the thrift store. The title was too good not to steal for my element-based poem:
http://cardiganmiser.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/6-the-best-of-earth-wind-and-fire/
I Am
http://herwordsbloomed.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17-something-elemental.html
something a little different today –
http://another2doors.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/fire/
Aubade
http://tinacelio.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/aubade/
Humble offering
http://poiesis3.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-day-17-water.html
http://rhiannonproblematising.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/napowrimo-17-oh-rock-how-rocky-you-are/
Does anyone else run out of titles at this stage in the month?
A combo poem today – poem on elements and a poem on death (prompt from Poetic Asides). Here is ‘Fire In The Pot’ http://umaathreya.blogsome.com/2010/04/17/fire-in-the-pot/
I love writing about rain in the desert. Of course I picked water.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978179389
Matt Quinn replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I enjoyed the twist at the end.
hosking replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Thanks!
http://katharinewhitcomb.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17-air.html
I sure am getting a lot of mileage from the flowering crab apple across the street.
Fire for a Saturday’s evening!
http://bit.ly/9Xe8o5
Apple Blossom Air
http://mmw113.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17-apple-blossom-air.html
not an element poem, but a science poem!
http://caroleesherwood.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/napowrimo-17/
Saturday the 17th. Do you know where your NaPoWriMo poems are?
Mine are on Facebook and here:
http://dash30dash.ning.com/profiles/blogs/napowrimo-17-including-writing
incorporating a couple of prompt/challenges today.
Keep writing !!!
Grass and Wind
They have an agreement, these two
It was settled long ago
Sea grass knows the wind like a sibling
Deep green and rooted in sand,
It answer harshness with grace
Never resisting, only dancing.
Wind bends the tapered blades almost
To breaking, then lifts them
like banners, announcing
their ecstasy
Grass surrenders, becomes
both canvas and instrument
Giving shape to the unseen,
Hushed music to the silence.
Kelly replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Another great prompt and one I’m sure I will use again – thank you, Neil.
vivienne Blake replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
This is, I think, my favourite so far today. I’ve always thought that the wind in marram grass on dunes is something very special to sight and sound.
Robin replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Kelly-Beautifully expressed. I absolutely love the first line as a way to express that relationship.
Kelly replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Thank you, Vivienne and Robin. I really appreciate the feedback!
My mind mixed them to “Mud and Smoke”
http://nothinghypothetical.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/mud-and-smoke/
I’d already written this before reading the prompt. Maybe it can be seen as explaining the elements of someone’s poetic voice.
http://poemblaze.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/100th-post/
I am amazed each day at the numerous directions we each take in response to the prompt! I love reading them all!
My response to today, “Blessed Renewal,” can be found at http://bridgeanna.blogspot.com
Blessings on your day!
Another quickie, not even related to this new, great prompt: http://jasonriedy.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/napowrimo-17/
This is some fallout from a Coleridge quote posted by Robert Peake. I do not see science separately from poetry, prose, or much of anything. They all reflect our understanding.
Loved this prompt! I actually ended up writing two poems inspired by it:
http://healingforthehealthy.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-171-something-elemental.html
http://healingforthehealthy.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-172-something-elemental.html
http://freckledwriter.blogspot.com/2010/04/santa-ana-winds.html
The Passing of the Warmth
The stove still sits in the empty kitchen
In the middle of its own linoleum square
Whose colors have faded to a dirty oatmeal
The edges all bedraggled like they’d been
Nibbled by mice – or something bigger.
They took the stovepipe down from the
Ceiling. Stacked the pieces against the wall.
Where the sink used to be, the floor has a spot
Of clean, but the window above it is scalloped
In rings of dirt.
Fighting an urge to reach for the Windex, I
Remember all the sets of curtains crisp, and new..,…
Outside in the yard where the garden used to be
the lilac bush is broken but still sending out
small green promises of buds. I never knew
that weeds could grow so fast….
Our sons examine the stove like a project
They will have a test on. One gets down on
His knees, opens the little door when the ashes
Pile up – sure enough, a little gray mound is
Waiting – the last remains of the last fire –
How long ago?
Now they get busy – show off their teamwork
Someone carries the pipes outside, the pick-up
Waits in position, In the kitchen boards are
Slipped beneath the stove bottom – it staggers and
Releases more ashes – whoever moves in here
Will have to scrub…I hold the door open, Good
Bye old friend, and old firelight, you’ll warm
Up the mornings for a new family.
Old fire-stoves never die – they just move along…
Fire and a new form
http://marcieaf.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-day-18.html
http://sky-lined.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17.html the second poem is for this prompt.
Here’s my take on the prompt. It’s titled Escape.
http://systematicweasel.blogspot.com/2010/04/escape-4-17-2010-poem-day-challenge.html
The link below is a radio interview I did on 90.1KPFT FM. I was able to read one of my poems.
http://systematicweasel.blogspot.com/2010/04/901-kpft-living-art-interview.html
Enjoy!
Another fun one! My day #17 is here (ripped from the headlines…):
http://robin-turner.blogspot.com/2010/04/grounded.html
vivienne Blake replied:
April 17th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
The best take on today’s news! My favourite lines: “great cloud of grit, sky-wide.
We are at a standstill now.”
I chose Earth after a long inner debate. Then spent far too long writing an elaborate poem – which at the ultimate minute of giving up and going to bed, I tossed out for a brief poem I know is better. Taught me a lot, this prompt.
http://synecdochicstuff.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17.html
I chose water.
http://sheiladeethdrabbles.blogspot.com/2010/04/april-napowrimo-17.html
It was a ski day. The choice was obvious:
http://daily-yawp.blogspot.com/
http://www.robertlunday.net/2010/04/poem-17-noppera-bo.html
Poem #17. “Four.”
Posted at: http://troysworktable.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-17.html
day 17 itz all abt the wind for me… sirocco
I posted a poem earlier, but I finally wrote one based on the prompt: http://poemblaze.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/napowrimo-17/
I chose earth, with a nod to the other three:
Terra-motives
Blah…way too tired for this today (up very, very early this a.m.)but here are drafts of two poems.
http://rrosenchang.blogspot.com
Too tired from waking up very early this morning to think, much less be creative, so here are drafts, at best, of 2 short poems. (Actually, wanted to repost my cleave, which was partly about the ocean, but…can’t cheat!!)
http://rrosenchang.blogspot.com
Thanks for the prompt, I enjoyed doing this!
Here’s mine: tied to the Kitchen Sink
Thanks Neil. I had fun with this prompt. Can you tell?
Fireworks
http://jdmackenzie.blogspot.com/2010/04/fireworks.html
Another Day in Mammoth Land
http://pamelavillars.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/april-17-10-another-day-in-mammoth-land/
Late to the dance, but Soon, Green at Scrambled, Not Fried.
Well, I started with the prompt, but I ended up somewhere else. Shocker
http://yearofthebooks.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/poem-a-day-day-17/
I chose water, as will be obvious.
Just discovered William Carlos Williams, among others. – never got into poetry in college, even though one of my professors was Robert Creeley
http://novaheart.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/poem-41710-william-carlos-williams-hands/