Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day Announcement — Celebrate With Us!
It’s summer, which means it’s time for… palm trees? No, poetry! The first ever Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day, to be exact.
And I’m here to cordially invite you to join. Poets, readers of poetry, and non-poets alike are welcome. Let me lay the details out for you.
If you’re here to read poetry, and read alone, then all you have to do is bookmark this page and keep it safe…
… and return on Monday, July 20, when the poets out there (myself included) will link their work in the comments.
Then you can have a free for all reading all the wonderful poems that have been posted by talented poets from all around the web — Twitter friends, WordPress friends, new and old friends alike.
Even if you’re normally only a reader of poetry, I invite and encourage you to contribute a poem! You never know what you might come up with.
While we’re on this matter, let’s talk about what all you poets out there should do if you want to participate in the Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day.
Information for poets
For this first Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day, the theme is seasons. I chose this theme because I’ve been writing a lot of poetry about seasons (and times of the year). For a couple examples, see my poems “Solace in Birdsong” and “Still August.”
I am very open to liberal and creative interpretations of my theme. A couple examples that I’d definitely feel fit the bill are poems based on months of the year (as opposed to specific seasons) or specific times in the year (like the transition between winter and spring). I’d also be open to any interpretations on the “seasons” of life. Write poetry based on whatever seasons means to you, and I’ll read it!
New poetry written specifically for Poetry Day is, of course, welcome. But older poetry not written with Poetry Day in mind is also welcome, as long as it fits the theme.
Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day will be on Monday, July 20. That should give you time to polish up some great work that I am very much looking forward to read. There is no entry fee, no minimum or maximum word count or line length, and no restrictions other than the stated theme.
If you’re a WordPress blogger, tag your poem “Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day.” If you’re on Twitter, hashtag your poem with #VoyageoftheMind #PoetryDay when you promote it there, so I’ll be able to find it.
For everyone, hop back here to this post and drop your link in the comments so we can all check it out. Feel free to say hi and give a few words on your poem if you like.
What happens afterwards? I’ll leave the “entry window” open for a day — from the first minute (12:01 AM) of Monday, July 20 to the last minute (11:59 PM) of Tuesday, June 21. That gives everyone a full two days (if I’ve calculated correctly) to submit their links. I’ll be going through links as they come in. My TOP THREE FAVORITE POEMS will receive a shout-out here on Voyage of the Mind. The grand prize winner
The writers of my top three favorite poems will receive a shout-out here on Voyage of the Mind, with links to their work. And the grand prize winner — the writer of my favorite poem — will receive a small prize of $10, paid through PayPal.
As I already said above, I’m not charging any entry fee for Poetry Day, and never will charge an entry fee for any Poetry Day in the future. Poetry Day is about encouraging and fostering the love of poetry. But I do hope to increase the amount of the prize in future renditions of Poetry Day, as well as provide small prizes to the runner-up and third-place winners. If you would like to help me do this, please consider making a small donation to Voyage of the Mind on Ko-fi. Regardless of whether we receive any donations, we’ll always guarantee a small monetary prize to the winner for their hard work, talent, and time invested in writing for Poetry Day! But a big part of the value of this friendly competition, in my eyes, comes in exposure gained for all of us.
I very much hope that you will take part in the first Voyage of the Mind Poetry Day.
Again, the theme is SEASONS, and entries are due in link form in the comments here anywhere between 12:01 AM Monday, July 20 and 11:59 PM Tuesday, July 21.
Two runners-up and one grand prize winner will be chosen based on my judgement. The three winners will receive a shout-out here on Voyage of the Mind with links to their work, and the grand prize winner will also receive a $10 prize. May the odds be in your favor!
Join
Hop aboard!
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What a great idea, Laura! I look forward to taking part 😊
Thank you, Ingrid! I can’t wait to read what you come up with! 🙂
It’s an old post – is that allowed? I will try and add a tag to your Poetry Day!
That’s allowed! If you can’t add the tag, no worries! Just link it here and that will be all good.
Is it allowed to write our poem here in the comment section
That’s totally fine! You can do that, or if the poem is “Twitter” length, you can link to a tweet… Whatever works for you! I’m looking forward to read what you come up with. 🙂
Here’s an entry from @MartinDix87, which you can read on Twitter. I’d love if you checked it out!
https://twitter.com/MartinDix87/status/1284862118894985216
Hi Laura! I’m so excited to take part, and read other people’s entries. Luckily, I had already posted fa poem about the seasons on my blog, so here it is: https://experimentsinfiction.com/2020/05/01/the-song-of-summers-ending-a-poem-about-the-seasons/ Thank you for hosting this fantastic poetry event!
Hi Ingrid! Thanks so much for participating! I’m super excited too to see what people come up with. I’m heading over to check this out now. And you’re very welcome! It’s my pleasure. I get to read all these great poems!
See below. It’s a poem I wrote for my husband on our wedding day in 2008 and was read out in the ceremony by my friend.
A Love for All Seasons
I loved you in the winter through two years of cold and dark,
From when we danced the stony shores, until we reached Hyde Park.
I loved you in the spring time, when the sparkling Serpentine
Heralded a blossoming and you were truly mine.
And so it was that our love bloomed, amidst the PhD’s,
Post-placement high-heeled sprints with bags,
Text books on train journeys.
Somehow we made it through the years, apart and yet together.
While I was choked in London smog, you braved the Swansea weather.
The Friday night excitement on the First Great Western Train,
Gave way to tearful Sundays as we parted in the rain.
Yet still our love grew stronger during those five years apart.
I always felt you close to me; I held you in my heart.
I love you now it’s summer and at last we can be one.
We’ve faced the wind and rain, and now we’re basking in the sun.
The wait has been worthwhile now that our dreams are coming true,
And armed with all our doctorates, we finally say “I do.”
This year we’ve lived together you have made me feel complete.
You mellow my obsessiveness and warm my freezing feet.
So as we start to build our home, our family and our life,
I’ll never take for granted what it means to be your wife.
I’ll love you in the autumn as we’re growing old and grey,
Our faces are all wrinkled and the kids have moved away.
But like the autumn leaves that glisten fire-red and gold,
I know I’ll see new beauty in you as you become old.
The sands of time will shift and slide, we know not how or when,
But after we have passed, my love, I’ll love you even then.
What a beautiful poem! Thank you so much for sharing it and participating in Poetry Day. I love the story behind it, too. I feel that it fulfills the prompt in more ways than one: with the actual seasons themselves as well as the seasons of life. That must have been a beautiful moment when your friend read it during the wedding ceremony!
Another entry via Twitter, from @RitaRana07. Check it out!
https://twitter.com/RitaRana07/status/1285204968933175296
Here’s an entry from @StorinoDana on Twitter. Check it out!
https://twitter.com/StorinoDana/status/1285214192090439680
An entry from @NineofSeven2 on Twitter. Here’s the link:
https://twitter.com/NineofSeven2/status/1285215108654862336
But it’s so short that I’ve gotten permission to reprint it here. Here it is!
“Winter despair
Spring reeling
Summer glummer
Fall, that’s all.”
Another entry sourced from Twitter, this one from @RandallMcNair3. Here’s the Twitter link:
https://twitter.com/RandallMcNair3/status/1285242192680742913
And here’s the poem, since it’s short:
————————————————-
BLACKBIRD FLY
Blackbird draw yourself
on the blank chalkboard of sky—
as fall draws nigh, fly.
————————————————-
If you like Randall’s poem, you can find more of his work here:
https://www.mcnairpoet.com/
Thanks, Laura! Here’s one from my debut collection of poems, Dispatches from the Swinging Door Saloon…
The Organ Grinder’s Monkey
I’ve seen them in top hats and tails
their hair combed and tidy,
little trinkets and medals dangling
from their breasts.
But this one had wild, tangled
hair and he owned only
a very cheap suit.
I felt bad for him.
I had the same suit in my closet
and it always embarrassed me.
But goddamn if that monkey
wasn’t the liveliest, smiliest monkey
you ever saw! He just
danced and grinned his way
through hours of bad shtick,
collecting dollar bills
and banging his little drum.
He was a real money maker.
Then one day his handler
received some terrible news
and there was no more drumbeat.
Word went out and
the whole town came out
for one last show.
There, in a pine box,
was the liveliest, smiliest monkey
you ever saw, quiet and calm,
sunflower in his lapel,
little monkey hands
folded over his heart,
his glorious smile made still
for eternity.
I was there in my cheap suit
along with other men in theirs
and we shared a long cry for him
as he lay there motionless,
his cheap suit shining
beautiful and black in the twilight
on a hot corner
in the dead
of the saddest summer on record.
This is such a sad poem, but I love it. It’s very evocative — vivid in my mind. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Here’s a poem published in THE WILD WORD by Dargan M. Ware, @ManerWare. It’s a winter poem. Here’s the link:
https://thewildword.com/poetry-dargan-m-ware/
Hi I’m Todd. My poem is called I Blossom In Autumn. Hope you like it.
https://toddfranklinosborn.blogspot.com/2020/07/i-blossom-in-autumn.html?m=1
Okay, here I am. I’m going to link some of the poems I’ve written that pertain to seasons. (New poems coming later!)
“Footprints in the Snow,” about winter but a bit more… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/17/footprints-in-the-snow-a-poem/
“Despondence,” includes summer imagery… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/15/despondence-a-poem-within-a-poem/
“Sonnet II — Laid to Waste,” also includes summer imagery… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/11/sonnet-ii-laid-to-waste-a-modern-sonnet/
“Still August,” about August… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/09/still-august-a-poem-about-the-sea/
“The Heat of July,” about July… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/06/the-heat-of-july-a-poem/
“Solace in Birdsong,” a personal favorite about the transition from winter to spring… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/05/solace-in-birdsong-a-quarantine-poem/
“In the Quiet,” includes autumn imagery… https://voyageofthemind.com/2020/07/03/in-the-quiet-a-poem/
Check out any that sound interesting!
Here’s a poem from @sabdapalan on Twitter. I’m reprinting it here:
———————————————–
The strewn flowers
After a moment of glory
Prayer flags
In the wind
A stream of mountain sunlight
Reflecting off the window
Half open
To the buzzing bees
The lingering dry fruit seller
Sits smoking her pipe
The two idle bicycles
Locked in an embrace
In the village market
———————————————–
And here’s a link to it:
https://twitter.com/sabdapalan/status/1285268577646374913
Another fabulous poem, this one from @C_R_Brock on Twitter. She’s put hers up on her blog, and you can check it out here:
http://crbrock.com/careless-freedom/
You can also check it out on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/C_R_Brock/status/1285270296820236289
Loved writing a little poem for this over on Twitter! Thank you for an inspiring prompt, Laura!
https://twitter.com/AvendelJaya/status/1285316985857941504
I love it! Thank you so much for participating in Poetry Day! You’re very welcome for the prompt, it’s my pleasure. I get to read everyone’s beautiful poetry!
🤩 That is an awesome plus side!
Yes, it certainly is!
Here’s an entry from @KeithKunkler. You can find it on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/KeithKunkler/status/1285333738461831168
And here’s a reprint, since it’s short:
————————————————————–
Can anyone answer?
For I do not know?
Where does hatred grow?
Blind are they; what do they see?
I am only me
Outside and out we all bleed!
Each of us came from a simple seed
Red among the marrow
heart pumps to bring tomorrow
Sorry for I can’t conceive
All I can is simply grieve
————————————————————–
Find more of Keith’s work on his Goodreads page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19652217.Keith_Kunkler
Hope I’m not late
Here’s my poem on Seasons:
https://aswrittenbybenyin.home.blog/2020/07/21/in-this-season/
Thank you for participating! You’re not late. I’m heading over to check this out now!
The End of a Drought.
Summer hangs heavy,
a woolen blanket across my shoulders.
I see squadrons forming overhead,
clouds brought to blossom
in a sky dyed chemical blue.
The warm breeze suddenly stiffens,
making the grass seem to shimmer,
the parched earth crying out for rain.
The air feels charged and heavy
against my skin,
tumblers clicking into place,
unlocking a glimpse of the future.
I hear the rifle crack of thunder in the distance,
the storm announcing its presence
as the dam bursts and,
at long last,
the deluge comes.
Thank you for this beautiful poem and for participating in Poetry Day! I love your take on this theme. Summer storms are wonderful. I’m hoping one will come to Massachusetts soon! It’s been repressively hot.