Welcome all. Hedgewitch (Joy Ann Jones) here, to host another weekly session of poetic jubliance and summer madness here at the pub. I say summer madness, because it seems awfully early for it to be this summery, yet the feeling is just in the air, at least in my part of the U.S. where Spring came almost a month early this year. I don’t consider it Summer till the roses bloom, but they’ve been in full flower for several weeks, and in fact are almost finished, when usually they are just beginning by Mother’s Day.
So I say ‘Happy Summer’ to all, even if in your area it’s not quite there yet, or even if it’s a different season, because Summer is a state of mind, a time for freedom from care and enjoying life. It’s also a time for sharing quality time with friends and family, and we’re in the perfect spot to begin all that here at the pub, where this community is a friend and family to poets of every stripe.
Tuesday’s Open Link Night, where any poet can link any poem on any subject, is our most popular feature, but as many of you know, it’s not the only specialty item this place turns out. We are open seven days a week, and try to keep the menu tasty every day. We’ve recently had the great good fortune to add some new and talented staff members to give us even more dimension in the area of our other prompts and features, so I thought I’d give them all a shout out, and run the schedule down for new patrons.
On Mondays, the erudite and articulate Chris Galford brings us a look at a different classic poet and poem every week, some familiar, some obscure, from many languages and cultures, in a feature called Pretzels and Bullfights. This is some fun reading, from which I always learn something, and you don’t even have to write a poem, just read some of the best out there.
On Thursdays, we alternate two themed link-in spotlights on the craft of poetry. One is called Form For All, and focuses on the various poetic forms through which we can express ourselves as writers. Samuel Peralta joins Gay Cannon for this feature. Even if you’re strictly a free verse writer, you can usually find something new and interesting to appreciate and learn at these sessions. The other Thursday attraction is called Meeting the Bar, and is all about the nuts and bolts of writing, of challenging ourselves to improve in various ways through experiment and sharing among peers. Charles Miller(the Chazinator) has joined Victoria Ceretto-Slotto to cover those bases in a creative, innovative and interesting way. Both of these platforms include specific prompts which challenge us to write.
Saturdays at the pub starts the weekend off with Poetics, where an alternating team presents various challenges ranging from a word or a concept to specific art or photography to get the creative juices flowing. The two geniuses behind this joint, Brian Miller and Claudia Schoenfeld, have been joined by some new geniuses, Stu McPherson and Karin Gustafson, to come up with a wide range of subjects and starting points to write from that are open-ended but always combine enjoyment with depth.
To give everyone an opportunity to participate regardless of time zone and country, all these features go live at the same time, 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, and last till midnight of the following day. We hope you’ll investigate and dive in to what suits you if you’ve yet to do so, and enjoy the huge level of support and encouragement that is a hallmark of our participating poets, writers, and team members.
I’ll leave everyone with this very seasonal, short-sleeved summer shirt of a poem from Carl Sandburg :
Back Yard
by Carl Sandburg
Shine on, O moon of summer.
Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,
All silver under your rain to-night.
An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.
A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month;
to-night they are throwing you kisses.
An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a
cherry tree in his back yard.
The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking
white thoughts you rain down.
Shine on, O moon,
Shake out more and more silver changes.
~From The Chicago Poems (Henry Holt and Company, 1916) by Carl Sandburg.
Once again, a happy Summer to all, and I look forward to all the poetic barbeque and pool parties we can handle here at the pub till Fall rings the season out.
Now lets get down to the poetry. If you are new to the pub, here’s the way our link-in works:
Post a poem to your blog,
- Link in the poem you’d like to share (1 per blog, please) by clicking on the Mr.Linky button just below.
- This opens a new screen where you’ll enter your information, and where you also choose links to read. Once you have pasted your poem’s blog url and entered your name, simply click submit.
- Don’t forget to let your readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post.
- Visit as many other poems as you like, commenting as you see fit.
- Spread the word. Feel free to tweet and share on the social media of your choice.
- Finally, enjoy! Remember, we are here for each other. Engage your fellow poets, talk, chat, comment, let them know their work is being read, and enjoy the input you also will receive. This is all about community.
Threw kind of a goofy one on the list today. Hope y’all enjoy it.
Thanks for the Sandburg, hedge!
Goofy is my kind of thing, Joseph. Will be checking it once the opening frenzy subsides.
i found a sandburg book in a used bookstore in charlottesville the other weekend…its his Chicago Poems…and got it for fifty cents…def have enjoyed it….
Summer…cant get here soon enough…been rainy and grey so i am in a bit of a melancholy mood…so i am def looking forward to OLN tonight…smiles…
nice highlight of all the other fun we have hedge…and the great staff…thanks for hosting…see you out on the trail…
smiles.
Remember rain is good for flowers, and crabgrass and dandelions…and it may be another hot miserable mess later like last year, so hang in there. The OLN spirit will cheer you up, if you can squeeze through the doors.
That’s a heckuva deal on the Sandburg. Just found a new used book store here with tons of poetry and am very happy about it, as my collection is short on modern poets and they gots ’em in spades. See you on the trail, boss.
Happy Tuesday Happy OLN!
One of the things I love about dVerse is that when I have time free during the week, I can always find something new here. Love the Sandburg, Joy. Thanks for tending and have a wonderful evening *hug*
Same to you Beth. We’ill have to have a Winter-Summer thing going on here, eh?
Absolutely and we are going to prove that it works LOL
Now, if school would only let out!
Won’t be long. Then you can really go crazy.
Hello Everyone!
Whaddup!
Well, it was Rabindranath Tagore’s Birthday on the 8th of May. So I thought of paying him a tribute. Also, I have been told, that not many in the West know about Tagore as much as they know about Gandhi. So this is my little contribution to the world of Bengali poetry. I have drawn a sketch of him and also written a poetry for him and sung a song you’ll find in the youtube video! 😀
Phew!
Time to cal it a day folks!
Shall get back to reading soon!
Hope to see all the creativity around! Cheers!
Oh, by the way..This is me being “different”..or perhaps trying to be so. 😛
Cheerios!
I enjoyed your tribute pvk, but discus will never let me comment. Sorry. Tagore was a great poet.
From 15 to 30 by the time the link page opened? Yikes! Summer is a nigh-constant state for us in Miami. It’s either hot and wet, or hot and not as wet.
Welcome Valerie–yes, constant summer could get old, but it beats constant winter I guess. Thanks for braving the opening crowds…I’m at 51 myself after making one ten second comment. ;_)
ha. having lived in FL myself…i know that…
Welcome back Hedge…first drink on me…Cheers!
Your pleasure is my pleasure, jackie. Stirred, shaken,straight up or a mocha frappicino?
mocha frappiccino sounds grand! TY!
YW I’m making two then, cuz that’s my fave also.
How about mine?
I mixed up a fresh batch just for you–and possibly seconds for me,,,;_)
I would LOVE a mocha frapp. 🙂
Great #OpenLinkNight article Joy- and nice one for giving props to the bartenders! Wish it was summery over here- constant rain and freezing….good old British weather!!! See y’all out on the road!
Sounds like Poetry to me! 😉
Builds character, and that’s what built the Empire, right? . 😛 Welcome Stu, and thanks–can’t wait to see what we’ve got tonight.
It’s not quite summer here yet, though we had a taste of it yesterday. Today is better described by Brian Miller’s poem “Like Fighting the Rain”. Love the Sandburg poem you posted here!
hope the sun finds you a bit tomorrow and thanks for the S/o
Welcome, all. I’m more than willing to share my summer with all of you who may need extra. Feel free to grab some sunshine, Brian, though it’s a bit cool here today, too.
Look forward to seeing everyone out there, and as usual, reading some of the best and freshest poetry on the web.
Thanks for shouting out the new faces at one of my favorite places Joy! Stu and Karin have both absolutely rocked our Poetics stage and Charles and Sam have blown my mind more than once with their craftsmanship let alone their help with FormForAll and MeetingTheBar. Along with the familiar faces I have come to love, not real sure where me and my poetry would be without dVerse…to each and everyone of you that volunteer your time, your energy and your wonderful words and love for them…I salute you! Let’s raise our glasses EVERYONE!
Yes, and you’re no small reason yourself Natasha, for why this is such a great place to be a writer. Thanks for everything you do for us all, and bottoms up!
Roses still in bud here in normally sunny Devon joy … been very grey and wet of late …. but thanks for brightening up the evening
It’s come awfully early for us here, in the US MidWest–I’m just hoping it doesn’t mean another extra hot summer. Thanks for joining us from the cool green shores across the pond.
fast or slow unfurl, the pearls of Summer seize the fingered time that memory vines to sensation…I left a homage poem that sings to the spill of Beltane to Solstice…thanks for being here to share what we poets do…
You’re welcome, Edward, and look forward to seeing your Beltane tribute. It’s a time I love also.
That was an exceptionallly beautiful poem, Edward.
Well, it sure doesn’t feel summery today — not even springy. Hmm, is there even such a word as springy?
Anyway, thanks so much as always for hosting this. Here’s my Yet Another Limerick Ode To My Husband Mark Kane. It’s about the dangers of teaching your spouse how to write limericks. 🙂
This made me laugh out loud! Thanks for allowing us to be a fly on the wall, Madeleine!
Welcome, Mad–you’re always one of my favorite stops on Open Link Night.
Happy Tuesday everybody. I’m gonna run out and see just how many moon poems are out there today.
Ha! Fooled ya!(on mine) but I bet you find more than a couple. Be by to see you soon, DA.
Yeah, you weren’t kidding!
Happy open link night all!
I wrote a poem with rain drops falling and a bit of darkness as a mood backdrop. This is one of my favorite days of the week, writing and reading fantastic poetry!
Have a wonderful night.
Thanks for hosting us, Hedge, and for the wonderful poem shared!
Have been nursing a sick pet back to health past few days, which has put a crimp in my writing. Aw well, at least I made it!!! Nice to escape a while with my friends at the “pub!”
Best wishes for your pet, Ginny, and glad you could make it.
Lovely piece of Sandburg, Hedge.
Yep, it’s summer here, too…and the roses have been blooming for weeks…strange weather.
And summer is NOT something to be taken lightly…especially with drought conditions abounding….but right now, we are having rain.
I’ve got a little, slight Moon poem….and it’s SHORT! LOL!
Thank you, Hedge, and all else here.
Lady Nyo
Welcome, Jane. Good to see you here, and I know the Moon is in good hands with you, always.
This is one that I posted very late for dVerse poetics, now revised and recorded as a video poem
And oh so not summer here, floods, frost, hailstones and three duvet beds ;-(
Triple duvets sound rather claustrophobic, John–look forward to seeing your piece.
so better not mention the two hot water bottles(one each) and the pillow wrapped around head…and the dog…and the cat (too much information?)
No, but it does sound a bit…crowded. I’ve had nights where it would have been quite welcome though.
Hi, Hedgewitch and all. The first of the three elementary schools I attended was Carl Sandburg, in a suburb of Seatlle, so I always felt a connection. I think of “little cat feet” whenever I see fog, too.
Thank you Hedgewitch. Okay I’m in, although a little short on time tonight so I went with something I wrote a couple of days ago.No idea if it hits the spot for tonight particularly but I found myself on cantankerous mood and off I went.Not really summer themed, but I guess you could say it reflects the seasons of peoples lives perhaps?!Have a great evening everyone… off to an actual bar this evening but will be back to check in later x
No problem about the theme at all. Open Link Night has no prompt or theme attached, and is for absolutely any poem on any topic you want to share. I just picked summer to talk about because I’m enjoying it at the moment. And we’ll hope to see you in the virtual pub when the real one closes.
Indeed you will, thanks, see you later! Look forward to catching up on all the poems.
hello Joy……no thank you, I’m intoxicated from sleep deprivation…BUT….I shall loom and look in the midnight hour when work beckons….feep up the kine work and bile be lack hater….sor sumpin thike lat
Peace
I type like that all the time, even when I sleep like a baby. Welcome to the pub–you’ll rit fight in hear.
The last of the packing comes down to one question
should I bring extra shoes or make room for a book
Guide to a Happy Life?
… That’s how my poem starts this week about going home to care for my mother.
Summer! Oh gee! I’m not sure I’ve even finished with my 2011 Christmas shopping! Thankfully (maybe), the weather here is cooperating with me, allowing me to keep pretending that I really am going to catch up before mid-February!
In the meantime, glad that you have roses, Hedge!
I am particularly late today – both to post a link and make rounds but will do some of both this evening. k.
Any time you show is always good for us, K.–and enjoy living in the past as long as possible. I always do.
Back at the beach; summer in full force, sand surf and tourists aplenty! For me back to “real life” responsibilities after my hiatus in BigD. So writing time is at the premium. I’m still researching the poem I thought I’d write last Thursday, but I managed the form set by my good friend Sam Peralta (I think) and the topic set by Stu for Poetics on Saturday and wrote this one and finally linked it today. Music. Thanks Joy for tending bar today. Roses seem to be winding round the pub today!
enjoyed your piece…and would love to be at the beach myself right about now…..
Hey kids. 🙂
hey shawna!!!!
Hey girl.
Thanks for hosting, Hedgewitch! Have a wonderful time tending bar. I apologize in advance if my submission seems more like prose with arbitrary line breaks instead of poetry. I tried! Best to all, el Mosk
All is grist to our pub-ly mill here, Moskowitz. Will be by soon.
thankyou for the opportunity to get a poem out there. I really love the dVerse site with so much good info and interesting poetic forms to think about.
and we are glad to have gerry
I wrote this for the Music Prompt, but was too late for the linky.
Was it something I said?!?! I didn’t get my email from the Pub today!
Might be my service; seems things are running a bit slow today.
Looking forward to another afternoon reading some good poetry!
Consider this a personal response, Charles. In my experience the word press feed is way quicker than the blogger one, so no idea why you got nothing–should have at least got the Pretzels and Bullfights one. Good to see you here, anyway.
I did get the Pretzels and Bullfights one. Nothing in my Yahoo mailbox right now, so might be something amiss. I was just yappin any how. No worries!
Hello all, wishing you a lovely day xoxo
Same your way, Ms Poppy.
poppy…u rock…killer piece tonight…and def enjoyed your longer work as well when i clicked to the newer post….
So glad to be visiting again! Strung a few words together after a bike ride the other day. I’m excited to read some poetry tonight!
nice ride you had…enjoyed your verse….
So sorry, but I messed up my link #81! have reposted at #99. Could you make a note at 81?
Thanks and sorry, again!
I look forward (as always) to reading tomorrow!
-Eva
i think this is first time i’ve been # 100 yay! why not 😉
nicely laid out refresh re-cap of the offerings here at dverse, very useful
liked the summer sandburg too, though definitely a northern summer rather than one of my old 100º at 10 pm austin nights 😉 and yes, looking fwd to some of the former sandburg-ish summer times here in vermont 😉
and you are rocking #100 adan…smiles….
😉 yea, i like that, thanks brian 😉
Well thanks for the Sandburg Joy – what a nice treat – for some reason his reminded me I have some Sappho fragments kicking around so posted one of them on a seldom used blogger blog (am avoiding WordPress until they clean up that email mess) … in any case, it kept me from putting another moon post up – lol Happy Tuesday all!
http://leapinelephants.blogspot.ca/2012/05/no-more-than-bird-with-piercing-voice.html
You’re most welcome. I’m totally with you on that ‘flood your mailbox’ wordpress thing. Nice way to make a bug a feature. ;_) I am partial to Sappho, so will be by later.
My husband is dragging me off to help him with building his raised garden wall–apparently I have to hold something while he pounds nails. I shall return for more reading pleasure as soon as I am released from this work detail.
Just keep your fingers far away from the hammer…don’t want you not being able to type! 🙂
Yeah, this would be a bad night for that! But all went smoothly. He’s fortunately a pretty crafty kinda guy.
some really great verse tonight…be catching up again soon…keep it coming….
just popping in for a quick hello… had a long day at work and business dinner in the evening… just coming home and almost midnight over here… so will go straight to bed and head out on the trail tomorrow morning… have fun… and thanks for tending bar hedge…
My pleasure. Get some rest Claudia–we’ll all be here in the morning, trying to make the coffee machine work.
oy…you did have a long one claudia….sleep well….
I’m in. Modest but filled with fun, the poem that is.
Ha! Can’t wait.
Morning all from Oz… apologies to not getting to read to much last week, dreaded bug got me, see how I go this week
Yikes!! Over 100 poets — awesomeness.
Thank you so much for detailing all the wonderful poetic advice and opportunity there is here.
Hope everyone has a fantastic summer. Mine had def begun, but today – wind storms and rain (much needed).
You’re welcome, Myrna–good to see you here, and our roof doesn’t leak so no probs with the rain.
Was out and about with my kid brother this afternoon. I am sharing the Monday Melting entry with Shawna’s word list, PALEO-TROLL. Hope you dig it, Joy:
http://bibliosity.blogspot.com/2012/05/paleo-troll.html
That was way cool, Glenn. I was laughing, even while admiring the way you made the words sit up and play ball. Nice.
Joy, great to see you hosting tonight, and what a great shout-out to the other contributing staff at dVerse. I know I’ve learned a lot from all the articles here.
And I love Carl Sandburg… thanks for bringing him into the spotlight!
Tonight, for OLN, I’m contributing a short poem, a quatrain ‘Prelude to a Kiss’, that serves as the set-up to my vampire cycle, that begins with ‘The First Deadly Sin’ in the voice of the vampire, and a reply by the victim, with ‘When I Died’.
The ebook, containing the entire vampire narrative in fifteen sonnets and a prelude, is now available… and since yesterday’s release, it hit #5 on the Hot Poetry List for Kindle, and cracked the Top 100 List for all Kindle poetry titles. Grounding my excitement, it is now at #88,694 for all paid Kindle titles. Ha!
Anyway, it can be found at this link – “Sonata Vampirica”. If you get the ebook (pretty please!), and like it, please leave a comment on the Amazon page! Thank you!
Good luck with the collection Sam–someday i am going to get a Kindle,,,when I grow up. I thought your short poem was exquisite, and a perfect and tantalizing prelude to the larger work.
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
BTW, no need for a Kindle Fire or actual Kindle hardware…
If you have a PC, you can get a Kindle eBook Reader for your PC for free – http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311
Ditto for if you have an iPad/iPhone or an Android device. 🙂
Sam, congrats! Will look it up. K.
Thank you! You will not be disappointed. There is an extra “Afterword” in which I talk about the series, its origins, symbols, and interpretations. Just more of Sam rambling.
Hi Hedge – got my up at last. It’s a bit all over the place, but I’ve been thinking about it since Stu’s prompt the other day, so wanted to try it. (Should perhaps have linked something older!) Anyway, hoping to make some rounds now. Hope you are not too tired! You’ve got a crowd, which is great! But a lot of libations! K.
Yes, my espresso-pulling muscles are getting quite tired–I’m thinking of going to a serve yourself format. ;_) I enjoyed your prose poem, K—I thought it’s charm was that it was a bit all over the place. Childhood is like that.
Thanks – yes, I think so. k.
My submission is very painful…thanks for the opportunity to share in the Pub
most def susie…it was a punch to the solar plexus….
I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I’ve been up to my ears in sequins all day long. I had to sew them on several costumes. Perhaps I’ll write a poem about it, but my fingers have been poked too much to type right now. = )
Oh, and Joy- I really enjoyed your post today. Thank you!
UGH! Well, you’re welcome any time Laurie, and link up an old one if you’d rather. I recommend some nice soothing hand lotion and something restful that doesn;t involve minute shiny objects.
Well, I just couldn’t resist. I wrote one about my experience today.
Okay everyone–thanks for all the enthusiasm and the wonderful poetry. My brain has gone into meltdown, and it’s time to get on my broomstick and take off for Castle Hedgewitch till tomorrow–will be back for more in the morning. Some really great reading tonight!
sleep well hedge…great job tonight….get some rest….
hey…good morning….finally on the trail and trying to catch as many as possible before i’m off to work again…kinda poetry hungry…ha..
good morning claudia…catch the last couple before bed myself…
smiles…you’re well ahead of me this week…sleep well..
Couldn’t wait to get home from work this morning to post here – and then the comp played up (and still is) – however success at last!
Thanks hedgwitch – love it here!
Anna :o]
It’s getting wintry here – for me, emotionally and poetically too.
This was after a long time…. I missed the fun times 🙂
yay…welcome back olivia!
😀 TY Brian!!
I am glad to have discovered this site … with the (in my own grain-of-salt opinion) HORRIBLE change to the WordPress tag pages, I needed a good place to find some read-worthy poetry!!
we are glad to have you here…enjoy…
My morning has exploded, but I’ll be back later to finish reading–just getting in a thank you here to everyone who’s participated so far, and a reminder that there’s still plenty of time to link in before the doors swing shut at midnight.
Back soon.
Finally I could post one today… before Mr. Linky timed me out… 🙂 Today is Dante’s Birthday and have shared an amazing love story of his with Lady Beatrice and one of the sections of La Vita Nouvu (The New Life)… which most of the Italians know by heart… and in the end my own verse for you to read… hope you would like that too… 🙂
__________
Shashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.in/2012/05/whispers-dantes-love-story-and-red-sand.html
At Twitter @VerseEveryDay
This is the first time I am sharing my poetry with the dversepoets family. I hope to join you all a lot more often.
http://wanjikumwaurah.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/i-remember-prt-1/