Welcome to OpenLinkNight folks! This is your opportunity to link 1 poem of your choice as this is no prompt-day. For those who missed the Mr Linky deadline the past week or this Tuesday’s poetics about “Sensory Play”, this is also your opportunity to share your poem. I also want to remind you that our Haibun Monday is still open the whole week.
I would like to share a poster by Illustrator Wendy MacNaughton and writer Courtney E. Martin. They offer a heartening answer in a collaboration that stands as a mighty manifesto for our time and a testament to the only mechanism by which the creative spirit has ever pulled humanity out of every abyss of its own making.
“This is your assignment.
Feel all the things. Feel the hard things. The inexplicable things, the things that make you disavow humanity’s capacity for redemption. Feel all the maddening paradoxes. Feel overwhelmed, crazy. Feel uncertain. Feel angry. Feel afraid. Feel powerless. Feel frozen. And then FOCUS.
Pick up your pen. Pick up your paintbrush. Pick up your damn chin. Put your two calloused hands on the turntables, in the clay, on the strings. Get behind the camera. Look for that pinprick of light. Look for the truth (yes, it is a thing—it still exists.)
Focus on that light. Enlarge it. Reveal the fierce urgency of now. Reveal how shattered we are, how capable of being repaired. But don’t lament the break. Nothing new would be built if things were never broken. A wise man once said: there’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. Get after that light.
This is your assignment.”
Written shortly after Leonard Cohen’s death, the manifesto ends with a tender homage to his famous clarion call for democracy. Three versions of the poster are available online — red, white, and blue, black and white, and rainbow — with all proceeds donated to Hedgebrook, a rural writing residency for women.
To join us for Thursday’s OpenLinkNight, which happens every other week, here’s how to join:
See you at the poetry trail. ~Grace~
Happy OLN everyone! Hope you are having a lovely day! It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon here in Toronto City!
Good evening Grace,
Sunny evening here, finally we have some May weather here. And sun has not even set yet.
Long days ahead for us too!!!! I am taking a walk everyday now.
Hiya, guys. I’m looking forward to jumping in tonight. I hope everyone is well; we have the flu running through the schools down here and a few puny little kids fighting it off at our house. Little Man (age 3) cannot stop sneezing and running a fever. 😦 On the plus side, we got a new kitty … Checkers is his first name. Fire is his second. Knowing my kids, many more names will follow. I guess they take after their mommy. 😉
I just reread that. To clarify, his name is not Checkers Fire; it is Checkers OR Fire, depending on my seven-year-old’s mood at the time. What are your pets’ names?
Yay great to have you here… and a new kitty… hard with flu but I hope it’s not allergy
And alas I don’t have a pet… but if I had he would have a name like Balder…
Hello! Everyone. It’s good to be back!
Question: I recently posted this poem. If Bjorn you don’t mind going and checking it out. I was thinking of posting the link on the open forum. However, I don’t know if you think it’ll be appreciate. It’s nothing bad. It’s just psychology and truth. The way I feel about L.A. that’s all. Anyway, check it out and let me know if its okay or not. If not, its understandable. I’ll post a link of something else that’s more creatively.
Hope to hear from you soon.
🙂
I’m heading over to read, but I don’t think you should ever hesitate to link up here Charlie… this is truly Open Link…
I want to be respectful. That is why I ask. With your permission. 🙂
Oh I’m so sorry, Grace and Bjorn. I got so carried away reading that I forgot to greet you.
Good evening! it’s not far from the weekend now and we all seem to have had some sunshine today! I’m almost finished with the first stage of exam marking but there’s another lot to come in June. I hope to be writing more by the middle of next week, too. I’m storytelling at the Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival, just for an hour, on Sunday morning, which will be fun.
After a full day, though, I’m feeling tired, so I’ll read another couple of poems and then disappear until tomorrow morning. 🙂
I will soon disappear too… I cannot even wait for dusk.
I should imagine your eyes are still very tired and sore, Bjorn. Keep resting them and have a good night’s sleep.
My eyes are pretty good… now the only thing is that I’m a bit more near-sighted on the eye I had surgery on .
I’m glad your eyes are healing, Bjorn. I hope you don’t have to go through that ever again.
Thanks for hosting, Grace. I don’t usually write things like this, but my poem is about blindness. Sometimes things must be said, even if people don’t listen.
Will check your poem Crystal ~ Thanks for joining us ~
Today I’ve posted the second voir dire limerick, as requested!
Will be doing my rounds in a bit Rachel ~ Thanks for linking up ~
I really applaud the sentiments in this. I wish I could pass these sentiments on to every child I teach. Thankyou. XXX
Welcome Alison ~ Thanks for joining us today ~
Thanks for sharing that, Grace. I think I needed that today. Everyday, really. So inspiring.
Thanks for being here Colorfulpen ~ I do think we need a gentle reminder every now and then ~
evening all…looooong day and just back from teaching drum class in Glasgow…have penned…must sleep…comment catch up on the morrow.
See you tomorrow Paul ~
It is an Autumn morning here in southern Australia and the rains are beginning which is good for tanks, paddocks, garden and soul.
Good Evening, I will try to get to as many as I can tonight, but I may need to come back tomorrow as a storm is rolling in shortly.
I really appreciate open link night.
Happy OLN everyone and thank you for hosting here Grace. I love that poster, thank you so much for sharing the links! I am late to the bar, linking a haibun I posted yesterday. I will swing by this afternoon to read when I get back xxx
Hello & Happy Friday ~ I will visit your poems in a bit ~ Thanks for joining in ~
Now it is Saturday …3:39 AM here and I am just finished composing and posting. Now to catch up with the rest of you. Thanks, Grace and Bjorn for keeping the bar open late.
Good to see you Kathy ~ Enjoy your weekend ~
Sorry all, I’m really slow – I only just realized there were comments here too. I thought we just posted a poem. My bad. Just want to say that I love what you have going here. An oasis. Truly thankful to have found your community and to be able to take part. Good weekend all 🙂
And we love that we have discovered you too Ryan ~ Have a wonderful weekend ~
🙂