PENSIEVE

Salt & pepper, literally, poetically ~ Friday's 40 PC, #9

Even though I choose each week's photos for Friday's 40-or less Photo Challenge, I have no idea what my response will be until I start writing a few days later. 

Today's?  NOT the direction I thought this would go!  I was waxing nostalgic about diners and family dinners and "variety is the spice of life" and good and evil and salt of the earth stuff--not a touch of the insane with a poem trumpeting the virtue of salt and pepper! 

Oh, well, que será será...I've certainly written crazier.

This week, instead of using Mr. Linky, just leave a comment on this post and I'll compile a list below.  If you're new to Friday's 40, click the badge for details and this link for samples of previous challenges; then, please feel free to respond with a post of your own!

Popcorn's attire
Pretzel's glory
Potato chip's best friend.
Chili's fire
Salsa's story
Spicy to the end
I'd be a liar-- Honky dory--
Failing to defend
This pair, admire
Season, more-y
Out? Now I'm chagrined!

Let's see what others had to say (be sure to check out comments, too):

Jan, The Prytz Family
Peculiar, How Do We Get There From Here
Karisma, Karisma & Kids
Storyteller, Sacred Ruminations
Amber, Imperishable Beauty

Inspired by GARBAGE? Friday's 40 PC #8

Yesterday, I drove about six hours from Tennessee to South Carolina. 

By myself. 

The day couldn't have been more beautiful, and I e n j o y e d the solitude amidst verdant mountain views and river-winding roads. 

I listened to the silence.
I silenced the silence with prayer.
I blasted a fun, diverse and eclectic play list--from Paul Potts popera to the glory days of the Boss to Casting Crowns ('cause I never get tired of listening)--and I sang like no one was listening (because, if you're paying attention, you know no one was ;) ).

I also mentally composed poetry for today's Friday's 40-or-less Photo Challenge.  Can I just say this:  I AM SO THANKFUL I REMEMBERED MOST OF WHAT I MIND-WROTE!!!  Cause otherwise?  Mr. Linky would be here all by himself.

So...let me know what YOU think about any of my three offerings and be sure to link if you've written a post for this week's challenge.  Please note, while I often respond in poetry, don't feel pressure to follow suit!  The only guideline is a 40-word limit to MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU!!  If your response is a clever three-word photo title?   Your readers will LOVE you and I will bow to your awesome brevity-in-writing skills!

 

"One man's trash is another man's treasure"
Many times I've heard this said.
But it you think garbage is precious,
Then I think you're touched in the head!

(Another, with a different take...)

"One man's trash is another man's treasure"
Many times I've heard this said.
Why not turn your garbage to "useful"
Don't toss it, recycle instead.

(This takes a somber turn.  I had another stanza, but it exceeded the 40-word limit; I wonder if it makes sense without it....)

Carelessly discarded,
Used then tossed aside.
Clearly, ill-regarded
"Forever", but he lied.

At first, satisfying
Fulfilling primal thirst
In time, less gratifying
Promises reversed.

Salvage found in gentle hands
Picking up the pieces
Illumined, now she understands
New love that never ceases. 

Chop, chop!  Comment and link away!!

Sometimes
greener grass
IS
the prickly blades
beneath your feet.






Visit Laura Salas for details!

It's just the beginning.... Friday's 40 PC, #7

An Ode to Corn on the Cob
Slathered in butter, Sprinkled with salt
Rows of sweet kernals, Each one I exalt.

Is it veg'table, grain or a fruit?
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a hoot!

Sometimes a 40-word limit is welcome, other times it's frustrating.  I'm afraid my love of corn has me waxing insanely poetic, and this might just be the beginning of a 40-stanza epic. 

I'm not sure ANYONE will be joining me for Friday's 40-or-less Photo Challenge this week, I believe the operative words in the preceding paragraph--"me...insane..." might explain it.  But, IF you've written a little something for this week's edition, please...link below!  I'll be right over to see if you share my same affections.  Then I'll invite you over for lunch.  The menu?  Corn burgers, corn casserole, fried corn, corn poppers, popped corn, creamed corn, corn soufflé, corn cakes, cornbread, and for dessert, corn pudding (is it me, or does it sound like I'm channeling Bubba Blue from "Forest Gump"?)

I'm kidding, just kidding!  OF COURSE there's no such thing as corn burgers!

Click the badge for general details; click here for more about this week's challenge.

Bump, bump, bump

Normally, with Laura's weekly "15 Words" photo prompt, a dozen ideas quickly form.  Today?  Complete writer's block.  All I could come up with from her photo below seemed expected and contrived and done a thousand times over.

....until I remembered as a child playing with our neighbors and their two-landing staircase.  We'd grab blankets and pillows and slide down their hardwood stairs over and over and over, stopping only after we were covered in bruises.  We'd go feet first and head first, sometimes two at a time. 

When I heard my own kids doing this recently, it brought back the memory.  They played for an hour, and their laughter took me back to that place.  Completely entertained, they didn't need anything electronic to hold their attention--just slippery sleeping bags and a little imagination.  My husband was concerned they might put a foot through the sheetrock; to me, it was worth that price....

Blankets,
laughter,
imagination--
the Ordinary
becomes Thrill Ride.
Bumps, bruises
follow,
worthy price to pay.

Please visit Laura Salas if the photo prompts a 15-word poem of your own :).

Twisted in two directions

A few things came to mind in response to the picture for this week's Friday 40, two of them friendship and sin.  I wrote a poem about sin first; since it was so weighty, I had to recover by writing one on friendship after all.

...which makes me think my brain is as tangly as these wisteria vines!

Each poem is 40 words or less, but their rhythms are very different; I think it helps to anticipate that transition :).

Best Friend

Kindred souls, knit together

Thoughts entwined like spools of thread

Weaving life, but not to tether

Wind beneath your wings, instead.

Fingers laced, secrets held

Hard things said but for the best

Laughter, tears, when compelled

Refuge, haven, welcome rest.

Conquered

Masked in beauty
sweet deception
subtly
without exception
tangled web
entrapment lures
siren's call
clear thought, obscures
inescapable
its hold
remedied,
hearts consoled
Holy, just
One brings redemption
thankfully,
no exemption.
Astounding grace,
Love's incarnation
defeating sin, then
transformation.

Emoting diamonds

Indifference

impassive, detached

unfeeling, uncaring, unmoving

cold, aloof, engaged, warm

doting, empathizing, guarding

attentive, engaged

love

Please click here for the "what's, whys & how-to's" for this month's Poetic License. 

Dynamic Duo--SHAZAAM!! Poetic License & Friday's 40

** This post will remain as a feature post **
Thanks for scrolling down for newer entries!

   

It seems unless you upgrade to the paid account, only one Mr. Linky can be featured on your blog at a time.  Since I'm cheap I don't have my credit card handy, and for the sake of simplicity and my your convenience, if you wrote a poem for Pensieve's Poetic License today, include "PPL" with your name when you link; likewise, if you wrote an entry for Friday's 40-or-less Photo Challenge, include "F40".  If you're an over-achiever and wrote a post for both, be creative--you earned it!

It's never to late to join in!  Grab a badge, invite your friends, and write away!  Click the badges above to access FAQs pages, the links below for specific details for today.

June Poetic License Details
Details for this week's Friday's 40-or-less Photo Challenge

I'm still workin' on my entries, but I know some of y'all are obnoxious completed yours early, so go ahead...link...mix and mingle at your leisure...I'll drop by the party a little later :).

Mercury rising

At first glimpse of Laura's photo for this week's "15 Words or Less" poetry challenge, "mercury rising" popped into my mind.  I've never seen the 1998 Bruce Willis thriller, so my apologies if it's an unsavory association--ignorance...bliss, yes?

Here's my quick poetic response to her image--if you'd like to try your hand, I know Laura would welcome you with open arms!

In youth, in ignorance,
Silvery, liquid beads
Were enigmatic delight--
Not poison.
Like sin sometimes....

June's Poetic License ~ Diamante

This month's poetic form, Diamante, is Italian in origin, it's a simple, seven-line formula, and when it's complete, it will have the shape of a diamond (if centered).  It's an easy exercise in writing poetry, and if you're a fan of haiku or cinquain, diamante is reminiscent of those forms. 

Begin with a subject, in line four you'll transition using two words to describe its opposite, and the last line will be a single word for the subject's opposite.

As for this month's theme, once again, you have two choices:  the great outdoors or emotions.  If you're feeling particularly diamante-prolific, write two!

subject
two adjectives describing the subject
three words ending in "ing" telling about the subject
four words, first two describe subject, last two describe its opposite
three words ending in "ing" telling about the opposite
two adjectives describing the opposite
opposite

     If you haven't written a poem since school, come on...dive in!  If you're a non-blogger who'd like to participate, feel free to leave your poem in comments here (or email them to me), and I'll post them ON FRIDAY with my Diamante post.  Bloggers should check back on Friday as well, when I'll have Mr. Linky posted for you to register your permalink.  New to Pensieve's Poetic License or still have questions?  Check out the FAQs page.