Mid-month Challenge: January

As you may or may not have noticed, I added a small notice on the upper right hand side of still life 365. It is all about the mid-month challenge. Part of what I envisioned for this blog space is to inspire everyone to create art and explore their grief creatively. I was so inspired and moved by the community poem. Suddenly, all these words for me to make poetry. The lovely forward tumble suggested that I should share some of that creative juice. And so, while community poem will stay at the beginning of the month, our mid-month blah will be filled with a still life 365 challenge based in some way on the community poem.

This month, for posting on January 15th, the still life 365 January challenge is to take any of the 42 words featured in the community poem (and below) and write a haiku. Use whichever words move you. You can simply use the words offered, or use one or two to rift on an entirely different type of haiku, just use something of the community poem as a starting point.

Just a reminder: haiku is a small poem of three lines of seventeen syllables written like this: 5-7-5. Then send your haiku to stilllife365days(at)gmail(dot)com before January 14th with the subject: CHALLENGE HAIKU. I will post the series of them on that day, and you can comment on which you like best.

I am excited about it myself. The challenges will always be posted at the same spot on this blog, until the publish date, then the community poem guidelines and deadline will replace it until that deadline. Cool, huh?

the words: cruel raw yearn anger forever jaded distant unimaginable borrowed changed why empty pointless relentless tender lonely random almost rage vulnerable love abundant missed miraculous broken dust sad opened love searches connected hole fire daughter precious cherished lost absent love fury beautiful unbearable

In the immortal words of Etheridge Knight:

making jazz swing in
seventeen syllables AINT
no square poet's job.