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Donna Williams’ June 2008, 48 hr, Poetry Challenge

June16

Jack Frost by Donna Williams Each month I send out a challenge for people to send me a 1-2 word topic they’d like me to write a poem to and I must write all the poems in the challenge within 48 hours.People CAN’T send names (yes, everyone wants one named after their child ;-) but they can send other 1-2 word titles. Each sender only gets me writing one poem per poetry challenge and the more surreal the challenge, the better.

So feel free to send me a 1-2 word title in the comments below.

And, because some of you are budding poets yourselves, this is now where you can also ask other commenters to challenge YOU with a title too. So let’s see what happens!

Also if you are a published, self published or street poet, this is where to let people know.

Donna Williams *)

author, artist, composer, screenwriter.

author of the poetry book, Not Just Anything , published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

http://www.donnawilliams.net

My first challenge is from Kay for the word ‘Who’

WHO by Donna Williams copyright June 2008

Who is the stranger in the bed with me

the stranger in my head with me

the stranger in my eyes?

How can a person get so far away

from their own face

and stray so far from the human race

adrift without a home?

Is that the signpost missed along the way?

The words too hard for me to even say?

The castles in the sand?

Somewhere between here and there

I misplaced the part of me that cared

And now I stumble past

The me who had run second last

The me, I left behind.

From Xenia I got ‘Sea Shells’:

SEA SHELLS by Donna Williams, copyright Donna Williams 2008

Hard and smooth it curled in hand

My own back, weathered,

emotions bruised,

ego made redundant,

for lack of a sea shell.

From Ettina, I got “Listen”

LISTEN by Donna Williams, Copyright Donna Williams 2008

She listened

Meaning deaf ears

Cascading torrents of blah

The phrase ad naseum

Round and around

Like a broken record

You just don’t listen, do you?

OK folks, that’s the 48 hours.

Not too many poems this time, but good to see some of your own.

See you all in July.

Warmly,

Donna *)