I wish I would have . . .
I wish I would not have . . .
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Tag: Writing freely. Just write. Writing Prompts. The Write Spot Blog.
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I am not That Girl
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
When I heard “I am not That Girl” by Ariel LaChelle, I knew I wanted it on the Sparks page of my blog.
It’s longer that what is usually posted here.
It’s so amazing, I could not resist.
You can read it and watch Ariel perform “I am not That Girl” in her own strong and melodic voice.I am not That Girl
By Ariel LaChelleEven though the term “That Girl”
Was created by black girls,
I don’t fit the requirements
Automatically,
Because I am a Fat Girl.
And ‘cause I have tight curls
That become more angry
If I dip my scalp in the water,
Then let my hair air dry
And don’t try
To keep it in order.No styling,
No stretching,
No products,
No dye,
But I feel like I might
If this guy
Continues to undermine
My sensitivity.My femininity
Because of my size.
He’ll generalize me
Asking “how tall are you,”
And “how much do you weigh?”
Before he ever asks me
“How do you feel?”
Using my looks as the barometer
To measure my worth.He calls me low value
He regards me lower than dirt,
Because at least you can get flowers from dirt.
I’m not a rose,
I’m not so easy to pluck.
I’m no longer so simple so
I’m less easy to ____I get that from my grandma
Her birthday is Earth day
And she died in so much pain
If I’m here and I’m healthy
How can I complain
With groundwater in my veins?
I’m a tree
Rooted deeply
I’m big and sturdy
And whole ecosystems
Thrive off of me.They took the healing power
Of my fruit for granted
Just because it’s sour.
They took forever to
Make tonic and lemonade with it,
Then took the credit
Without realizing that
Was my intention.
To show them creativity.
In the face of adversity
And provide them with cleansing.That’s the smell of clean
I’m sorry everyone can’t be
The Giving Tree
Yes I’m inspired but baby
This ain’t Shel Silverstein.I stay in the background
Black bodies swayed from my limbs
And I remember that sound
Of wind, swooshing around.When the picnic was not a good thing,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh
Could not be washed out
By the storm
And the rainbow was not enough
To take our mind off of it
‘Cause it was the norm.The picnic was not a good thing,
So we made the cookout.
And we made enough bread
Finally
To build a tree house instead
We saying: “We Made It!”
But we live in our pain.
It’s bittersweet,
Like a house made of gingerbread
That would lure me in
Just so the owner could
Devour me.Fattened up
Like a gullible kid
Who loves cake.
I love the way
That sugar feels in my heart
And how savory delicacies
Stimulate my palette
And my mind,
Like a painting of flavor
I savor
It like the wine
That I’ve been known to decline.
I guess we all have a vice.
We all get drunk on something.I used to smoke and have sex
To clear my head.
I used to cut myself
And release tears
In the form of blood
From the gashes.
I used to burn myself
In ways that wouldn’t
Turn me to ashes,
Only hurt myself
Until I could forget
What had happened.But I am no longer THAT girl.
Now I just eat my feelings sometimes
So yeah, I am a fat girl.
But I can lose a few pounds,
That’s an easy weight to drop.
The one that’s harder and heavier
Is what you carry around in your soulThat compels you to
Rip others apart,
In hopes of looking inside of them
And seeing something you’re missing.I hope you see
This vulnerability
As an invitation to do the same
And find some chivalry
Or at least some civility
I hope you see the love of God in me
Because I go to lions’ dens
Trying to do some good
And I come back feeling like Job
Y’all ganging up on me!Because I don’t wear your colors,
I wear all of them.
Because I don’t act like others
I be appalling them.
But I don’t try to shut anyone up
I listen to you
And all I hear is anger and wounds.
Yeah, I doNeed to lose weight, but honey…
So do you.Ariel LaChelle is an independent singer, songwriter, poet, composer, and arranger with an Associate’s Degree in Music Production from The Los Angeles Recording School.
As a child, she started to write poetry and displayed a natural affinity for storytelling. This came in handy during her teenage years, which were riddled with trials, trauma, and triggers caused by abuse, homelessness, toxic relationships, depressive episodes, and panic attacks. Writing, singing, and praying became her outlets as she recovered from self-harm scars–both external and internal.
Her goal is to write divinely-inspired pieces that explore the beauty and poetry in the nuances of life, love, pain, and interconnectedness as we know it today. She sees her poetry and music as a small contribution to the story and the soundtrack of life.Note from Marlene: I think Ariel has accomplished her goal of writing “divinely-inspired pieces.”
I learned about Ariel at one of Kevin Powell’s writing workshops. A shout out to Kevin Powell for inspiring writers.
Spring/Summer 2022: Kevin is offering Friday Night Writing, and Sunday Writer Events, info on Kevin’s Facebook Page.
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I’ve lied about . . . Prompt #645
Write about something you have lied about.
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Face the Sun
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
Face the Sun
By Flynn
I see that you are broken badly
For you this can’t be fun
I know I cannot fix you
Still, I’ll help you face the sun
Flynn is a musician, writer, and artist, originally from New York City, now living in Seattle, WA. He is the creator of SinkCoffiti art.
As a lifelong artist, Flynn is always looking for the next opportunity to translate his everyday experiences into artistic expressions of art and music.
SinkCoffiti is an original art design concept using coffee, light, and photography to create unique art.
Originally posted on Suleika Jaouad’s The Isolation Journals Facebook Page.
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After school . . . Prompt #644
Photo by madmaven Remember when . . .
What did you do after school?
Start writing, see where this prompt takes you.
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EGGS-istentialism
EGGS-istentialism
By Su Shafer
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
Fragile egg is not so fragile.
Blank slate not so blank.
Like a bud inwardly smiling
About the blossom to come.
Potential quietly waiting,
Imagining possibilities.
A whole universe before creation.
How can it contain so much excitement
And remain so calm
And confident?
It doesn’t fear the breaking
Or the new world waiting
Outside its shell.
Su Shafer is a creative crafter, fabricating bits of writing in poetry and short stories, and generating characters that appear in paintings and sit on various bookshelves and coffee tables.
She lives in a cottage on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, and always has an extra cup of tea ready should a Sasquatch stop by on its the way to Island Lake nearby. Adventure is always afoot in the untamed forests of the Pacific North West!
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Write to exorcize . . .
“Write to exorcize what’s haunting you. Write about whatever it is you can’t get out of your head—a person, a place, a fear, a fictional scene, a memory from your past, a fantasy for your future. Allow yourself to think obsessively and shamelessly about only that one thing for as long as it takes to get it down on paper.” —Puloma Ghosh, on The Isolation Journal, created by Suleika Joauad.
The Isolation Journals is Suleika’s newsletter for “people seeking to transform life’s interruptions into creative grist. Both free and paid subscriptions are available.”
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A Pantoum for Constance Demby
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
A Pantoum for Constance Demby
By Leigh Anne Caryl
They said she died almost without notice
Thank God her music lingers
Beautiful transcendent videos
Visuals of stained glass gothic cathedrals
Thank God her music lingers
An unapologetic exploration of meditative melodies
Lifting me above the Ethos Grand
Visuals of stained glass gothic cathedrals
An unapologetic exploration of meditative melodies
Beautiful transcendent videos
Visuals of stained glass gothic cathedrals
They said she died almost without notice______________________________________
Tribute to a Marin County Friend I will never forgetLeigh Anne Caryl is a pen name. This is her poetic inner child and muse that has been a lifelong writer and constant internal friend, who feels safe to reveal the emotions, and deepest secrets within her soul.
Her first published poem was in 1989. She was printed nationally by Prentice Hall Press, as the forward to a 21-step book on recovery titled, “Soul Survivors” by J. Patrick Gannon, PhD.
Her audience reaches survivors suffering from trauma and abuse. Leigh Anne writes about what her alter ego cannot. Along the way, she intertwined original healing music, and her lyrical message of hope, with musical friendships of different genres that sparked her ambition and personal growth.
This pantoum is dedicated to the memory of a woman with a special personality, who wasn’t afraid to be a pioneer, a New Age innovator, and a mentor.
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The Disappointed Housewife
Notes from The Disappointed Housewife editor Kevin Brennan:
“The Disappointed Housewife is a literary journal for writers, and readers, who are seeking something different. We like the idiosyncratic, the iconoclastic, the offbeat, the hard-to-categorize. Out of the universe of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, we want to attract work that plays with form and presentation. Work that’s not just outside the box but turns the box inside out.”
Excerpt from Mission Statement
I took a long time debating whether to launch this literary journal. I wondered whether there’s really a need for another online gazette of literature and image, when readers hardly have time to read their friends’ Facebook pages much less an actual book now and then.
But I got to thinking, there are an awful lot of writers out there, looking for places to share their work. And while blogs offer a kind of outlet for works of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, they are generally personal, a lot like online diaries in many ways, and most of all they aren’t curated.
I’ve also found, as a consumer of writing on the web, that I have a hard time finding much of the kind of material I’m really interested in. After a lifetime of reading, I have a taste now for something different. Stories that are made differently, that play with form and presentation.
Publishing, as a business, tends to incentivize writers to produce what they think will sell.
Yet there is a place for “high risk” writing, fresh, creative, experimental, idiosyncratic, idiomatic, iconoclastic writing. Writers should be allowed to have their quirks.
So I decided to forge ahead with this project, to see what comes in over the transom when writers are given the flexibility to “think different,” as Apple used to say.
I’m afraid that many writers will be disappointed that The Disappointed Housewife declines their work. But it will only be because the editors envision another way the piece could be a better fit, a way that better conforms with the journal’s proclivities. It’s not you, it’s us. Don’t be discouraged. We might suggest some possibilities to you, or you can try again with something that you write with us in mind.
Just remember, this is the place to find writing (in all its manifestations) that you can’t find anyplace else.
Thank you, Guy Biederman, for posting about The Disappointed Housewife on Facebook.
Guy’s “Language of Lies” posted in The Disappointed Housewife.
Meet Guy in [Zoom] person:
May 5 and May 19, 2022: Guy will teach flash fiction writing. Free on Zoom through Recovery Writing of Idaho.
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