Thursday, May 29, 2014

May DMC Wrap-Up + Giveaway!



At the beginning of this month, Laura Purdie Salas, our inaugural Spotlight ON author, chose the cinquain as this month's ditty challenge.  Besides adhering to the 5-line, 2-4-6-8-2 syllable count, she encouraged us to write about a specific water-related memory.

THANK YOU to everyone who took on this challenge.  You guys ROCK... I mean, seriously.  What a month it's been– so many outstanding cinquains!  So much fun!

Here they are:

                                  Log flume   
                            Straddle the seat
                         Splashing every turn
                      Anticipating the freefall...
                                    Soaked!  

                    © 2014 Kristi Veitenheimer

                                                                            Rubber Pod

                                                                              Blow-up
                                                                        Killer Whale toy
                                                                       rolly as the ocean
                                                     kids get toppled, dunked, Mom and Dad
                                                                           whale watch.

                                                                      © 2014 V. Nesdoly



Fountain
Splashes shimmer
I wonder if coins
Hide, waiting for a hand to hold
Treasure

© 2014 Margaret Simon

HOSTESS OF THE CANAL

Oar-length

Barracuda

Hunkered low in shadows

Considers if she might like me

For lunch.

© 2014 Tamera Will Wissinger


© 2014 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes


            Lake Champlain Summer Storm

                               The rain
                      Crashes and whips.
                Our boat rolls side to side.
       We watch as dad wrestle the waves...
                               saves us.

                     © 2014 Janet Fagal

Drought Life

These times,
our spring, when roots
and ducks cry for darkened
clouds that give showers and puddles,
we pray.

Can't wait
for God, but grab
sprinklers, snaking the hose
to geographic corners of
the lawn.

Washing
the grass and trees
and plants down, down to roots,
They glisten in gratitude, prayers
answered. 

© 2014 Linda Baie


                        Canal
           Drawbridge halts boat.
       Keeper swings fishing pole
   with wooden shoe to collect toll.
                      Fun fare!


                       Pushing
                   a boat off the
              canal bank entails a
swift jump or sudden waist-deep plunge.
                     Quick dip!

            © 2014 Sarah Monsma

                                                                                                            Peepers,
                                                                                                   from vernal pools
                                                                                              with pure ancient voices,
                                                                                             joyously herald the season
                                                                                                          with song.


                                                                                                              Water
                                                                                                     cumulus clouds
                                                                                           forming dark mounds in sky
                                                                                       startled by thunder and lightning
                                                                                                            they cry.

                                                                                               © 2014 Mayra Donnell


© 2014 Amanda Boyarshinov
         

                    Metamorphosis

                          Waiting.
            White snow; gray; black
           Brings unrest to my heart.
Soft rain and breeze, buds turn to leaves --
                       Yea! Spring!

          © 2014 George A. Heidenrich
                                                                                                                              Ducklings
                                                                                                                      paddle webbed feet,
                                                                                                                pitching like fishing floats--
                                                                                                        Mama's quacks reel them to her safe
                                                                                                                                harbor.

                                                                                                                 © 2014 Buffy Silverman

Wading
in the small bay,
then suddenly caught up
in a starry silver current -
minnows.

© 2014 Monica Gudlewski
                                                    
Dear Pop,
Drip drop, drip drop
The faucet will not stop.
The plumber's truck is in the shop.
Please mop.

               Icee
               Frozen water
               Flavored like a cola
               Eaten too fast will give you a 
               Brain freeze

                              Dewdrops
                              Prisms glisten
                              Clinging to wildflowers
                              Capture morning light, emitting 
                              Rainbows

                                             Ocean
                                             Waves crashing on
                                             Distant shorelines become
                                             Tides of the future, tomorrow's 
                                             Daydreams

                                                            Lochness
                                                            A monster's realm.
                                                            Lurking in the shadows
                                                            The giant water dragon swims 
                                                            Beneath

                                                                           Water
                                                                           Cool, wet
                                                                           Pouring, splashing, quenching
                                                                           From a glass pitcher
                                                                           H2O
          
                                                                                             I wish
                                                                                             I were a fish,
                                                                                             Swimming in the ocean
                                                                                             With dolphins and mermaids.
                                                                                             I wish...

                                                                                                            © 2014 Jan Gars 

                 great blue
              heron soaring
        and spearing tiny fish
       on the Columbia River
               one glimpse

© 2014 Jone Rush MacCulloch

yellow
crowned night heron
hunches into itself
shy fisherman of the evening
waters

© 2014 B. J. Lee


                            Poodle
                        On a noodle
                Floats around the water.
     Don't jump in! Oh, there she goes! We
                             Poodle

             © 2014 Barbara Bockman
(Bonus points for taking the poodle-noodle challenge!)         

                                                                                                                       Underwater Nests

                                                                                                                              Fish beds
                                                                                                                    don't look like mine –
                                                                                                             dotting the stream edge, these
                                                                                                       circles of small stones nudge in place
                                                                                                                             hold spawn.

                                                                                                               © 2014 Keri Collins Lewis


The Politics of Water

As if
endowed, we take
faucet, pipe, disease-free
for granted. All of this, our right.
Not theirs?

 © 2014 Mary Lee Hahn


                                                                                                        And You Thought It Was Just Yucky

                                                                                                                             Drooling--
                                                                                                                            continuous
                                                                                                                 stream of protein-laden
                                                                                                            water ensures germ-protected
                                                                                                                               babies.

                                                                                                                    © 2014 Diane Mayr
                 A Morning Plea

                        Thirsty
                wilting leaves say
"Drip, drop, pour, splash, soak, spray--
   send me life, sweet blessed wetness
                        my way."
         
             © 2014 Damon Dean

Float. Sink.
The rise and fall
of nations preserved here
though discarded as meaningless
rubbish.

Our creek
coughs up the past:
tricycle, flip phone, cans --
then an arrowhead surfaces.
Progress?

© 2014 Keri Collins Lewis

                                                                                                                          Evening Snow

                                                                                                                              The field
                                                                                                                          across the road
                                                                                                                once green with grassy hay
                                                                                                       now snuggles sound asleep, tucked in
                                                                                                                              with stars.

                                                                                                             © 2014 Matt Forrest Esenwine
                       Park ride 
               splishing, splashing 
             atop large inner tubes 
down, down, down, jetty black tunnel
                       I'm here

         © 2014 Jenifer McNamara

      Smooth stones . . .
flickicty-flick
skippity-skip-skip-skip
skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip
ker-splash!

Marco.
Polo. Marco.
Polo. Stroke, stoke, stroke, stop.
Reach. Nothing. Marco. Polo. Tag!
Marco.

© 2014 Penny Klostermann

             Water Confinement

                       Droplets
             Trickle down, picks
       Up tempo, cascades through
My water spout screaming, “Please let
                       Me out!”

         © 2014 Charles Waters



Everyone who sent in one or more cinquains this month will automatically be entered to win a personalized copy of WATER CAN BE.... (One entry per participant, not per poem.)   You still have until tomorrow, May 31st, to send me your cinquain.  For those who may be too bashful or bogged down to send in a cinquain, you may also enter to win Laura's book by leaving a comment below.  If you contributed a cinquain and comment below you will earn two entries in total.  Comments must be received no later than Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014.

The winner will be determined by Random.org and announced next Friday, June 6th, when we feature our new Spotlight ON interview and ditty challenge.  

Good luck!

It's strawberry season over at Random Noodling.  
Be sure to sample all the sweet treats Diane has collected in today's Poetry Friday roundup.


52 comments:

  1. There are some incredible poems here, Michelle! It was a fun challenge. I have to apologize for not sending you mine - I have it written, I just kept forgetting to submit it!

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    1. You're still welcome to, Matt-- I would be happy to add it to the rest. I'd love to read it!

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  2. I love this round-up. There's something wonderful about reading them all together.

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  3. I thought I had posted this mid-month, but I guess I didn't, so here it is now:

    And You Thought It Was Just Yucky

    Drooling--
    continuous
    stream of protein-laden
    water ensures germ-protected
    babies.

    (Can you tell there's a baby in the family?)

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    Replies
    1. It's not a bug, it's a feature. ;) Love this, Diane. I moved it up so that everyone can enjoy.

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  4. It's a wonderful group of poems, Michelle. I thought I'd seen them all, but guess not. Thanks for the round-up, and to Laura for the challenge.

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    1. Thank you, Linda, both for your wonderful cinquain AND for following along this whole month and commenting along the way. :)

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  5. Oh my! I saw some of these as they were posted, but I definitely missed many. Crazy busy month! I just read through these, and they are fantastic! I'll be back this weekend to read again and share a few thoughts. THANK YOU for having me, Michelle, and thank you to everybody who dove in to the water challenge. Wow. Love these. xoxo, Laura

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    1. Aren't these great, Laura?! It's fantastic to see what kind of results your challenge has inspired! Thank you for starting the Ditty of the Month Club off with a splash. :D

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  6. These are wonderful, Michelle. Thanks for posting the lot. Together, they present a picture of all the ways we interact with water: fun on the log flume, satisfying our curiosity looking for fossils, water to drink, feed the flowers, etc.

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  7. Fabulous group of poems, Michelle! Love seeing them all together :).

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It's been a great month, but I think this is the best part!

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  8. I loved seeing all the different things poets did with the cinquain water theme! Nice!

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    1. The diversity is incredible, isn't it? Thanks for being a part of it, BJ!

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  9. You gathered quite a profound collection of cinquain, Michelle! Love each and every one of them. Thanks for collecting and sharing. = )

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    1. It's been such a joy for me! I hope you'll take part in a challenge at some point too, Bridget. :)

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  10. I love these and will return to savor them. Maybe over some sun tea on the patio. Summer (or spring) is coming to these parts!! So happy to be part of the sharing here, Michelle. You have inspired me to write more water poems! Thanks, too, to Laura.

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    1. I'm so glad you were inspired, Janet! Would love to join you on the patio. :)

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  11. Michelle...this collection is a book itself, that I'd like to have had in my classroom years ago. Delightful. Great cinquains, all.

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    1. I was just thinking the same thing, that it would make a terrific anthology! Thanks for stopping by and commenting today.

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  12. What a round-up! Thanks for wrangling them all into one post!

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  13. Such variety -- wow! People really waded right in! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're determined to give my puns a run for their money, aren't you! ;)

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  14. A MORNING PLEA
    Thirsty
    wilting leaves say
    "Drip, drop, pour, splash, soak, spray--
    send me life, sweet blessed wetness
    my way."

    (c) 2014 Damon Dean

    ReplyDelete
  15. Michelle, here's mine! Since I like to always take a different route when it comes to writing, I decided to write a poem about snow - without mentioning it. Hopefully this is ok!

    EVENING SNOW

    The field
    across the road
    once green with grassy hay
    now snuggles sound asleep, tucked in
    with stars.

    - © 2014 Matt Forrest Esenwine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beautiful, Matt! Love "tucked in/with stars." And now that you're here, we can *really* get this party started. ;)

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    2. Fashionably late, what can I say... ;)

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  16. How fun to see all those different cinquains together. I liked that several of them landed--both in sound and in description with the two syllables at the end. For example, Kristi Veitenheimer's log ride lands with "Soaked!"; Sarah Monsma's boat trip lands with a "quick dip"; and Mayra Donnell's clouds land when "they cry."

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    1. Good point, Karin. Having them all together like this, I bet there are other interesting observations we can find as well.

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  17. These are great! I've never really given the cinquain much thought as a form, but reading these all together makes me see what this form can do. Great idea, Michelle!
    - Carrie

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    1. I agree, Carrie. It surprised me how much meaning and emotion can be packed into this short form!

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  18. A wonderful collection of words, wisdom, and water!

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    1. Thank you for participating and following along all month, Margaret!

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  19. What an amazing collection of cinquain poems! Thanks so much for sharing them.

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    Replies
    1. And thank you, Tricia, for stopping by and enjoying them!

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  20. Thank you for the roundup! What an amazing variety!

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  21. Reading these was great fun. I've been meaning to write a cinquain since I read the post about Laura's book. Glad I happened on this notification in my Inbox today. It inspired me to take a few minutes to write a couple and join in the fun! Thanks for brightening my day with this wonderful selection of poems. I'll send mine on to you.

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  22. Wow, wow, wow. Bookmarking this to return to, Michelle - a veritable treasure trove!

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  23. Thanks so much for publishing my cinquain on your blog. It was so exciting to see my poem "in print!"

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  24. I know I'm late to the party with this but I have one to share.

    WATER CONFINEMENT
    Droplets
    Trickle down, picks
    Up tempo, cascades through
    My water spout screaming, “Please let
    Me out!”

    (c) Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Better late than never! I'm so glad you chose to share this, Charles. The divine moment of release-- ahhhh....

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  25. OK, I read and commented on some of these when they first appeared, but it was so fun reading them all together like this! Here are my favorite bits of the ones I had not read before and commented on:

    Violet Nesdoly’s rolly and whale watch
    Janet Fagal’s wrestle the waves
    Linda Baie’s when roots/and ducks cry for darkened/clouds
    Sarah Monsma’s image of that keep swinging the fishing pole with the wooden shoe!
    Mayra Donnell’s herald the season
    Amanda Boyarshinov’s alliteration (I’m a sucker for alliteration
    George Heidenrich’s progression of snow from white to gray to black—that’s how we know winter is ending here in Minnesota: when everything turns grey and brown
    Monica Gudlewski’s starry silver current—gorgeous!
    Jan Gars’ The giant water dragon swims / Beneath (loved my trip to Loch Ness)
    B.J. Lee’s hunches into itself
    Barbara Bockman – love the way you brought the silly into this challenge!
    Keri Collins Lewis’ opening two lines – love that simple voice
    Diane Mayr’s germ-protected/babies – who would ever expect those to go together?
    Damon Dean’s wilting leaves
    Keri Collins Lewis’ creek/coughs up the past—great verb!
    Matt Forrest Esenwine’s tucked in/with stars – love that magical mood
    Jennifer McNamara’s jetty black tunnel—not jet black, but jetty black—intriguing
    Penny Klostermann’s first and last lines being the same in the never-ending game of Marco Polo—sometimes I think I spent five years playing that game in the community pool as a kid:>)
    Charles Waters’ surprising ending—water screaming?—love it!

    Thanks for having me here, Michelle!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you kidding? Thank YOU, Laura. And for all of these individualized comments too!

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  26. And thank you for all the beautiful poems, everyone!

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