Monday, May 18, 2015

DMC: "Siren" by M. H. Barnes





SIREN

Siren is a
screaming word, a
bleeding word, a
needing word.
It lives
in the
place
between
hopeful and hopeless.
Wakes in the night
to answer
the call.
Set fire,
it rushes,
urgent and wailing, a
nightmare, a warning, a
desperate prayer.

© 2015 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.


Nikki Grimes has challenged us to try a wordplay exercise this month and create our own free verse poems. Click HERE for all the details.

Send your poem to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 29th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of Nikki's brand new picture book:






18 comments:

  1. Nothing says "emergency!" like a siren. Excellent, Michelle! I like the way the shape echoes the sound.

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    1. Thanks Tabatha. It's funny how sometimes a poem feels incomplete until I play around with the shape, then it just falls into place like it was meant to be that way all along!

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  2. I agree, the shape reinforces the feeling too--the up and down of hope. I like the nightmare/prayer rhyme.

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  3. Love those first words, "a needing" says much. Wonderful word to write about, too.

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  4. Michelle, That's lovely. xoxo

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  5. Oooop, Michelle. That is really terrific! Thanks for sharing it here.

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  6. O meant Oooooo, not Oooop.

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  7. Lana Wayne KoehlerMay 18, 2015 at 4:53 PM

    Nicely done, Michelle.

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  8. The shape makes this poem more intriguing. Sirens can be so scary and yes, they are a prayer, and live between hopeful and hopeless. You captured the feeling.

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  9. Thanks so much for your comments everyone!

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  10. It made my pulse quicken in panic! Nice!

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    1. Thanks, Teresa! I was going for a quality of breathlessness. I'm glad that came across for you!

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  11. Excellent job, Michelle. I LOVE the shape. It adds so much. So proud to know you. :-)

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  12. Nice! Right from the beginning with "screaming word, bleeding word, needing word."

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  13. This is wonderful, Michelle. And I agree about the shape...it really adds.

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