On top I can see the sea
of all the extending tangents
and extraneous asides
that might be of interest.

What must be written then
are the lines that glow
with the knowing
shimmer of connectedness.
And so, when I see them
at their brightest I simply
reel them in with my trusty ink pen
to splay them open on paper.

And on occasion I allow me
the delightfully twisting query:
Do they glow because they know
to shimmer
or on some level from my high perch
do I in some way ignite them?

© 2010 Shari Lynne Smothers

This poem is for the napowrimo prompt #28, intuition Visit the post to see the details of this prompt.

All I read and heard and saw and felt
is churning chaotically in my mind
with excess overflowed to unconscious storage,
floating and spinning fixing itself
to come out later in some sensible rendition
of all I got and how I related to it.

It was a good session!

© 2010 Shari Lynne Smothers

Mom watching the Snow
Originally uploaded by ShariLS

This year the snow came early and it fell in abundance. It makes me feel hopeful about EVERYTHING!

As soon as I heard it was snowing, I was ecstatic! It doesn’t snow often here in Missouri City, Texas. And this is really early in the year for it too. I captured some really nice shots that I’ll be uploading to my Flickr account over the next few days.

Where the Inspiration led Me

It made me think of the possibilities of all that I want to accomplish in the coming year. I was inspired to increase my probabilities of success, just because it makes sense today. I want to start out aggressively. That way if I taper off (as I usually do) I should have moved forward quickly enough to be able to coast a bit.

Coming Up with 2010 Plans

Like most people, I’ll be reviewing and planning this month for next year. Originally, I was planning all conservative resolutions for the Read Write Poem group I joined for 2010 poetry resolutions. Today that’s changed. I’ve taken the weather, the images captured, and the exhilaration of the day as a personal sign to just do it.

And if I can keep that going throughout other areas, then next year will be a real adventure. This month, I’m setting up my plan for 2010, as clearly delineated as I can make it. It will be a plan forged in courage and the inspiration sparked by today’s early snow.

December Activities

I’ll close out this year with a bang. According to the Poetic Asides guidelines posted by Robert Lee Brewer, the submissions are due January 5, 2010. I’m going to finish this month. Tasks include selecting the best, not more than 1 poem per page, between 10 and 20 pages, and editing the poems to make them sing.

And, since find I rather enjoy this writing to prompts and participating, I’ll write the weekly prompts from Poetic Asides (Wednesdays) and Read Write Poem (Fridays). That way I can continue to be involved in communities. I don’t want to break the practice, and revert to my usual uninvolved routines.

Are you working out your plans for 2010? What’s on tap?

As the nay-sayers reach
near thunderous crescendo
I stop staring at my monitor,
close my eyes
to expel my
hissing internal audience,
take a deep breath
and start writing.

My resolve
to quiet the antagonists
to continue writing
is shored up by a simple
note to self
Maybe I Can
attached to my monitor.

©2009 by Shari Lynne Smothers

Write a title starting Maybe ___; then write a poem for that title. I chose to cover both. This is my poem for Day 4 of the 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge.