Myself through Change

Author: Shari Smothers

Nov 5

Who am I and what is it
I want from me and life?
I used to think I knew
exactly where I stood.

Sometimes now
I don’t even recognize
my own feet I’ve planted
then moved in a particular direction.

So much have things changed,
so different from how I wanted
until I have to present
a different Self to the day.

Still, as I grow into these
new experiences life presents,
the new way I’m in them,
I have to smile when
the familiar reflection
that’s simply me
shows through now and again.

©2009 Shari Lynne Smothers

Prompt: Write a poem about growth in any form. This is my poem for Day 5 of the 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge.

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Maybe I Can

Author: Shari Smothers

Nov 4

So many voices
I hear
when it’s time to write.
I sit staring at my monitor
listening to them.
They sound
like people I respect,
telling me
there’s no point
in trying.
Just stop
quit while you’ve
not embarrassed yourself.
Put your writing books
back on the shelf.
There’s other stuff
you need to be doing
that might be
worth something.

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.

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Desperate Writer

Author: Shari Smothers

Nov 3

His brain became mush
as he tried to rush
to get good words on the paper.

He went for a drink
then to the mirror
in search of the squishing culprit.

The more he drank
the longer he looked
until he passed out on the carpet.

Fours hours and a shower later
it occurred to him
a short nap would’ve worked faster and safer.

©2009 by Shari Lynne Smothers

Write something positive and/or negative. I chose to cover both. This is my poem for Day 3 of the 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge.

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Favored Ink Pen

Author: Shari Smothers

Nov 2

Spreading black ink
my life blood over the page
I’m thrilled to be her preferred tool
for penning great verse.

In no time at all
I’ll be sent
to ink pen heaven
if she continues at this pace.

And I will go with honor
to be with my retired sisters
knowing I provided the words
to her most laudable rhetoric.

©2009 by Shari Lynne Smothers

Write from a alternative perspective. This is my poem for Day 2 of the Poem a Day Chapbook Challenge.

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A Simple Fallen Leaf

Author: Shari Smothers

Nov 1

I sat in heavy traffic
that stood still
more than it moved forward.

One lone leaf lighted on my windshield
and caused a blinding splash
of memories in vivid colors.
Suddenly, I’m transported to
my hometown many years passed
under the Crape Myrtle trees
at the home that was my grandmother’s.

I wanted to cancel
my shopping trip
forget about purchasing new clothes
to complement the fall season,
and my new outlook,
in preparation for my next year on earth.

All of me wanted
to stop the car and sit,
pretend to be broken for a bit
or get out and just
capture the leaf that took me
so far out of time and place.

©2009 by Shari Lynne Smothers

I had in mind this poem from my outing yesterday. When Poetic Asides posted the assignment, it was a perfect fit. So it serves two masters, that of getting it on paper, and my poem for Day 1 of the Poem a Day Chapbook Challenge.

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