Jan
2017
Poetry Friday: Ferocious Women Poetpourri Challenge
This week I took up the Poetpourri Challenge thrown down by Donna Smith at Mainely Write. Go check out how this challenge got started here and a review of the invitation/guidelines here. You can read Donna’s poem and find links to the others that took up the challenge here.
Several poets contributed lines from various sources of found words: refrigerator magnets, novels, other poems, magazines and more. Here is the complete list of lines gathered together with their contributors and original sources:
- Buffy Silverman: “ferocious women who never bring you coffee” – refrigerator magnetic poetry
- Donna Smith: “always leave a wild song” – refrigerator magnetic poetry
- Linda Baie: “dreaming women do art in poetry” – from her pile of poetry blocks
- Buffy Silverman: “where wizards and wolves rush by in a blur of green and gold and gray” – patched together from Kate Dicamillo’s Where Are You Going Baby Lincoln
- Kay McGriff: “ignore the awful times, and concentrate on the good ones” from Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five
- Linda Mitchell: “waking the world to a new day“
- Margaret Simon: “steam that climbs like smoke from a fire” – this was in the comments the first week, and I’m not sure if it is a comment or a line… but I’m using it!
- Carol Varsalona: “fearless women reach out, connect, and find joy in life’s intertwined moments” – Connecting the word “fearless” that April had used last week.
- Tabatha Yeatts: “little chest to put the Alive in” – Emily Dickinson
- Joy Acey: “wear loose clothing and a smile” – from a thought and some connections
- Jan Godown Annino: “I feel like there should be more stories out there for girls, and I try to tell them” – a quote from Hope Larson from the book COMICS CONFIDENTIAL.
- Mary Lee Hahn: “ferocious women do not exaggerate” – from Mary Oliver’s UPSTREAM on page 109, “I do not exaggerate.”
- Brenda Harsham: “make a ferocious dinner that eats masks, drips truth and saves softness for dessert“
- Keri Lewis: “radical at their core” from her husband’s magazine, “Guns & Ammo”
- Kiesha Shepard: “ferocious women would rather drink the wind” – a line from Mary Oliver’s (Why I Wake Early) titled “The Arrowhead”
- Diane Mayr: “out of endurance, exaltation” – a line from the poem “Monadnock” by Robert Francis.
Then the challenge was to combine these various lines into a poem. Here is what I came up with after printing out the lines (thank you, Donna, for providing the list of lines ready to print), cutting them apart and playing with them.
Ferocious Women Never Do What You Expect
Ferocious women
who never bring you coffee
wake the world to a new day
where wizards and wolves rush
by in a blur of green and gold and gray.
Dreaming women
who do art in poetry
wear loose clothing and a smile,
and always leave a wild song
out of endurance, exultation.
Ferocious women
who would rather drink the wind
make a ferocious dinner
that eats masks, drips truth
and saves softness for dessert.
Fearless women
who reach out
connect and find joy in life’s
intertwined moments, forming steam
that climbs like smoke from a fire.
Ferocious women
who do not exaggerate
ignore the awful times
and concentrate on the good ones,
finding a little chest to put the Alive in.
Ferocious women–
I try to tell you
I feel like there should be more
stories out there for girls
radical to the core.
Thank you, Donna, for inviting us to join in your challenge. I can’t wait to see what everyone else created from these same words.
Each Friday, I am excited to take part in Poetry Friday, where writers share their love of all things poetry. Carol Varsalona has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Beyond LiteracyLink. Drop by and see what poetry morsels are offered this week.
Laura Shovan
February 2, 2017 at 1:30 pm (7 years ago)The second stanza is a great little portrait. Yes — I know women like this. Fabulous ending!
Mrs. McGriff
February 2, 2017 at 8:09 pm (7 years ago)Thank you! I’m striving to become one of those ferocious women. Taking part in your poetry challenge this month is helping me!
Irene Latham
January 28, 2017 at 2:07 pm (7 years ago)Thank you for your poem — and for being a “radical girl”!
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 5:46 pm (7 years ago)I am trying to be a radical girl!
Kiesha Shepard
January 28, 2017 at 1:47 pm (7 years ago)“wake the world to a new day” Nice, Kay!
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 5:46 pm (7 years ago)Thanks!
Bridget Magee
January 28, 2017 at 11:45 am (7 years ago)All of this ferocious poetry is awe inspiring! Brava, Kay, on your incarnation of ferociousness. I’m inspired. =)
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 5:45 pm (7 years ago)Thank you! This challenge was inspiring in so many ways, from writing my own to celebrating all the others.
Violet N.
January 28, 2017 at 11:30 am (7 years ago)Well done, Kay! These ferocious women poems are inspiring–make me want to be one!
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 5:45 pm (7 years ago)I am so inspired by all of the ferocious women poems, too. We can be them together!
Mary Lee Hahn
January 28, 2017 at 9:24 am (7 years ago)Love it!
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 9:38 am (7 years ago)Thanks!
Carol Varsalona
January 28, 2017 at 12:29 am (7 years ago)Kay, this is an exercise in love and you certainly showed your poetry prowess. Mine is coming up soon.
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 9:38 am (7 years ago)Thank you, Carol. I look forward to reading yours! It’s been such fun reading all the different poems of ferocious women.
Linda Baie
January 27, 2017 at 9:03 pm (7 years ago)Oh Kay, I love the way you organized this, into the different parts, all pouring into those girls who are becoming “ferocious women”. Wonderful!
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 9:37 am (7 years ago)Thank you. I focused on structure first as I played with the words, then the rest fell into place.
Kortney
January 27, 2017 at 7:48 pm (7 years ago)Yes to those radical girls at the end of the poem who will age into ferocious women!
Mrs. McGriff
January 28, 2017 at 9:36 am (7 years ago)I am proud to be mom to one of those radical girls!
Jane @ Raincity Librarian
January 27, 2017 at 3:07 pm (7 years ago)Yes! I want to be radical to the core. 🙂
Mrs. McGriff
January 27, 2017 at 6:06 pm (7 years ago)Me, too!
Tabatha
January 27, 2017 at 12:31 pm (7 years ago)Nicely done!
Mrs. McGriff
January 27, 2017 at 1:17 pm (7 years ago)Thanks!
Joan Davis
January 27, 2017 at 8:59 am (7 years ago)I love your poem, Kay. I may print it out and put it on my refrigerator, a space which often inspires my hopes and prayers
Mrs. McGriff
January 27, 2017 at 9:26 am (7 years ago)Thank you, Joan! I am honored to be on anyone’s fridge, but especially yours.
Brenda Harsham
January 27, 2017 at 8:33 am (7 years ago)Great job, Kay! Love how it builds to that last line.
Mrs. McGriff
January 27, 2017 at 9:25 am (7 years ago)Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Donna
January 26, 2017 at 10:52 pm (7 years ago)Yay, Kay! So glad you got some ferocious poetry going on! It is so much fun to see how these are taking shape. These are such great lines to work with. Radical!
Mrs. McGriff
January 27, 2017 at 8:30 am (7 years ago)Thank you for including us in your challenge! I can’t wait to see all the ferocious poetry that is shared today!