Bali Verse Time -Spirit of Place

I am currently staying in Bali, more precisely in Sanur. Sanur is quite tranquil and serene, representing older, more traditional culture. The pace of life in this area is certainly less hectic than other parts of this incredible island. I have visited Bali many times and have stayed in various locations across those visits. The people and the place continue to provide much inspiration for writing.

I have been trying to capture a spirit of place while in Sanur. I found myself writing a series of tankas. I'm not sure why I chose the tanka form, but I am pleased with what I have been able to capture. I so enjoy surrendering my writing thoughts to my immediate surrounds. Poetry of place is such a pleasurable indulgence.

Hope you enjoy my gatherings...

Sanur Tankas

Reef & Sea

Reef resists the sea
Becalming the shorebound waves
Ocean's roar muffled
Transformed to a constant hum
Heard at water's edge.

Swallow Flight

Above my beach lounge

Swallows flit erratically

Tiny feathered jets

Snatching food in their flight path

Dipping and diving.

No Squadrons

A helicopter

Cruising by, low in the sky

Then a dragonfly

Momentarily appears

No squadrons today.

Alan j Wright

I also wrote about the frangiani flowers a common sight all across Bali...

Frangipani Flowers

Ubiquitous frangipani

Flower of fragrance and power

Embedded in ritual and ceremony

Nestled in the worshipper's palm

Worn in the hair

Linked to enlightenment and kindness

Bali's beauty

Enhanced, when

This unique bloom announces itself

It's rich scent rising in the late afternoon

Radiant

White

Essence, so natural.

Alan j Wright

It is once again, Poetry Friday and this week our genial host is Karen Edmisten. Karen features a poem by Mcihael Blumenthal focusing on the need for kindness.

Poetry Inspired by Images and Objects

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York. I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co...

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,' Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. N...

Powerful Poetry, 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully @ Salt City Verse where Janice shares some original words and offers us a taste of Thomas Carlyle to ponder. I encourage you to join a host of poets from all around the globe and visit Janice's page... Almost two years to the day, I wrote a post featuring the poem 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston. The poem was included in Brian's first book of poetry, 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' A very powerful Reverso poem and technically brilliant. A Reverso poem can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. It will often express opposite opinions depending on which way you read it. Such poems really make us think. A Reverso poem is like a picture turned upside down, a frowning face upended to reveal a smiling one. The poem read in reverse, contradicts itself with an opposing message. In 'Refugee' Brian Bilston focuses on a societal issue that tends to polarize feelings and the opposing views are clearly in eviden...

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