7-Day Exercise (A-Word-A-Day)
What's up, I'd like to share my idea for a poetry exercise that you can try with friends, family, or your spouse. For 7 days have someone text you a word of the day, then spend a moment looking up the word and becoming familiar, then each day write a free-verse poem that is near 100 words minimum that includes and/or is themed around the word of the day.
Day 1
Quintessential
Time flies in this in life,
and we'll eventually become
the people we were meant to
and that'll be,
in conjunction with,
what we've worked towards over the years
and at one point in time,
nothing was off the board
or the table,
we just wanted a shot,
and we'd connect every time
if given the cables, or the aux chord.
I lay rhymes over piano chords
to express from the soul
the things that the world
later taught this little boy,
whose now all grown up.
A reflection of his projections,
I’m a visionary who seeks
what he speaks, and work hard to never
have to cash-in on the promises made to me,
I want to earn my own keep,
and never keep too long anything
that doesn’t belong to me.
I'm tomorrow and forever's best friend
so I’m close to what’s coming next
yet I wont tell the whole story,
you can wait to the end...
The Quintessential stand up guy
real easy going,
just like burgers and fries,
or flip flops on beach sand
followed by long road trips
in comfy mini vans,
cruising through the mystery
without a Scooby doo
on how to be apart of history,
not a big net-worth,
so we on a different network
content, just to pass the time,
but Ill always speak my truth
in a room full of lions.
Day 2
Rhapsodic
the nights I get down to pray,
I surrender to God my desires
and through his word I find
guidance to do things with purpose,
and through it I realize that very thing,
what is for me, and then
what I must overcome in order to be.
I cry and accept my reality sometimes
to love, learn, and contribute to humanity
and the tears wash doubt, bias, or any type of facade that may interfere with the waves
that my truths make, I aim to communicate
at frequencies elevated,
giving to a world that’s synonymous with dangerous, but it's slow and progressive with the changes.
the mornings I pray
I thank God for a fresh start
a reset of sorts and good breakfast
is the best part, during which
I plot our how I’ll manage the day
and at which point I’ll take a break,
but in it nostalgia sets, of the place
where I last slept, I enjoy rest,
but see more in ascribing actions
to the things I profess, because
ten years from today, in the mirror
I want to recognize the man
I’ve grown to be, but that truth could only live
of i keep my God and Faith in front of me.
Day 3
Succulent
The classical acoustic guitar
and its nylon strings
so sweet, filling this busy coffee shop
brings up memories
of Open Mics, in my earlier
days of poetry.
We'd convene in spaces
considerate of our quest
and filled with the greatest chefs,
the food was a blessing
nonetheless, we'd eat fries
and 'succulent' chicken breasts,
just before spouting our most premature pieces,
our deepest secrets
and in a fashion
where strangers can see them
tangible in spirit, an emotion
a feeling.
A transformation of divine request
for I had not known what was bestowed next.
life loved through words
lived through feelings,
an adventure of what id be willing to endure
to advance my being.
Those guitar strings
twang and bend
and through his musicianship
he sought to make amends
his pain was mine
and ours lived
with those who can connect
and with those who care to give
a bit of art that depicts
how they have lived,
and their journeys
eluding the problems of the world.
Day 4
Kalopsia
On a Saturday somewhere in 2014,
I visited the Herd Museum in Phoenix
and as I moved through the various installations, I ran across one that stuck out and it appeared that it was composed with
a great deal of patience
and there was beauty in this artistic language
displaying both the victories and triumphs
of a foreign nation
and as I looked closer, I swear there
were smiling faces and dancing,
I could see their town hall,
where the politicians commanded
legislation.
Everything appeared to be mundane,
but beyond the scope of the naked eye,
nothing was the same.
Every time id look away only to return
to fixate on the painting, things would change
life for them would never be the same
with each new glance, colors change,
people change, chaos ensues,
I look into my cup to find the cause
of these slurred rhymes.
Day 5
Incessant
Can't go without
Cant stop the urges
In our world the wordsmiths
try to realign our purpose
so that we all know
what it feels like to
chase dreams, incessantly,
I get this feeling
that we'll approach the day
where we carry our names
like we carry our cell phones
or a time that we carry our truths
as we carry our wallets,
lost at times, but most
things inside can be replaced
because what is yours forever
can never be taken away.
Can't go without
lifelong excursions
and to the artists
moving culture
in service
to all people
on this earth,
they make it all worth it
in the back of the speakeasy
or in venues with only standing room
they speak our truths
they raise the heads of our youth
so they always know how to find their niche
how to restore their image
brick by brick
those voices, they reminisce
a familiar vibrato
a warm kiss,
a from the lips
of the most prophetic Poets.
Day 6
Mellifluous
I can write you a poem
that sounds better than forever
with a mellifluous vibe akin
to a good wine and candle lights
on the Terrace.
We find solace, accompanied by love
and the glow of the moon light,
the stars dance and float
in the cosmic skies, balanced
by what the darkness provides.
I hold my guitar tight,
cause i can write you a poem
that sounds better than forever,
we can right every wrong
block every storm together.
Let my words not be only poetry,
but in tune with your hearts desire,
a 4 part harmony, your heart and mine,
this guitar, and these words all binding
to a crescendo, love rising, us floating.
i can write you a poem...
it could be about forever
but I’ve spent enough time devoted
to a world that may soon expire
in order to reach alignment.
What's better than forever in a life
with the one you love,
is a world with no time in it,
and at times the hurricanes
present no exit route,
in the darkest of places
you'll find a silver lining.
Day 7
Scantily
As I wait to board this flight
All is mundane of the world
we rest unrested
and nod through precursors
of stories we’ve heard a million times
while disconnected from the world
most float through,
and trace the time til lunch at noon
clock out, reset, resume...
From cubicle seats, some of us can see, the life we want to lead
we share a bit in common to desire a life lived in luxury, personally of course,
as there is even beauty amid a scantily furnished
studio apartment in the heart of Downtown,
Los Angeles, where most everyone
in walking distance endures the same.
The tall buildings reflect the sun
enough to create the illusion
that skid row, is a beach
off the coast of Cuba
and that people are actually
going to speak
when we cross paths on the street,
but I face my reality
grab my book bag and headphones
for the journey that the recurrent 24hrs presents.
Though reluctant, at times, I love to connect
and enjoy discovering differences,
and hearing proud stories of kinships
but it is to miss the point to undermine
what I expect for me
as my desires serve my purpose to breathe
and anything additional that i see fit to accompany.
This world often lends us
to forget that forgiveness
is a form of progression,
when we rescind on our
weaker parts,
we find things like courage.
So I know my dreams will suffice
to cover the span of my living legacy
and the one ill leave behind
I am love
I am second chances
I am enough
and as I move through with faith
maneuvering through the bluffs
ill respond in service
as my record reflects,
be it on the 33rd floor of a building with my name on it or in the struggle of this studio apartment;
We all get one go at this,
so I aspire to make it
a fulfilling experience,
aware of limits
but in fear of no limitations
I want rest for the restless
its been generations just waiting,
fancy me always being a hopeful one
in us all there is room for sedition
as there is room for the noble.
There are times I want to cry
I see the true beauty in this life,
a beauty no one can quantify,
and I’ve just been here waiting
to fly with the time.