Category Archives: Challenges and Writing Prompts

August 6, 2018

August – Stanza 6

By Kat Myrman

shore along the Biscay Bay in olde Aquitaine,
came first of many troubadours, Guillaume
was his name, a roving love philanderer
crusader, duke and count but his true call,
his legacy, the poems and songs he penned

~kat

For Jane Dougherty’s August Stanza Challenge.

Here’s a poem penned by my 27th Great Grandfather, Guillaume IX deTroubador DeAquitaine (1071 – 1127)

For the Sweetness of Springtime

For the sweetness of springtime,
the woods leaf and the birds
sing, each in its own language,
according to the swing of the new song:
it is therefore right that one tends towards
what he desires most.

From the place I like and love
comes neither messenger nor missive;
because of this, I neither sleep nor laugh;
and I don’t dare come forward
until I know with certitude
whether things stand as I want them to.

Our love works
just as the hawthorn twig
which stands shaking on the tree
in the night, in the rain and in the frost
until the morning after, when the sun stretches
on the green leaf and on the branches.

I still remember a morning
when we ended a fight
and when she gave such an important gift,
her love and her ring:
god let me live long enough
to put my hands under her cape.

I don’t worry that a strange language
would part me from my Good Neighbour,
because I know the wandering ways of words:
they begin as idle chat:
some people brag about love matters,
we have the matter in hand.

And in case you think I’m pulling your leg…here’s the begats:

Relationship between Guillaume IX deTroubador DeAquitaine & Kathleen Myrman.

Guillaume IX deTroubador DeAquitaine (1071 – 1127) – 27th great-grandfather

William Duke of Aquitaine En Normandy, 8th Count of Poitou X (1099 – 1137) Son of Guillaume IX deTroubador DeAquitaine

Eleanor Duchess Of Aquataine (1122 – 1204) Daughter of William Duke of Aquitaine En Normandy, 8th Count of Poitou X

Joan Plantagenet (1165 – 1199) Daughter of Eleanor Duchess Of Aquataine

Joan De Kinewarton (1189 – 1215) Daughter of Joan Plantagenet

Richard DeBruley (1211 – 1250) Son of Joan De Kinewarton

Henry De Bruley (1243 – 1305) Son of Richard DeBruley

William DeBruley (1270 – 1359) Son of Henry De Bruley

Alice Bruley (1326 – 1390) Daughter of William DeBruley

(Sir) Guy de La Spine Baron of Coughton (1350 – 1427) Son of Alice Bruley

Agnes Andrew ( – 1466) Daughter of (Sir) Guy de La Spine Baron of Coughton

Lady Cecilia Agnes Tansley (1460 – 1515) Daughter of Agnes Andrew

William Winslow (1490 – 1543) Son of Lady Cecilia Agnes Tansley

Kenelm Winslow (1534 – 1607) Son of William Winslow

Edward Winslow (1560 – 1631) Son of Kenelm Winslow

JOHN Winslow (1597 – 1674) Son of Edward Winslow

Susanna Winslow (1630 – 1685) Daughter of JOHN Winslow

Mercy Latham (1650 – 1707) Daughter of Susanna Winslow

Mary Harris (1690 – 1727) Daughter of Mercy Latham

Sarah Packard (1714 – 1792) Daughter of Mary Harris

Judith Shaw (1749 – 1776) Daughter of Sarah Packard

Isaac Edson (1770 – 1844) Son of Judith Shaw

Hannah Edson (1798 – 1873) Daughter of Isaac Edson

Ambrose Tower (1825 – 1907) Son of Hannah Edson

Mary H. Tower (1836 – 1883) Daughter of Ambrose Tower

John Henry Collins (1868 – ) Son of Mary H. Tower

Sylvia Collins (1892 – 1972) Daughter of John Henry Collins

William Collins Cunningham (1909 – 1967) Son of Sylvia Collins

Dorothy Ellen Cunningham (1933 – 2006) Daughter of William Collins Cunningham

Kathleen Myrman (that’s me! 😊) You are the daughter of Dorothy Ellen Cunningham

21 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, free verse, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

August 6, 2018

Manic Monday – Forlorn

By Kat Myrman

manicmondayforlorn

Forlorn

white satin
letters written
beauty missed
with these eyes
what the truth is
I can’t say ‘cause
people can’t
understand
what you want
in the end

breathe deep
the lights fade
people look back
and lament
useless
spent

Lovers, lonely
for love,
cold-hearted,
rule the night
which is an
illusion

~kat

A Black Out Poem for Manic Monday’s Three-Way Prompt based on the word “Forlorn”, the photo above and the Moody Blues song, Nights in White Satin (Lyrics below…I love that song!)

Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin Lyrics

Nights in white satin, never reaching the end,
Letters I’ve written, never meaning to send.
Beauty I’d always missed with these eyes before.
Just what the truth is, I can’t say anymore.

Cause I love you, yes I love you, oh how I love you.

Gazing at people, some hand in hand,
Just what I’m going through they can’t understand.
Some try to tell me, thoughts they cannot defend,
Just what you want to be, you will be in the end.

And I love you, yes I love you,
Oh how I love you, oh how I love you.

Nights in white satin, never reaching the end,
Letters I’ve written, never meaning to send.
Beauty I’ve always missed, with these eyes before.
Just what the truth is, I can’t say anymore.

Cause I love you, yes I love you,
Oh how I love you, oh how I love you.
Cause I love you, yes I love you,
Oh how I love you, oh how I love you.

Breathe deep
The gathering gloom
Watch lights fade
From every room
Bedsitter people
Look back and lament
Another day’s useless
Energy spent

Impassioned lovers
Wrestle as one
Lonely man cries for love
And has none
New mother picks up
And suckles her son
Senior citizens
Wish they were young

Cold hearted orb
That rules the night
Removes the colours
From our sight
Red is gray and
Yellow white
But we decide
Which is right
And
Which is an Illusion

Songwriters: Justin Hayward
Nights In White Satin lyrics © T.R.O. INC.

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Blackout Poetry, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

August 5, 2018

Autumn – Stanza 5

By Kat Myrman

around the time when separatists sought freedom
from the crown, a ship, the Mayflower, set sail
across the ocean blue, amongst its passengers,
a girl named Mary, of renown, so claimed,
the first to step on Plymouth’s rocky shore

~kat

For Jane Dougherty’s Daily Stanza Challenge.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, free verse, Haibun, List Poem, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

August 5, 2018

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 5 August 2018

By Kat Myrman

So…yep, last week was not the greatest of weeks. I give it a three. In other words not a total wipe out, but as weeks go, I’ve seen better.

It should not be at all surprising that today’s ReVerse has a mean, melancholy streak. It’s weird how that happens. Try as I might to infuse each day’s verse with happy thoughts, affirmations and the like, the truth niggles its way to the surface. It’s like a gray funk that disturbs my serene surface; like those globs of sludge jiggling on a stagnant pond, bits drifting on the breeze, splattering into oblivion. Yep, this past week was ugly like that…don’t ask.

But next week will be better. How can it not be? So please forgive this week’s dreary dirge. There is hope. Call me crazy, I still hope, even in the darkest of times.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 5 August 2018

the alchemy of magic thrice infused
three dimensions mete where flat planes meet air
there is no truth
the power to overcome
it won’t do any good
plead the fifth, to any third degree
before the harbor maiden raised her beacon
denying the adoration of those poor
in the dumps, in a blue funk
come and gone, sparks of light,
lay the bones, worm-stripped bare, no trace
who settled scores, who buried men alive,
the roses have gone
through our fingers

~kat

A ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

August 5, 2018

Saturday with the Muse

By Kat Myrman

another day sifts
through our fingers
a thousand stars to
wish upon…if only
they were listening

moss covered rocks
line the garden
the roses have gone
to seed…soon leaves
will fall, a-withering
rustling on the breeze

~kat

Magnetic Poetry Online

4 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Magnetic Poetry, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings