Translating Art Into Poetry

The artwork above is a pencil and charcoal drawing created by Wayne Barrett, an artist from Tampa, Florida.  The inspiration for this piece came from a photo given to Wayne by a good friend.  The subject had such a look of curiosity and childlike innocence in the photo, Wayne felt compelled to start drawing it immediately. The prose below is my translation of what I see in this drawing.


 Not Another Picture
by Philly Dreamer


Oh Mom!,
Why do you keep making me pose for these pictures?
All I want to do is go outside and play.

Mom, I know you love me,
But I'm starting to think
Your obsessed.

I don't understand
Why you get so much joy
From taking my picture

You must really love me a lot
Of you just love
Torturing me.

You know mom,
I really don't mind it
It's nice to be loved

While you're looking at me
I see the smile on your face
And deep down I like making you happy

So I guess I'll sit here
And pose for another picture
But I swear this is the last time
Unless of course you ask me again


I'm sure you have your own interpretation of what this picture says, so I challenge you to translate this artwork into poetry for yourself.  I would love to see what you come up with, so send me a link to your poem at Foreverpoetry@Yahoo.com...  I would like to thank Wayne Barrett for allowing me to share his work with you, and if you would like to see more of Wayne's creations, check out his site.

Wayne Barrett Art on Facebook


         

Acrostic of Self Discovery Poetry Challenge

If you had to describe who you are in three words, what would those words be?  Part of a poet's journey in life is self discovery.  A poet must experience life and understand what it means to him, before he can write great poetry.  If you've never spent the day at the beach, how can you describe how the ocean waves crashing against the shore make you feel.  If you've never been in love, then how can you convey this powerful emotion through words.  Poetry is a reflection of a poets inner voice and until he discovers his voice, his writing is nothing more than some clever words on a page.

The Acrostic of Self Discovery is my newest challenge to all you poets of the world.  I want you to spend a good deal of time thinking of who you are, and after you have thought about it enough, I want you to think of three words that best describe you.  Use these words to write an acrostic poem that tell how they describe you and how they fit together to make the person that is you.  I challenged some of my poetic friends earlier last week to do this and I received an outstanding contribution from Beth37 which is a great example of what I'm looking for.  Read it below:


Acrostic of Self Discovery
by Beth37

"First off you should know I love to laugh.
Under almost every circumstance, this is what I love to do most.
Nothing describes me better than laughter.

Save for faith.
It is God Who means more to me than anyone or anything else.
Nothing above, on or below the Earth could have more importance.
Careful not to give the impression that I am above anyone.
Every day is a day, I pray He makes me who He wants me to be.
Redundant of no one, as He does with each of His creation, He makes me special.
Equal to no one. No better or worse, but loved deeply.

Peace maker. I desire to makes things smooth and comfortable for all.
A pleaser. A weakness I think, but a blessing to those around me.
Sleep deprived.
Scrabble addict.
I have a little issue with desire... it's more under control then it used to be.
Overworked. Could use some help.
Nocturnal. Like to stay up late.
Attitude is positive.
Timely. Don't like to be late.
Eternal... I believe we're all everlasting."


If you would like to participate in this challenge, please email me the link to your poem at Foreverpoetry@yahoo.com...  I will comment on each contribution and share your work with my poetic circle of friends.  I hope you will find this challenge fun and educational.


The list below contains the links to all the poems submitted for this challenge.  If you don't see your poem listed be sure to email me at the address above.

How To Keep My Personality In Balance by Janshares

         

The Puzzle of Life: Poetry Challenge

Life is an intricate puzzle we spend our lives putting together.  Each moment, each experience, each memory is a new piece to the puzzle that we must place to get the true meaning of our lives.  This week on Random Madness I am issuing a challenge to all the poets in the world.  Think of your life as a puzzle and use this idea to write an original poem of how you feel your pieces all fit together.  I have pre-issued this challenge to some talented poets I know, and if you would like to use their poems as inspiration to write your own, visit the following links below:

• Philly's Puzzle Poetry Challenge by Snakeslane
• Loss Poetry / How to Learn From Painful Loss by Janshares
• Parallel by Vernal Equinox
• Cause I've Been Hurt Before by Ryem
• The Pieces of My Life by Philly Dreamer

I'm looking forward to reading some wonderful poetry so if you want to participate in this challenge send me the link to your poem at Foreverpoetry@Yahoo.com.  I will leave comments on all my favorites and share your work with my poetic circle of friends.

         

Food Cravings Poetry Challenge

I can't tell you the amount of times I've had a food craving.  Whether it's chocolate cake or a T-Bone steak, sometimes the mouth has to have what the mouth wants, and when your craving is satisfied, God it's so good.  Maybe, that's why people will go out of their way to satisfy that crave.  Look at the movie "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle".  Sure it's just a movie, but we all have our real life stories of what we did to get the food we craved. 

Food cravings is what this week's poetry challenge is all about.  I want you all to tell a story about what you did to have your craving satisfied.  You can also write about how those foods you just have to have, truly make you feel.  What is your craving?  Is it sinfully decadent chocolate?  Is it that first cup of coffee in the morning that you were dreaming of the night before.  Let your craving inspire you poetically, and show me what you come up with. 


Guidelines for Challenge

• Write an original poem about your food craving on what ever site you choose.
• Send me the link to your poem to Foreverpoetry@yahoo.com, so I can post it in this challenge.
• Help spread the word about this challenge to everyone you know.
• Visit back frequently to read all the poems people share.  

A Closer Look At Martin Kloess

What would you do if an unknown illness attacked your body, and slowly started shutting it down?  It's hard to imagine an unpleasant situation like this, but for one man this nightmare is a reality.  Martin Kloess is a poet I have gotten to know over the months, and his story has inspired me to do more with my life, because we are never guaranteed time to accomplish the things we really want.


Martin Kloess lived an amazing life.  At 16 years old he met the first love of his life Arlene, who gave him many wonderful years of wedded bliss until she passed away in 2003.  While Arlene was a great loss for Martin, he was blessed to meet another great woman named Amor, who he is still happily married to.  He set out to become a music teacher, getting his BA degree at San Francisco state College, but wound up working for an oil company in a job where he was allowed to use his creativity freely.  He has devoted himself to helping others, achieving the level of 33rd degree mason for his work with youth organizations, and he has published a book  called "Well That Was That" which is a compilation of humorous limericks all about relationships. 

Despite all these great accomplishments, the thing that impresses me most about Martin Kloess, is the fact that he handles his disability with the kind of strength few people possess.  Originally misdiagnosed with Wernicke's Syndrome, Martin had to endure painful medical treatment in the hospital.  Later, it was discovered that he had something in his blood that attacks the neurons in his body.  The doctors wanted to readmit him to the hospital to do further studies, but by this time Martin had lost all confidence in them.  It isn't known what is attacking Martin's body, but what is known is that it has taken away his ability to walk, talk, and think.  He is unable to function on his own, and is currently being cared for by his wife Amor.

Martin's only way to communicate to the world is through his poetry.  His poetry contains valuable lessons about life and love, and is filled with the experiences of a man who has lived an extraordinary life.  If you would like to get to know Martin through his poetry, please visit the links below:

Martin Kloess on HubPages

Martin Kloess on Triond

Johnny Boy's Love For The Jersey Shore

Johnny Boy just turned 18
He loved his home
Jersey Shore proud

So when disaster struck
He stood his ground
No Sandy's allowed 

Johnny Boy wasn't alone
His friends and neighbors vowed
To protect their homes
With their lives

But there was nothing they could do
When the waves came crashing through
Home was destroyed
Right before their eyes 


Johnny Boy was only 18
But he loved his neighbors
So he put them before himself

He searched for food
And lent his hands to save the day
Not once thinking of his health

When food was passed around
Johnny Boy ate last
Sometimes
He didn't even eat at all

When the children were scared
Johnny Boy was there
He did his best to be strong
And stand tall 

Johnny Boy was 18
And little did he know
18 was as old as he would be

As he tried to save a friend
A house came crashing down
Burying him in falling debris

Johnny Boy gave his life
His only wish
To have done a little more

Johnny Boy gave his life
The ultimate sacrifice
All for his love of
The Jersey Shore. 



This poem was written for the Hurricane Sandy Poetry Challenge.  This challenge is meant to create uplifting poetry for the survivors of Hurricane Sandy, and to help raise money for the charities giving relief to those survivors.  Johnny Boy is a fictional character, but his story is meant to say, one person can't do it all.  Let's all work together to help overcome this disaster.  Please make a donation to any of the following charities.

Red Cross

Salvation Army

AmeriCares

Hurricane Sandy Poetry Challenge

I bring this poetry challenge to you, as a much humbled poet.  There were many times when I heard about the destructive forces of a hurricane, but having witnessed the power of Hurricane Sandy, the only thing I can say is, I pray no one else has to know such devastation.  People have lost their lives, people are trying to survive without running water and electricity, and people are working their hands to the bone to return things back to normal. 

This poetry challenge will be very near and dear to my heart, because I was one of the fortunate survivors who walked away from this natural disaster unharmed.  There are however, millions of people who can't say the same thing, and these people will serve as the inspiration for this challenge.  This week, I would like my fellow poets to write an original poem inspired by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.  I would like poetry about first hand experiences with the storm and poetry meant to lift the spirits of the victims.  It is my hope that when life returns back to normal that the survivors of this storm will look upon this poetry and find encouragement to keep rebuilding what they lost. 


Guidelines For The Challenge

• Write an original poem on any site you choose inspired by Hurricane Sandy.
• Send the links to these poems to me at Foreverpoetry@yahoo.com.
• In one weeks time I will write a follow-up to this challenge with the links to each person who has written poetry to this challenge.  I will continue to post links, so long as people keep sending them to me.
• Please post the link to any of the following charity sites in your poetry contributions, and encourage people to make a donation to them so we can use our poetry to do some good for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  

Click here to make a donation to the Red Cross

Click here to make a donation to the Salvation Army

Click here to make a donation to AmeriCares


These charities are currently offering support to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, please share these links in your poetry for this challenge, and please make a donation to help the cause.  Help spread the word about this poetry challenge so we can get maximum participation, and raise as much as we can to help the victims of this natural disaster.