Category: Schizophrenic Poetry Challenge

September’s Theme – “Round And Round We Spin…

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Theme Doodle!
Theme Doodle!

…. with feet of lead and wings of tin” – Kurt Vonnegut

Last month was all about the positivity and idealism of looking to a glorious future, the month before it was all about changing the past, so this month let’s discuss the things that bridge the two! You know, those dastardly clingy remnants of the past that affect and influence the here and now.

Theme – Baggage ORRRRRRRRRR That Which Lingers

Structure – Double Acrostic

C’mon people, be prepared to work those vocabularies and dust off your thesaurus!

– Jessie Gutierrez

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August’s Theme – Are You Ready?

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Last month’s theme was about changing the past, so I figure this month’s should be all about molding the future.

Theme – Future Plans/Long-term goals

Structure – Ode (a poem in which a person expresses a strong feeling of love or respect for someone or something, typically addressing that someone or something)

If you feel like the theme and structure don’t necessarily match this month, you and I are in agreement. However, I want happiness and love and optimism when discussing the soon-to-be, so I’m going to gently nudge us in that direction. *nudge nudge nudge*

Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine. – Nikola Tesla

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Prose – Alternative Present – SD

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One shot was all it took to bring down the negotiations. To ignite the city in the first conflagration of violence in forty years. The Federals were prepared, but they weren’t ready. Continue reading “Prose – Alternative Present – SD” →

July’s Theme – A Whole New World

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Oh, July, the perfect month for beach reading, you practically handed me your own theme. I just finished Philip K. Dick’s The Man In The High Castle, and without giving spoilers, I will say its plot revolves around alternative presents (of the 1960s). The what if scenarios that could possibly have occurred, if only that one important thing was different. I had seen this type of idea in other media, for instance in Fringe, where they have not only an alternative present but an alternative universe, but for some reason hadn’t read anything with this device. Thus – Continue reading “July’s Theme – A Whole New World” →

Free Verse – Instrumental Inspiration – JG

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So I noticed something pretty early on when I was looking for just the right song to try to pen lyrics for: when an artist or band puts out a song without words, there’s a helluva lot going on. So much so that words often feel positively extraneous. Like adding whipped cream on a cake covered in icing. But here goes anyways:

Continue reading “Free Verse – Instrumental Inspiration – JG” →

Free Verse – Instrumental Inspiration – SD

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“That Girl in Amsterdam”

Verse
I fell for a girl I met one evening in some dingy Amsterdam bar
Her eyes like ice, my heart was frozen, shining brighter than the stars Continue reading “Free Verse – Instrumental Inspiration – SD” →

June’s Theme – From Head Banging To Gentle Swaying – JG

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what inspires me and it seems like the answer is only found in things out of my control: an extreme situation, someone else’s provocation, death, unexpected disaster. Thus, I am now on the lookout, or in this case listen out, for material that moves me, without uprooting my entire emotional wellbeing. Music has been a popular muse for so many writers, why not make her this month’s theme: Continue reading “June’s Theme – From Head Banging To Gentle Swaying – JG” →

Rock Song – Speeding Toward Nothing – JG

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The continuous loop, where I know every turn,
Leaning inward at the slight curve,
All familiar, all easy, it’s all beginning to blur
Lap after lap of routine and automatic responses.
Trapped in the rut of this orbit –
Circling stability and comfort.
Too scared to put in the effort
To break free and be more. Continue reading “Rock Song – Speeding Toward Nothing – JG” →