Prompt #75 Listening for Words from the Universe

 I’m jumping ahead posting Prompt #75 because I feel a real push to do so. Read on to understand.

I was reading an old American Songwriter magazine and came to a song writing lesson by Clay Mills. Examples were given on how you can take something someone says and immediately make it a song. One was about talking to Darius Rucker on his tour bus about breaking up with his girlfriend, and then second guessing the decision. Darius said he has done that, and still thinks about one particular girl. Mills said, “Really?” And Darius shot back “Don’t think I don’t!”  Mills immediately picked up his guitar and, using Rucker’s words, started writing a song…

Don’t think I don’t think about it

Don’t think I don’t have regrets

Don’t think you don’t get to me

This ended up being a hit song for Rucker in 2008 is called “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It.”

I filed the idea of bouncing off a line someone said to do a piece of writing, figuring somewhere down the line I’d post it.

Then I was prompted again while reading a story about the Paul McCartney & Wings hit “Band on the Run.” The album of the same title starts with the lyrics:

Stuck inside these four walls
Sent inside forever
Never seeing no one
Nice again like you
Mama you, mama you

If I ever get out of here
Thought of giving it all away
To a registered charity
All I need is a pint a day
If I ever get outta here
If we ever get outta of here

Paul explained that the whole opening segment was from a sentence George Harrison said during a business meeting. George is notorious for hating anything to do with business, and in one meeting he mumbled, “If we ever get out of here.”  Paul took that line and used it as a jumping point, and it ended up informing the direction of the entire song.

Once I read that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the prompt. Right now we are all super busy with the upcoming school year, travel, and more. I’m posting the prompt because it sounds like a prime time to be listening for those phrases and sentences that might be good to prompt a piece of writing. In a meeting, in the airport, in a phone conversation. You get the picture!

So, in the midst of the craziness, open your ears in a new way and listen for inspiration from the universe. You might even try to write a second line immediately just to see what emerges.  

Still

 Response to Prompt #74

summer of movement

summer of stillness 

change was needed

change has come

moving daily makes me stronger

moving daily helps me be still

momentum builds in increments each day

momentum builds with clarity of vision

still aspiring to new directions

still admiring the tried and true

summer of movement

summer of stillness

still learning & growing

still creating & flowing

still gaining & knowing

the essence of me

Response to Prompt #74: Words

Fine

It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine.

She muttered this phrase often when things weren't fine at all,

raking her fingers through her fine hair only to find strands stuck between her fingers,

afraid she might go bald from all the head-scratching over the absurdity that had become her reality.

Sheer stupidity was not listed in the fine print of the job description,

yet it was lurking everywhere, waiting to pounce and rattle her fine-tuned plans. 

It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine.

It had become a common refrain, a survival mechanism, 

a resignation to the lack of power that threatened to shatter her, 

a way to walk the fine line between beliefs and responsibilities, common sense and nonsense,

an attempt to keep her balance when the ridiculousness was dizzying,

treading carefully every time she opened her mouth, afraid her true feelings would escape. 

It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine.

It had become the standing joke among co-workers,

so often spoken they ordered t-shirts--because laughing is better than crying,

a way to show collective strength in the face of adversity, or at least have a little fun

in a place where fun seemed to go to die,

refusing to lose their humor--or their minds--in the fine mess they did not create.

Prompt #74 Do-over: Words

If you read this blog with any regularity, and I’m not sure anyone other than the Brazens do, you may have noticed that we already had a Prompt 74. Well, it fell flat. Dormant. Dead as a door nail, as they say. There are several plausible explanations for this, but as the author, I can say most likely it’s because none of the Brazens were “feelin it.” Time, work, family, writers block, all those obstacles pretty much take care of themselves when you’ve been inspired by a great prompt. It’s ok, though. Look, it was my idea and I didn’t even write a contribution. So, what do you do when you’re uninspired? Create inspiration.

Here is a new attempt at Prompt #74. Back to basics. Words. When all else fails, the Brazens are craftswomen with word play and poetry. I hope and think this prompt might spark something in each of us. Here it is, with a little challenge at the end. Have at it logophiles!

Prompt: 

The English language is oft criticized for being difficult to learn. It has more exceptions than rules, you may have heard people say. Words don’t look how they sound and have multiple meanings. How is an English language learner to keep up? That question is rhetorical. Though all of the Brazens are educators, here is our space to create rather than solve the problems of the education system. For this prompt, we’re going to use the craziness of English to our advantage. We’re going to play with homonyms, and I’m talking pure homonyms. Same word, same spelling, same pronunciation, but different meanings. Select a pair of homonyms and use them in a poem. Only rule: use the word at least twice with two different meanings. 

Example homonym set:

A. ice (n) The solid form of water produced by freezing; frozen water

B. ice (v) To coat a cake with icing, as in frosting.

Challenge:

Share your post with at least one non-Brazen person. It can be private via text or email, or broader on social media. The choice is yours.

Have fun!

We are the Stuff that Works

 Response to prompt #73: Stuff that Works

I thought about this for awhile, my go-to, my thing that always works. Easily, I could have written about James Taylor songs and how there’s one for every one of my moods, but I did that blog post years ago. I could have written about how a little time with my mom is like a shot in the arm when I’m feeling beat down, but yeah, I’ve written that one before too. Nature and time outdoors or dinner with this writing group, could have easily topped this list too. But there’s really one standout, one thing that has been “the stuff” for any given situation and over so many years. Call me a cornball, call me sappy, but my husband is the stuff that works for me. I’ve written countless blogs about my love for him too, but I suppose there is a reason for that. 

Besides the love, he is truly my best friend. 

Concerts and comedians, dinners and downtown strolls, 

Camping and vacations, kayaking and football games,

This is the stuff that works.

Quiet dinners at home, our favorite TV shows,

Spending time with our precious son.

This is the stuff that works.

Walking the dog, sitting together in silence,

Debating and arguing, agreeing to disagree.

This is the stuff that works.

laughing and crying, cuddling and kissing, 

hand-holding and really listening, 

This is the stuff that works.

Supporting each other and telling hard truths, 

Wiping tears and nursing wounds,

Trudging through the muck and cleaning it up

This is us, and this is the stuff that works.

Nature Never Fails -- Response to Prompt #73

When I came upon the song that inspired this prompt, I couldn't wait to discover all the things I knew that worked.

I made a list. Set it aside.

On New Years Day I was revisiting the idea in general. It came to me that nature is something that always works. On my list I had things like...

Looking at the sky

Wading in the river

Gathering stones

Walking among trees

***

I am a huge believer in synchronicity, so it was not a surprise when shortly after that I happened upon a TikTok video by a Ukrainian soldier. At the time, he was lying in a tree line with another soldier hiding from the Russians, who were shooting artillery (all heard on the video.)

The young man talked about the Russians actions and then he said...

In such moments

As not to go mad

To save brain and stay calm

Because it could be scary

I looked around at nature

A bumblebee is flying here near me

Listening the butterfly

Feeling wind on my face

And remind myself what I'm fighting for

***

I've been re-watching one of my favorite shows Mozart in the Jungle, and the main character, Rodrigo, has a philosophy I have hung on to for a very long time. He says...

When we have lost our way, we need to go back to the basics. That is where the beauty lies.

 *

Without a doubt, the stuff that works for me is about returning to the basic essence of all of life--

and that is the natural world.

Only then can I tap into what I am to be doing. Or not doing.

Only then can I remember to be fearless.

Only then can I be calm enough to accomplish my mission in life.

Only then can I find the beauty present in every living moment.

 

 

Response to Prompt #73--The Stuff that Always Works

Work in Progress

I often beat myself up for not sticking to rituals and routines,

wondering what is wrong with me.

Something inside me bucks against regimens, 

with one exception--exercise. 

Even that has to get switched up regularly lest I grow restless.

When I reflect on the why behind all this, 

I settle on the same thing: I am a work in progress.

Perhaps I always will be.

Maybe the stuff that always works for me involves mixing it up,

trying new things, exploring different possibilities. 

So while I envy those who get into grooves,

create their own customs, and stick to their plans,

I have to acknowledge that's just not me,

at least not yet.  

I am still a work in progress.

For now, I'll accept the path I'm on,

no matter how meandering it seems.

I'll refrain from calling myself inconsistent and undisciplined, 

nitpicking everything I don't do or do "wrong."

I am still a work in progress.