Weds Poetry Prompt: ‘Like the Wind’

This week’s prompt: Write an ‘exploration’ poem

‘Like the Wind’

I could wander for days
In deep forest glades,
Hunting for trinkets
And long hidden secrets,
Getting lost in nature’s reverie
Until falling tired and heavy
By the weight of humanity.

If only I could be like the wind
And glide as long as I wished
Through the world without a care
With steps as light as air,
For this I do hopelessly implore
Because there is so much more
Than bodies could hope to explore.

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a

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Weds Poetry Prompt: ‘Have Your Say (Our Way)’

This week’s prompt: Write a ‘survey’ poem

‘Have Your Say (Our Way’)

We know your inbox
Is probably a very busy place
So just sending a quick follow-up
A gentle little reminder
That your (likely reluctant) feedback
About your recent ‘Support Experience’™
Is very, very important to us
And will certainly not be filed under
‘Negative comments we don’t care about
One way or the other’!

It will only take two minutes, honest
A miniscule part of your day
To keep our pestering at bay
And to keep things pure and simple
You only need select from a sliding scale
Of ‘extremely worthwhile and helpful’
To ‘completely and utterly terrible’!

We wouldn’t want to complicate
Or take any precious time away
By leaving you a blank space
To write your own thoughts, of course
Just trust in the immense power
Of the innocuous numbers provided
And we will try our very best
To take your response on board-
Your satisfaction is our reward!
But in the case of vexed frustration
We can simply only apologise
And hide timidly behind
The tired old company line.

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a

Weds Poetry Prompt: ‘The Sunset Men’

This week’s prompt: Write a ‘set’ poem

‘The Sunset Men’

They live for the sunsets,
The walk to happier days
With dreams finally met
In the bask of pink-orange rays.

It glistens in their mind’s eye,
Redemption in reddish cloud,
A light after the secrets and lies
They dare not speak aloud.

It will be their perfect ending
After enduring the heavy rain
And a new rosier beginning
Free from their past shame.

But the sunset men must wait
And not be blinded by faith alone,
Work is needed for a clean slate
And time the key to truly atone.

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a

Weds Poetry Prompt: ‘Pieces of Mind’

This week’s prompt: Write a ‘picking up’ poem

‘Pieces of Mind’

I’m picking up the pieces,
Things I’ve let slide
Into the gaping cracks
Of this fractured life –
Faces I’ve foolishly cast aside,
Allies I’ve coldly ignored –
I attempt now to retrieve them
From the shadows of time
As well as the love for myself
I thought I was unworthy of,
I hunt on my hands and knees
For each little scattered piece,
The picture persisting in my head,
That will only be whole again
If I forgive my fretting mind
For nearly leaving it behind.

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a

2018 Nov PAD Challenge – Next Steps

So once again we came to end of another November PAD Chapbook Challenge, set by the good folks at Writer’s Digest. This was my fourth year taking part, and it always proves an interesting challenge writing a poem every day for a month. I will also be looking into submitting my resulting chapbooks from previous years for publication – wish me luck!

So, inevitably now must come the next steps. Now comes the slightly tougher part of revision and choosing which poems will make the cut, as only 10-20 page submissions will be accepted. I felt like I created a lot of ‘characters’ this year, so this may play a part in determining a theme, and which poems to include. ..

As the deadline is in January, I will be spending a lot of December armed with my trusty red pen for revising and deliberating which poems to include, and in what order.

At any rate, here is the full list of poems that I wrote for the challenge this year, with links. Expect a follow up post in the near future of the final list of which ones make it into the chapbook. Let me know if you had any particular favourites 😉

1. ‘The Little Things’
2. ‘The Darkest Hour’
3. ‘Tired of Trying to Please Everyone’
4. ‘Apologies for my Anxiety’
5. ‘Secret Eyes’
6. ‘After 30 (or Possibly Before)’
7. ‘Estelle the Ethical Hacker’
8. ‘The Long Game’
9. ‘Burn the Words’
10. ‘Reparations for my Teenage Self’
11. ‘Forgive Yourself First’
12. ‘Master of Supposed Disaster’
13. ‘The Writer’s Voice’
14. ‘The Very Hungry Conspirator’
15. ‘The Anti-Hero’
16. ‘The Man in the Ironic Mask’
17. ‘The Agony of Time’
18. ‘Surprise Eggs’
19. ‘The Man of Many Lives’
20. ‘Its Own Reward’
21. ‘The Inner Fight’
22. ‘The Simple Act of Praise’
23. ‘I Can’t Do It Today’
24. ‘Days of Salty Air’
25. ‘Behind Those Stony Eyes’
26. ‘The Covert Dreamer’
27. ‘Ol’ Shakey Steve’
28. ‘Not in the Mood’
29. ‘The Little Things (Pantoum Remix)’
30. ‘One More Poem’

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a

2018 Nov PAD Chapbook Challenge Day 30- ‘One More Poem’

Day 30’s prompt: Take the phrase “One More (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.

So here we are again at the end for another year. I decided to use this prompt to write a reflective/meta poem on how this month has really helped me find the motivation to write again – even if some words were hurriedly scribbled during lunchbreaks or in the evenings when I probably should have been in bed – it was all worth it. So I leave you with these final words for the month…enjoy…

‘One More Poem’

Have I got another one in me
After thirty days of thinking
Of words wrapped in poignancy
And careful rhythm and timing?

It’s been a little bit tiring
After the toiling hours of the day
When I’d be rather be writing,
Waiting till night to finally create.

But it’s revived the writer within
After months of miserable excuses
And faith in my ability waning,
Lighting the spark so dim and elusive.

So here’s to these final lines
Of a grand and epic trial indeed,
The Red Pen will ruthlessly revise in time
But for now I am breaking free.

Last year’s prompt for Day 30: ‘The Good Old Days’

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a

2018 Nov PAD Chapbook Challenge Day 29- ‘The Little Things (Pantoum Remix)’

Day 29’s prompt: Write a ‘remix’ poem.

The page itself elaborates this should entail taking one of your poems from earlier in the month and ‘remixing’ it, whether it be writing it in a different form if you did it in free verse, or just making small changes to it. I decided I’d be up for a bit of a challenge and attempted to remix Day 1’s poem in the form of a pantoum. I’ll leave it up to you how well it turned out…but always find these interesting to attempt…

‘The Little Things (Pantoum Remix)’

Little things bring greater joy
Warming smiles burn brightly
Precious days to enjoy
As tiny feet dance lightly.

Warming smiles burn brightly
Laughter rings in the air
As tiny feet dance lightly
Contented and without a care.

Laughter rings in the air
The lonely cry no longer
Contented and without a care
Even in the throes of winter.

The lonely cry no longer
Precious days to enjoy
Even in the throes of winter
Little things bring greater joy.

Last year’s poem for Day 29: ‘New You, Before a New Day’

Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!

Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awakening-Selection-Poems-Stuart-Peacock/dp/1911476335

eBook-: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017BZBH6M</a