PAPER POETRY FEBRUARY(2024) PROMPT
Contrasting Thoughts on Love, this Valentine
Love is in the air or in _________
Again the month of February is here I feel love is in the air!
When the waft of air cross the peak the puff of wind over the sea blow my hair and touch my soul I feel love is in the breeze!
When the cool wind tickles the flowers The petals blush and blossom unawares Their fragrance spread far and near I smell love in the air
A nostalgia, or a deja vu A bond of love unknown, unseen Harks a message in this February air Feel Believe Love is in the air
Is love surely in the air?
Do you feel love in the air? OR, in the bin?
Do you feel the burden of love, the pain and suffering it begets — is that what’s in the air?
It is said that when a river is about to enter the mighty ocean, it trembles with fear, at exactly the point where it is destined to meet and be ONE with its whole; it quivers and doubts itself if the long journey taken for this one moment to merge and be ONE with the ocean was worth it. Is it truly love if it feels the whole burden of love on its shoulders, the fear of losing its freedom, its identity, its whole being until now?
But soon, enticed by the longing of love to merge with the ocean, it lets go of all the fear, and frees itself of all the burden and pain, and with all its might merges with the ocean. And then there is no river, but ONE Whole, an accomplished love.
Paper Poetry’s February prompt is on the same theme.
But before exploring that, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the wonderful poems by some great poets in our January 2024 edition
January Prompt Submissions
Track A
💁Sometimes It Is Hard To Tell When It Is Time To Change ~ Shereen Bingham 💁Finally ~ Toni Crowe 💁If She Existed ~ Jim Dutton 💁On Her Birthday ~ Alebrije Poético 💁Inizio, Beginning ~ Cristina Cattai 💁Tangled in Time ~ Emily Gibson 💁Trust and Toast to the New Beginnings ~ Indubala Kachhawa
Track B
💁Duality’s Trial: Democracy and Autocracy ~ Sherry Atkinson 💁Balance ~ Toni Crowe 💁Beginning of the Ending ~ Sherry Atkinson 💁Circles ~ Indubala Kachhawa
Thank you everyone for welcoming and exploring the January Prompt with a twist. Each is unique in its own perspective. We value the diversity of poetic form, style, and thought, and respect each view and frame of reference.
Please take a moment to relish these delicacies before we move on to our next exciting prompt.
February 2024 prompt
In January 2024, we started a new prompt structure to accommodate a wider spectrum of emotions on a single prompt.
The idea was to respect the diversity of thought and be more inclusive; to reiterate, we value the diversity of thought and respect each view and frame of reference.
The structure as discussed here is to propose a prompt and open it up for-:
a) Track A- for the motion- if your ideas relate to the prompt and you feel a cohesive connection to the prompt, go for this track.
b) Track B- against the motion — Feeling different is ok and you do not have to conform. If you feel you have an opposing/contrasting perspective to the prompt, go for this track.
The tag and kicker will be set accordingly.
Prompt Details
The prompt is -
a) Track A- “One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love” ~ Sophocles
b) Track B — “Love is the heaviest burden for those who feel it most.” ~ Mark Antony
Love is a very simple word, simple emotion, and yet so subtle.
It makes the world go round and yet can freeze one in time and space, subconsciously
There could be contrasting perspectives. We are offering that when you write on a track based on your perspective, close your eyes and listen to your subconscious. Talk to the universe and let it talk back to you and convey your deepest thoughts to you.
A few ideas to guide you for track A —
❤️When you think of love or a loved one, a soulmate, an ethereal connection, you feel as if there is no pain in life.
❤️Love wipes off all the pain and gives a new dimension to life, then go for this prompt.
❤️Whatever happens, you feel Love is in the air.
❤️You feel Love conquers All
❤️Love is worship and you feel an ethereal bond, come what may
❤️You feel love is in the air
A few ideas to guide you for track B —
🤐You feel love is in the bin
🤐If you shudder and say, “it’s complicated”. When you feel all the suffering is because of the complexities of love.
🤐If you feel love is a mystery and the more you try to solve it, the more you suffer and feel the burden of it.
🤐If being in love, feels like navigating through the complexities of human emotions.
🤐You feel you are better off without this emotion and not cut out for any mushy mushy love story
🤐You think there are more important matters in the world to deal with than letting the tiny heart lead you astray.
Trust us, we are not judging.
All thoughts are welcome. The whole idea of the contrasting prompt is to provide an open platform where everyone is free to express freely and passionately, and of course on Paper, because words on Paper, still matter.
Form: any form of poetry as long as it has an element of Love- pain /freedom/liberation/joy/spiritual connection, somewhere in the body of the poem.
Theme: your choice
Word limit: minimum 10 words
Line limit: minimum 3 lines
Kicker: please use ‘February 2024 Paper Poetry’ as the kicker; your choice of title and subtitle
Tags: please use ‘Love Track A’ or ‘Love Track B’ tag when submitting your poem.
Images: maximum two images 👉 At least one of your images must incorporate a handwritten/handcrafted element in either paper or digital format in accordance with Paper Poetry’s submission guidelines. Suggestions: a handwritten segment of your story, a decorative title, 👉an illustration is welcome, however we ask for handwritten note/s 👉AI-generated images are acceptable providing you include your source link as evidence in the caption or explain how the image was derived. Please refer to Paper Poetry’s homepage for more examples.
Extensions: please include a promotional link to this prompt and invite (@ handle tag) up to five other writers to join the prompt.
Submission period: Thursday, February 1 (UTC-10hrs, Cook Islands 12:00am) — Thursday, February 29 (UTC-10hrs, Cook Islands 11:59 pm)
We welcome new writers to join the prompt. Please leave a comment requesting to be added as a writer and include your Medium @ handle; or email us at [email protected]
Feeling the love in the air,
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