Ekphrastic poetry prompt
My Heart is Singing
#BreakTheBias, the sands of time are upon us
‘Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.’ Emory Austin (source)
Hello to our dear Paper Poetry friends,
Another week has passed in this oftentimes crazy world we find ourselves in. I hope you have successfully negotiated your way through it and had moments to reflect on and celebrate the joyful.
Indeed, I hope you have paused to hear the song that sings in your heart. Even in the most stressful and challenging times, there is always something to sing about. In fact, that is when our singing hearts are doing their best work to restore the status quo.
Restoring the status quo — or rather, establishing equality to #BreakTheBias — was the theme for International Women’s Day on March 8th. March is also Women’s History Month when we acknowledge the significant achievements made by women in current and bygone times.
The role of women and girls in society, their accomplishments, and the hardships they experience, often in circumstances not of their doing, are as relevant now as they have been through all of history. Emory Austin’s quote speaks to those women and girls. Let us all stop for a moment and think of them. Let us encourage them to rise above what holds them back, to hear the song in their hearts, and to strive to be the best version of themselves.
Let’s sing for them with all our hearts.
And while we’re singing, let’s sing the praises of those who whipped up a microstorm for our Week 7 prompt: sand, storm. Actually, let’s do more than sing — let’s get in there with reads, claps, and the whole shebang! 😊
Here we go –
🌟 Storm Clears to Welcome Night by Raine Lore 🌟 A Grain of Sand by Carolyn Hastings 🌟 Springtime Blues by Dana Sanford 🌟 Facing the Storm by Megan Nicole Morgan 🌟 Promises by Setraj Jahan 🌟 Blasted by Wry Welwood 🌟 A Jewel of Time by Indubala Kachhawa 🌟 Funambulist by Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar 🌟 Safety by Dr. Fatima Imam 🌟 Engraved by Dr. Fatima Imam 🌟 Kintsugi by Thalia Dunn
🙏 Thank you and tra-la! to our contributing writers — Raine, Dana, Megan, Setraj, Wry, Indubala, Monoreena, Fatima (x2), Thalia, and yours truly! 🌟
Now, let’s keep singing as we check out the new prompt!
✨ Poetry Prompt Week 8 ✨
You’re probably way ahead of me on the prompt — it’s not as if I haven’t given you enough hints already! Tra-la!, this week’s prompt is -
A heart-shaped wall art prompt
Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to write an ekphrastic poem using the heart-shaped wall hanging in the image at the top of this post to spark your thoughts and inspire your words.
A dear friend of mine gifted me the wall decoration a few years ago. To be honest, I’m not really the kitschy kind who’s into love hearts and rainbows, but her gift, excuse the pun, came from the heart and its message was abundantly clear. So, it has been afforded a special place of its own — at the end of the hallway where I can see it every time I go to that end of my house.
Prompt details
Type: Ekphrastic
Form: your choice of poetry
Theme: your choice but it must relate in some way to the wooden cut-out wall art in the banner image (please don’t write about Paper Poetry’s logo!)
Line limit: maximum 40 lines
Title/subtitle/kicker: your choice but should relate to the prompt in some way
Tags: please use ‘W8 Prompt’ and ‘Ekphrastic’ tags when submitting your poem
Image: one image only
Please note: your image must incorporate a handwritten/handcrafted element in either paper or digital format in accordance with Paper Poetry’s submission guidelines.
For example, a handwritten portion of the poem, a decorative title, an illustrated version of the wall art prompt. You are welcome to take a screenshot of the wall art image and incorporate it into your own graphic design.
Extensions: Feel free to include a promotional link to this prompt and invite (handle tag) other writers to join the prompt. Our weekly prompts are all about showcasing your poetry, so we kindly ask that you refrain from adding explanatory notes, backstories, etc. that expand upon your poem.
Submission period: Saturday, March 12 (UTC-10hrs, the Cook Islands 12:00am) — closing Friday, March 18 (UTC-10hrs, Cook Islands 11:59 pm)
New writers are most welcome to participate in the prompt. In the comments below, please request to be added as a writer and include your Medium @ handle; or email us at [email protected]
The next weekly poetry prompt announcement will be on Saturday, March 19 (UTC-10hrs, Cook Islands 12:00am)
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Let’s hear your hearts sing. 💞
