ILLUMINATION Writing Challenge

Things Happen

Poetry favorites of the past month

Bad things happen… let’s warn the children

Jack will fall, and so will Jill, Jack will break his crown at will Miss Muffet, eating her whey in peace, Frightened away by a spider, what a tease! Humpty Dumpty falls and is splintered apart, He cannot be repaired, by science or by art

Moral of the story is this, my friend Bad things will happen, is the trend If we cannot prevent, then we must prepare Strength we will build, difficulty we will bear

Life is not for us to control, we must weather it best Do the good thing we must, and let go of the rest

I have picked 3 poems to showcase this month. The more time I spend on ILLUMINATION, the longer the list of my favorite writers grows.

Thomas Plummer’s poem on what it feels like to be an invisible man. Written with small doses of his patent sarcasm (that I really like! but he uses only judiciously), the poem really reaches out across boundaries and connects, and leaves one feeling nostalgic for time that has passed us by.

The very talented Manasi Diwakar’s poem where she takes something as commonplace as household chores and turns it into fine art. Every object in her vicinity is alive with imagination, not to mention lives and narratives of their own. A treat to read.

Terry Mansfield’s poem, a crisp response to a marriage proposal. Romance is nice, but clarity is better. Bad things happen to everyone, but one can stay away from liars at least!

Thank you for reading!