Exploring Poetry by Sandi Somers

 

First Limerick 

During my second year of teaching, I introduced limericks to my Grade Five class. We studied the rhythm and rhyme scheme. Then before asking each student to try writing one, we composed one together. Chuckles and laughter filled the classroom, and my chest filled with pride for my creative students. I’ve never forgotten it.

 

There was an old car without tires,

Who always ran over those liars.

When the liars got caught,

The car said, “O gosh!

I’ll never be sold to the buyers.” 

                            

There are times I’m inspired by poetry and spin off a well-known (to me) poem. To give a background to the poem below, my InScribe local writers’ group was practising alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and repetition, using as our model Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman” (read it here). One morning, with a sudden inspiration, I began to write my own spin off. I composed half of it in a few minutes, and the rest needed to be thought out carefully day by day. I submitted it to FellowScript, and it was published. You may have read it there. 

The Deadline

 (Apologies to Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman”)

 

The moon was a missile of motion

Sailing through starlit skies

And the shaft of light through the window

Shone as I typed through my tears

 

My mind lay bare in the moonlight—       

          Blank and bare in the moonlight

And the blood of my veins in the moonlight

Throbbed at my sweated brow

 

There was pressure at every keystroke

And cross-offs on every dark line

For I couldn’t see through my tears

The direction I should take.

 

Then softly a whisper I listened

And then I heard the Lord say

Look to me for insight

          Watch for me for insight

I’ll inspire you ‘fore midnight

And nothing can bar your way.

 

I whispered a prayer of great thanks

As I swirled words and phrases

T’was only God who had done it

Had given me words that I needed

 

My mind shone with brilliance

My thoughts flew like flickers

And this writer kept writing—

          Writing—writing

I kept writing to the dreaded deadline.

 

And now ere the stroke of midnight

Soft ere the stroke of midnight

The tip of my finger touched “Send”

The submission at last t’was complete.

 

And there you have it. Poetry brings images and vividness to life that sometimes can’t be expressed in prose. Poetry elevates our language. I might say that I was inspired to write a poem, but the psalmist began with these wonderful words: 

 

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king;

my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. 

Psalm 45:1 (NIV)

 

Sandi Somers writes mostly non-fiction, but has explored fiction, particularly historical and Biblical fiction. Most of her poetry learning has come from poets in her InScribe local writers’ group. 

Image by Tea time reading poetry

A “Thousand Daily Plots” by Sandi Somers

 

The evening sun, edging toward the horizon, nearly blinded me as I drove westward out of Calgary. The surrounding sky and clouds glowed golden. I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught sight of an apartment tower, its windows shimmering with the golden reflection.

The lovely sight reminded me that there are so many golden moments in a day we could write about. Or memorable in other ways when God reveals Himself. The grey days of rain after a drought, with blades of green grass poking through the yellowed parched lawn. The red heart emoji accompanying encouraging words from a loving friend. Or the ebony blackness of night punctuated by laser flashes of lightning.

But how can we write the whole context of the incident and shape it into a story right then and there? It seems too great a task while absorbed with life or a major writing project. We might conclude that it’s easier to let those moments slide into oblivion or become vague, distant memories.

But we can capture the impressions, perhaps in a short vignette or a paragraph. Just take a few moments while writing morning pages, or record into your cell phone, or reflect in your journal or computer document at the end of the day.

Here’s an example I wrote several weeks ago on an ebony night punctuated by those laser flashes of lightning:

I woke up last night to see flashes of lightning, brightening even my closed eyes, but I didn't hear thunder. I peeked out the windows, but with houses surrounding me, I couldn’t see where the distant storm was. It reminded me of visiting my grandma as a child. One summer evening, driving home on the country roads from visiting her friend just as dusk was falling, we watched a storm in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The silent glow of lightning illuminated the cloud, yet no thunder followed. Sheet lightning, Grandma called it. I felt secure with her. Secure that the storm was far away and would hopefully stay there. Because earlier that summer, lightning had struck our farmhouse and left me terrified of thunderstorms and lightning strikes.

These daily scenarios can arise spontaneously and capture the immediacy of the memory, with sensory images, details, and emotions that can later grow into stories or poems or become plot points of a larger work. Whatever we choose to do with our drafts, these nuggets provide great practice for encapsulating significant God-given moments that enhance our creativity.

Like the psalmist, we can declare, “Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem…for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet” (Psalm 45:1 NLT).

“Thousand daily plots”, from Ann V. Klotz, https://brevity.wordpress.com/2024/07/22/so-many-stories-in-a-day/

Image by Pixabay

My Main Incentives to Write by Wendy L. Macdonald

God’s nudges are my main incentives for showing up to write each day. My journal is my drawing board for most of my nonfiction writing. It’s where I record my faith journey—and my faith failings.   
One of my main incentives for writing is described in a verse I fell in love with while working through a Beth Moore Bible study. It encouraged me to write for a particular reader. Hints of what my brand should be have shown up at various times in my life, but this verse solidified it:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, 

because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

 to proclaim freedom for the captives

 and release from darkness for the prisoners.

 Isaiah 61:1 NIV

Each morning I choose a verse of the day from the passages of Scripture I’ve read. I don’t follow a strict reading plan. My simple read-through-the-Bible method is: Place a sticky note in the New and Old Testaments to mark where I’ve read to. Some mornings I read several chapters. Other mornings I may only read a few verses. On particularly stressful days, I skip my reading routine and dip into the Psalms for spiritual refreshment.

After choosing a verse, I record it in my journal and write a poem based on it. Later, if the poem is worthy to be shared, I edit it and schedule it and the Scripture verse on my author Facebook page with a nature picture I’ve taken. Often, an entire blog post or podcast is birthed from one of my verses of the day.

God’s Word is literally a lamp for my pen. When I show up and read it, His inspiration shows up too.

My heart is overflowing with a good theme: 

I recite my composition concerning the king;

 my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

 Psalm 45:1 NKJV

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

 because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

 and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free… 

Luke 4:18 NIV

I’m nosy-to-know what Scripture verse has been the most incentive in your writing life.

Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

The Reasons I Write - Marnie Pohlmann

A Mom struggles to overcome harmful thoughts that were hardwired into her brain during childhood trauma.

First responders search for ways to protect themselves from the cumulative stress of carrying the pain and pictures of those they have served. 

A young woman is anxious about an upcoming surgery that may remove a breast as the doctors cut out cancer.

An immigrant family who knows they are now safe cannot erase from their minds the thoughts and nightmares of the horror they have experienced.

A young woman betrayed, beaten, trafficked to be owned by others. Trapped.

A First Nations woman is stuck in the belief the past defines her and determines her present and future, unable to see any choices.

A young man grieves his life choices, his failures, and contemplates a choice to stop the pain coming from the consequences.

A teenager is confused about her identity, yet she trusts no one with her secret because they would not understand.

A believer in Christ becomes depressed; her faith seems to only condemn not comfort her in the darkness.

Each of these individuals is who I imagine being my audience, the "world" my writing could possibly influence. I am burdened with the pain and darkness these people are experiencing because I relate to them. I have been in these situations, believed these thoughts, considered these actions. Yet I have also found hope and peace through Jesus Christ who provides life amid the darkness. I still struggle but I have experienced victory in these areas before and I know I will again. Not that "I" can, but that God will walk me through the darkness and teach me new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Does my writing or speaking change the world? Honestly, I rarely get feedback on what I share except family and friends who love me and other writers who encourage me. So, I don't know. I don't hear of or see my words changing any of the people in my imaginary audience. Perhaps, although I occasionally share the words, I write only to solidify in my own ears, eyes, brain, and heart the truth of God’s redemption.

While I would like to think I can change the world through writing blogs, poetry, lyrics, magazine articles, fiction, or memoirs or by speaking my understanding of God's Word, changing others may not be the result or the purpose. I am called to write, but how that writing is used is out of my hands. That is God's department. I believe He uses anything He wants to further His Kingdom, whether a silver chalice or a chamber pot. So yes, He can use even me, even my writing, though the ink may flow in words that mention nothing of God.

Psalm 45:1 says in the Message paraphrase,

"My heart bursts its banks,

spilling beauty and goodness.

I pour it out in a poem to the king,

shaping the river into words."

(I shared a couple years ago on my blog, Phosphorescent, an essay delving into what this verse shows to a Christian writer, called "Waterfall.")

Walking with God, whether in darkness or joy, my heart bursts when I contemplate His grace to me. I then cannot help but write. My true audience is God. His love is amazing and we as Christians who write cannot express that at all adequately. Yet we must try. Yesterday at church we sang "The Love of God," a hymn expressing that truth.

Writers who are Christian, whether or not we know we are changing the world with our writing, have three reasons to continue.

To change the lives of others.

To change the life of ourselves.

To bring joy to God.

God’s Word changes hearts. Our words - written, spoken, sung, or acted out, - may be used by God to change the world. Therefore, I write.

*photos CCO license compliments of Pixabay.com

God is present. God is at work. Marnie writes.
Phosphorescent