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creative writing prompt number 10.

for this prompt, you’ll come up with a poem about an object that describes you. first, choose an object. next, list down the reasons you think the object you chose represents you. from your list of reasons, which one is the most powerful? which one conveys the strongest image of you? once you’ve chosen your main image, list down things that support this main image. build your poem from there.

reaching new shores

then a familiar one, all on its own

a vow made, and never violated

where is that music coming from?

it will not stop giving

reveling in its lack of order

has no time for rules

pauses from time to time, listening to the sounds of the new

will meet other people, see foreign places, do different things

returns, re-energizes, then re-voyages

contains itself as needed

surprisingly durable, for its unremarkable appearance

knows of its whole, taking on that shape when all is done

has been homesick, lovesick, tempted, and starved

mastered one of its many fears

on a quest to help others grow

while appearing to abuse oneself in frivolity

perpetual motion

to where, to what, or why, it does not know (most of the time)

but knows that no law has right to bind and fetter it

will listen just because

there is quiet, there is strength

there is resolve to continue, unwavering

easing itself beyond those occasional discomforts

a single loop

///

this past weekend was the baltimore book festival. i wonder what it would take for us to acquire a table; the radical book fair table was $225, so i heard. we could easily put together some of our books, or maybe design some more stickers. although the artwork isn’t coming out so much anymore, there is some writing (thanks to me) we can release. it wouldn’t take much to create some more illustrations for it, and intersperse them with verses or writings. ten weeks later, and i’m still going strong (well, going, anyway).

Tags: personal, poetry, taoism, writing by editor
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i remember mentioning to a roommate last night a few assessments i’d made of the pre-presidential debates, and how i did not intend to watch them (though i’d been invited to hang out with some friends and do so).

and people wonder how i can avoid television. indeed, i run from it.

Tags: economy, personal, politics by editor
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from creative writing prompts. i will continue to do these at least once a week, typically on mondays.

describe how you feel right now using your sense of smell. If you feel frustrated, write about what your frustration smells like. use vivid words. don’t skimp on adjectives.

it’s rather unfortunate that i selected this writing tonight, because i feel pretty much like the aroma of a slab of butter that’s been sitting out since yesterday’s breakfast, when your housemate forgot to put it away. you sit close to it, and that oily, raspy scent hits your nostrils and you know something’s not right about it. it scrapes against the roof of your nostrils.

i feel like the scent of cold home-made mashed potatoes; the kind that have the inexplicable, marble-like lumps of potato starch nestled in them. eating them is like tasting a lump of wax that doesn’t melt or stick to your teeth; it simply works its way down your throat into your gullet, terribly dissatisfying. cloying, waxy, and unpleasant.

i belched earlier this evening, and it tasted of carrots. that’s what i feel like: a carrot belch. “old carrots,” i said to myself at the time. on the one hand, it was satisfying, but on the other, i realized my stomach was rebelling in some way. “jackass,” it was saying to me.

but the truth is that it’s not like the carrots were old, or rotten, or mushy, or overdone, or anything like that. in fact, the carrots were raw. but i feel like the consequences of over-eating. even vegans can over-eat. i did eat too much today, and i feel a bit like an over-toasted pita that someone has sprinkled liberally with water in an attempt to make it somewhat appetizing again. the yeasty smell of the bread becomes too yeasty for you to remain comfortable in any space you can still detect that aroma. you even leave the room and reconsider the notion of avoiding it for the rest of the day, since you know that smell is in there.

i feel like an early autumn day, but it has been unusually humid, and doesn’t have the tang of leaves to make it in any way remarkable during this, the best season of the year.

[for the record, this particular exercise makes me feel like a drama queen. i have a friend who talks like this, and that friend can be rather annoying because they don’t shut up, ever.]

Tags: personal, writing by editor
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it’s a few days early, but i’m in the mood. creative writing prompt taken from the website of the same name.

make a list of 40 things that happened to you this month. they can be funny, embarrassing, happy, or infuriating. then pick one from your list and write about it.

i didn’t bother coming up with a list of 40 things; rather, i feel like writing about one of the things that happened earlier this evening, during band rehearsal.

on tuesday, at the first band rehearsal this week, i’d not seen my friend’s wife at all until later in the evening. as we rehearse in their house, on occasion she will come downstairs from their room to hang out on the couch and listen to our music, or just in general absorb the vibe from rehearsal. she was absent that particular evening when rehearsal convened.

it was closer to the end of rehearsal when i noticed that one of the mobile phones sitting on the living room table rang; i noticed on the screen it said “mom,” and i immediately assumed that it was one of the married couples’ phones for some reason. the mobile phone remained unanswered. sure enough, just after the mobile phone stopped ringing, the house phone began to ring. the husband of the couple picked up the phone, and then went upstairs. rehearsal was winding up at the time, and as i was preparing to leave, the husband and wife both came downstairs. the wife was clearly shaken, and had the look about her as if she’d been recently weeping. to be honest, the situation made me somewhat uncomfortable, and i resolved to leave posthaste. the wife returned upstairs, and curiously enough, the husband mentioned he was to pick up one of the family cats from the veterinarian; he snatched up one of the carriers and left the house before any of the rest of us had.

i returned to their home the following thursday, our next scheduled practice. things went as per usual. as we waited for all the band members to arrive, i noticed that one of the cats–the one the husband picked up the tuesday before–was crashed out on the couch next to the wife. i later had a chance to sit next to the cat, and it was then that i noticed the little fellow had a shaven section of one of his front legs. he had in fact, as i learned through inquiry to the wife, suffered from a horrendous fever a couple days ago. the wife was clearly distressed during the previous rehearsal, and it was because the cat was suffering to the point that the veterinarian felt it appropriate to place the cat in a ‘chilled room’, equivalent to a person taking an ice bath, to lessen the fever. the cat had returned home, simply resting after his ordeal with the fever and the veterinarian’s ministrations.

as i learned all this, upon the wife’s retelling, i gently stroked and petted the cat, who truly seemed bushed. i learned that the shaven section of one of his legs was where an i.v. drip was inserted, and the cat also had a shaven area between his front legs where bloodwork was drawn.

i left the cat be for a moment, but before rehearsal came to begin i wandered about the house once again. when i returned to the living room, i saw the same cat, wary and near unconscious as before, laying on the floor. he was completely stretched out; all four limbs were extended from his body. while many times i see that cat laying on the floor it’s because he’s clearly reclining in leisure, it was clear that he was simply resting from his ordeal. upon witnessing this, i immediately lay down next to him.

i miss living with a cat; this cat in particular is rather pudgy, and it’s always great to play with him: rolling him on his back so that he lays like some grey-furred turtle, eventually lolling one way or the other to regain mobility. but this particular occasion, he wasn’t rolling about at all, definitely not in the mood for playing. i lay on the hardwood floor, sidling up next to him, and began petting. i’d lightly assure him: “it’s okay…it’s all right.”

far from protesting, the cat welcomed the careful petting. stretching out like he would when normally relaxing, he raised his chin, exposing his neck. as i pet the cat, i saw the wide expanse of his shaved breast. looking across the room, i saw the wife, a pained expression on her face. one of her children was recovering from an inexplicable malady, and i was grateful for the chance to offer him relief.

Tags: personal, writing by editor
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garnered from the creative writing prompts website.

i’m in high spirits today. the workday wasn’t so demanding today; we acquired a bunch of great vegetables from the c.s.a. today; i took myself out to see an amusing film by writer/director preston sturges with a friend of mine; i made some major headway on a personal software project; the band has a show this coming weekend with a bizarre assortment of spraypainted cardboard boxes as a drummer (pictures forthcoming); progress has been made in the new project for the arts collective; the woman i’m dating called earlier this evening, and i helped her relax by guiding her imagination to a tranquil, relaxing scene.

Tags: writing by editor
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here’s the band’s press blurb for the baltimore music conference.  we perform in a prime slot of the saturday night lineup at fletcher’s here in baltimore.

The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad was originally the name given to the recordings of singer/grocer Nikc Miller. Recorded in the shed and basement of his parent’s home in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the home-recorded Shitfever! (2004) was mostly songs about food and girls and was recorded during a perpetual 2-month nutmeg binge. The album garnered enough local attention to demand live performances.

By 2005, Nikc Miller began performing locally with friends in order to support the release of “Hugburn!” a hand-distributed CD-R collection of leftovers and new songs.

In 2006, the band began recording their first effort as a full band. “Die Humpin!” (2007), marks the triumphant return of a band that never was. Leaving the 4-track and synthesized beats behind, “Die Humpin!” is as much a debut as it is a coming-of-age for a band that mostly happened by mistake.

2007 was a huge year for The Flute Squad, beginning with a run of extremely successful shows in Baltimore, including opening for national act World/Inferno Friendship Society. “Die Humpin!” received radio play on WTMD, and the band was also interviewed twice on 98Rock. But the highlight came when they were selected as one of the top 60 bands in the US (out of more than 7000) to appear on “The Next Great American Band”, from the producers of American Idol. The Squad were flown to Vegas for a whirlwind all-expenses paid trip where they performed in front of judges Sheila E, Johnny Rzeznik, and Ian “Dicko” Dickson. After their appearance on the first episode of the show, the band became the darlings of the Vote For the Worst crew (www.votefortheworst.com), and also saw over 15,000 hits on their Next Great American Band YouTube videos.

The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad is currently hard at work on their follow-up album to Die “Humpin!”, which promises to be even more outrageous and over-produced than it’s predecessor.

Tags: dmfs, music, pranks by editor
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a creative writing prompt from www.creativewritingprompts.com

List down all the clichés you can think of, then choose one you’re most familiar with, or the one that strikes your fancy. Make that the first line of your poem. You can take the cliché literally or figuratively.

i’d buy that for a dollar

but I know you wouldn’t

there’s too much that separates us,

the way we look at things

the way we look at money

at times i feel as though i’m from another planet

one with nothing of value

there, you will find no commerce

no precious metals

no economy

or rather,

there’s plenty economy because there’s none of it to speak of

no federal reserve

no treasury bonds

no promises of future wealth

no saving, no scrimping

no defaults

no bankruptcy

no precious metals

no economy

no payday

i’d buy that for a dollar

but you say it’s a waste of time

because there’s no money in it

///

EDIT: a slightly edited version of this poem was entered in the baltimore city paper poetry contest 2008.

Tags: contest entry, poetry, writing by editor
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i wrote a letter to a prisoner today. it was my first ever. depending on how frequently this happens, i intend on writing back to all the letters we receive here at the day job. i also want to look into ‘prisoner pen pal’ initiatives.

3 September, 2008

Dear ___—

Thank you for writing! I’m always happy to help in answering questions and helping people make their way to the next level once they’re out of prison…and just as importantly: stay out of prison after release.

You mentioned you’re looking to obtain your CDL license through a grant, and that you want to—of course—be hired once you’re back outside. You didn’t mention how long you’ll be incarcerated, but a good habit to follow is to BE EDUCATED. Check out your prison library or career center on ways to learn more marketable skills while you’re waiting for release. If you don’t have your GED, or if you want to pick up some college courses and business skills, follow up with the educators in your prison on the options available to you.

Why bother with education? Because it gives you more opportunities outside, plain and simple. The more you can offer an employer, the more reason they’ll want to hire you. Find a field of work that you like—such as driving, if you’re interested in pursuing your CDL license—and find out what sort of complimentary skills can make you even more effective at the job you’ll be seeking once you’re out. And the best thing about it is that once you have an education, you can’t lose it. Just keep practicing your skills—on or off the job—and they’ll stick with you for the rest of your life.

Another great thing about spending time in prison being educated is that you have a great response to any employer who asks, “Well, what did you do while you were in prison?” You can come right back and say: “I earned my GED, I picked up more occupational skills, I learned how to use a computer and type 30 words a minute,” and so on. That will go a long way towards impressing an employer.

One last thing: stay clear of drugs. Most employers will follow the same two steps when considering someone they want to hire: a background check and a drug test. You may not be able to change anything of your past, but in terms of your present life, remember that any time you use drugs, you push yourself that much further away from a job. I’ve seen a lot of people not be hired or even lose their jobs because the laboratory detected some sort of illegal substance during a drug test. Even though they’re pretty much everywhere, I recommend you do your best to stay away from drugs. They’re bad news…Especially for someone who may already have the odds stacked against them because of their criminal background.

I’ve included some materials about our workshops and what we do here with our clients at [the day job]. I’m happy to have received your letter, and am always willing to answer questions. Feel free to write to me again, and let your companions and cellmates know that we invite you to write to us if they have any questions or need advice.

Take care, and keep moving forward, ___. You will succeed!

Tags: cops, politics, writing by editor
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this prompt acquired from the creative writing prompts website. more than 300 suggestions for writing projects and exercises can be found there. just like this one:

pick a poem you like. take the last line and use it as the first line of your own poem.

cloud roads are in space
why wait for perfection?
do it now
do what you love
no one will know you are wrong
when you fall short of such paths
for space is too far for us to notice
unless we can all focus on the same star
so have no fear

///

(the poem is done; the first line was from a poem by cold mountain. unfortunately my first choice was going to be from the tao te ching, but i misplaced the copy i wanted to use)

i fell off my bike this week, just yesterday. after consultation with the emergency room staff at a local hospital, it turns out that my wrist isn’t broken, but my elbow is quite swollen and just may be broken. the most important phone call for tomorrow is to the orthopod recommended by the e.r. staff yesterday evening.

my bike is broken at the moment, also caused when i fell. the front fork is bent askew from the handlebars. In a couple weeks, intend to try fixing it. maybe it’s time for me to sell this one, tune up the bike i purchased at the beach, sell that, then buy a quality road bike that’s better designed than my current $99 special.

my old nintendo needs to be sold off as well.

it seems more difficult to write when one’s arm is in a partial cast.

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