[stylist] November writing prompt on gratitude: poem

Mon Nov 12 23:50:31 UTC 2012

Thanks Robert :) I sort of put it off and put it off till about 
an hour before my coach was due to come over and have lunch with 
us (so we could thank him and catch up)
It's incredibly difficult working out how on Earth your supposed 
to put gratitude for, in my biased opinion, the most amazing swim 
coach in the world into words! I wanted whatever I wrote to be 
accessible as well so I knew I didn't want to go with an extended 
metaphor sort of approach

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:40:54 -0600
Subject: Re: [stylist] November writing prompt on gratitude: poem

Aine

I appreciate a pros poem.  I admire your guts to reveal your 
feelings - those
you felt - those you thought your coach felt - how you processed 
your read
on the coach's perspective - and your final tribute, that what 
your coach
did for you could not be expressed by words.  (Anyway, thanks for 
the poetic
journey!)

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Aine
Kelly-Costello
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 2:07 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] November writing prompt on gratitude: poem

OK, I was debating whether to post this or not as it's sort of...
personal, I guess, but it seems like everyone is pretty friendly 
here so I
may as well give it a go.  :) It was a poem I wrote for my swim 
coach a
couple weeks ago.  I'm retiring from the sport, after going to 
the
Paralympics earlier this year.  Without going into great detail, 
we could
say London didn't go as well as I'd have liked.  At least in my 
main event
(100 back) I did come 6th, but not quite in a personal best time.  
Anyway,
it's pasted below and attached.

?

Look

You watched as thousands of tiny floppy forms learned To 
coordinate their
arms and legs and fingers and toes Endlessly, as they earned 
Titles of
tadpole and dolphin and shark.
You encouraged hundreds of them.

You watched as two of the sparks of life you love Slowly 
surpassed the work
ethic expectations of their peers To become multiple record 
breakers, they
learned fast To refine their own art and teach others.
You were always there for both of them.

You watched as you were handed down
Three athletes with a "disability", and as we Insisted on 
attempting to
prove our aquatic agility To anyone who might listen.
You always listened to all of us.

You watched as my hand touched the wall, the abrupt end To the 
main race of
my career, with me Not wanting to settle for 6th best And admit 
defeat, nor
celebrate success.
You comforted me through all that fuss.

I wish you hadn't watched
As the final event I'd ever do
Left everything good for the next time that wouldn't eventuate, I 
felt like
I let the whole world down and somehow All you said was not to 
talk about
it.
I couldn't grasp how anyone could say that And not be ready to 
kill, so I
asked and found out I'd upset you more for thinking you'd be 
forever mad.
Now I know You'd forgive me even that.

You have no choice but to watch
As I read you this poem, and I realise
I've thought of 5 full stanzas, but have yet To work out how to 
thank you;
you're one of a few I can never repay.  To my relief though, I 
did at least
surmise You'd have forgotten the debt, anyway.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net
To: "Stylist" <stylist at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 6 Nov 2012 08:35:55 -0500
Subject: [stylist] November writing prompt

Hello, fellow writers.  Sorry about the delay, but we lost power 
and cable
(hence no telephone) and heat during the storm, and didn't get it 
back until
yesterday, seven days later.  And, just in the nick of time, 
since it's 22
degrees out right now.  We had some limbs and trees down, and 2 
phone poles
snapped in half on my street, but compared to many people, we got 
off
relatively easy.  Which brings me to this month's writing prompt.

I think an appropriate theme for this prompt is 'gratitude'.  We 
all have
much to be grateful for, and I'd like you to write a poem, essay, 
memoir
piece or short story with the idea of gratitude in mind.  Any 
length, any
style--I urge you to be creative.  For instance, I might write 
about a town
called Gratitude, North Dakota...

This is not meant to be a race.  If the muse hits and you hammer 
out
something today, that's great.  But, if you are like me, it may 
take a week
or two to write something, and then another week to edit and 
revise it.
Part of the reason to do a prompt is to get your creative juices 
flowing,
but also to practice your craft.  Post your responses by December 
first,
although if you need a few extra days you won't be penalized.

Finally, as people post their work, I urge everyone to read them 
and give
constructive feedback.  We all want to be supportive, naturally, 
but I hope
we also want to grow and improve as writers.  This happens in 
several ways,
firstly by writing, but also by reading with a writer's mindset, 
always
thinking--what works in this piece, and what doesn't? You will be 
amazed at
how analyzing others writing improves your own.  But, I also 
caution you to
look at the writing, and not the opinions expressed.  For 
example, if
someone writes that Sarah Palin should really be president today, 
I disagree
with the sentiment, but my feedback should only relate to the 
writing.  Look
for pacing, point of view, tense shifts, run-on sentences, clunky 
sentences
or phrases, and so on.  And of course, mention the things you 
liked about a
piece--great imagery, solid dialogue, awesome symbolism, etc.

Good luck, and again, it's a broad theme and there's no right or 
wrong way
to approach it.  The most important thing is to write something.

chris

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