NaPoWriMo 2018 - Day 5

April 5th

Today's prompt is an interesting one. It almost sounds like a writing assignment. It boils down thusly:

1. Find a picture.
2. Find a poem in an unfamiliar language.
3. "Translate" the poem into English (or your native tongue) as though the poem is about the picture.


The picture I chose to use was one I took at a state park today. I was trying to take a picture of the honeybee, but my phone focused on the background instead. The poem I used for inspiration is by Ann Jaderlund and was in Swedish; you can find the original and its translation here. I chose a language I know nothing about so that I wouldn't be trying to literally translate the poem, although I must admit I saw the name of the poem in English and that could be why I was drawn to it.

Bees are drawn to flowers and I am drawn to bees
The bee gets nectar and pollen from the flower
On these things it feeds.
Even bees need water.
I need water too.
Are there more things in commons than these?
Does the bee watch me similarly?
The bee hums to another flower.
Unaware of the bee and me
The river rushes 
on.









I'm not sure how much inspiration I really took from the original poem, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Happy writing

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2018 - Day 4

April 4th

Essentially today's prompt boils down to this: Discuss the abstract with concrete nouns. You really should check out the post at NaPoWriMo.net today (linked in the date above). I love Maureen's example (go read it, I'll wait).

Also, you should read the craft resource that inspired today's prompt. It's an essay by a poetry professor that contains the advice "put a dog in it." I find this advice a bit ironic as my Day 2 poem prominently featured my dog.

I think I tend to write fairly concretely, but the idea of writing about something abstract concretely threw me for a loop. It took me awhile, but a subject came to me while I was reading Julie Wade's essay (the one I mentioned above; I'll just link to it here; even though you can get to it from the NaPoWriMo page).

I apologize that my poem is (in my opinion) a bit long. If you would prefer something shorter, I have written a concise poem to the same prompt; just scroll all the way to the end.

Please do comment on today's post or any of my previous (and future) posts. I love the community this project creates. Feel free to link to your poetry blogs - I love reading others' works.



I was afraid to work in my hometown
Because I was afraid of what 'they' would say.
Former teachers, friends, acquaintances, their parents.
I could imagine myself waitressing
They would smile at me
And as I would walk away they would shake their heads and say
"She was so smart. She had such promise. What happened?"
I could imagine them speculating
Un-true realities.
Un-fulfilled promise - that's me.
Like seeds you plant
In perfect soil that you bought from the Tractor Supply store
The kind that leaves your hands black and a bit musty smelling
And you made sure it was in a spot that wouldn't get too much sun
Or shade
And you carefully watered it
Fertilized it too
And, at first,
That little plant grew.
It poked its little green head from the soil
Full of promise of the beautiful flowers to come.
It stretched out its green dicotyledons
But then, for unknown reasons, it withered and died.
That's me, promise unfulfilled.

So instead, I chose to work thirty minutes away
In retail.
Yes, retail.
A store that is open practically every day.
I never imagined it would be this way.





And another briefer bonus poem for today's prompt:

Unrequited love
Is rather like a letter
Sent and returned unopened
Stamped: "Return to Sender."

I feel a bit morose now; I hope today brings you happier poems.

-Sharon

NaPoWriMo Day 3

April 3rd

Today's prompt is a bit of an odd one. To write a poem that is a list of made up band names. So here goes . . .


Escape the Rooster
Let the Puppies Run Free
The Blind Cat
A Bit Crazy
The Yard
Overrun by Poison Ivy
Indecisive
My Middle Name
Five Angry Dads
Catheters Make Wee
Sleeping on the Couch
No TV for Me.

Welll that was weird,

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2018 - Day 2

April 2nd

Me:
I pull on my shoes,
I ruffle my dog's fluffy head.
"You wanna go outside, boy?"
He launches off the bed.
I've barely clipped his leash
When he pulls me out the door
His glee seems as though we've never done this before
He smells every flower
He checks each blade of grass
He investigates the dogs
And leaves a mark here or there.
"C'mon, let's go."
I gently tug on the leash.
We return home.
He bounds onto the couch.
I catch a glimpse of him as I head out the door:
Head resting on feet, he looks quite forlorn.

Dog:

She finally wakes up

I watch her change her fur

She doesn't notice as I wag my tail.

But she rubs my head

And I wag my tail some more.

She stands up and walks toward the door,

My ears perk up as I hear that sweetest phrase:

"You wanna go outside, boy?"

I feel as though I've been waiting for days.

I hurry on my way, before she changes her mind.

She takes her time, getting the leash and going outside.

But finally I can meet my stride.

I need to check the trails

Who has already been out and about

I need to make sure everyone knows I'm still around.

I think we are both enjoying our outing when I feel a gentle tug

"C'mon let's go." She says and reluctantly I go.

Once inside, I lay on my couch

And watch as she leaves once again

Just as she does everyday.

I love her anyway.

I don't actually leave my dog everyday, but he always looks so sad when I do.

Happy Writing,

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2018 is co.... IS HERE!

And I am already behind.

Apparently last year, I only made it to Day 7 (what happened? . . . School, I guess). Well, here goes nothing.


As per usual, I'll be following the prompts from napowrimo.net, Without further ado:

March 31st:

You touch my lips and soon
My head feels like I might swoon.
My head feels floaty - I sigh
And succumb to your sweet lullaby.
In fact my life would not be the same
If I had never learned your name.
My sweet
My antihistamine
Diphenhydramine.

April 1st:

        Cookie Dough

I stroll into the kitchen,
Peer into the fridge
I find the yellow tube
My mouth stretches to a grin
I ruffle through the drawers
Find the scissors and snip the top.
When I stroll past the stove,
I don't even stop.
I take a spoon and sit
In the glow of the tv light.
The oven doesn't beep.
There is no baking sheet in sight
As I indulge in my favorite late night treat.

Happy Poem-ing

Sharon

Twenty-Five Year Olds Don't Get Shingles

When the first rash appeared we thought it was poison ivy. We blamed my dog, who had run through poison ivy in our backyard. Then more rashes appeared. The pain increased. The rashes got worse. We applied calamine lotion. I had washed my skin with dish soap and warm water the first and second day of the rash. It just kept getting worse. New rashes popped up. The rashes blistered. It was more of a burning or a stinging, occasionally a stabbing pain, not the itching that poison ivy was supposed to cause. I washed my sheets and blankets and pillowcase and bath towel and dog. I avoided any clothes that I hadn't washed that I thought might have the oil on them.

Shingles came up at one point. But we discounted it because twenty-five year olds don't get shingles.

On about the 7th or 8th day (a Monday, if you're wondering), my mom called the doctor and told them about the rash and they said they would work me in.

I texted my sister telling her that I was going to the doctor for my rash - if it was shingles, I would have to miss my nephew's baptism.

The nurse did all the normal things (weight, blood pressure, pulse, dissolved oxygen in the blood, temperature - even though I had been in for a regular check up just over a week earlier - before the rashes) before asking why I was there. She asked questions: how long had I had it; where was it; had I been exposed to poison ivy; had I been around anyone with a similar rash; had I had a fever or headache; had I changed detergents or soaps lately; did it itch, burn or sting; had I had chicken pox as a child?

Yes, twice, minor outbreaks when I was two. She took notes on where the rash was - just on the right side? Yes.

She said the doctor would be in in a minute. I knew what the questions were pointing to.

Twent-five year olds don't get shingles.

Soon the P.A. came in. He had seen me the last time I was here and he said something about how it hadn't been long. Then "Ouch." Took a step into the room. "That's shingles."

I hadn't been surprised. I had already composed the facebook status in my head "somehow 25 year old me went out and got shingles." In fact, despite my mental protestations, I had been expecting this.

He asked me why I had taken so long to come in. I told him we were convinced it was poison ivy. He said, "Doubt is the best medicine."

He prescribed an anti-viral (2 pills 5x a day) and a steroid (4 pills for 3 days, 3 pills for 3 days, so on...). He told me the steroid was for my nerves to decrease the inflammation. He told me that if my rashes didn't start to dry up and were reappearing to refill the anti-viral.

He told me if the rash was gone, but I still had pain in the area in four weeks to come back and we would put me on something for nerve pain. Some people who get shingles get a complication called post-heretic neuropathy which means they still have nerve pain after the rash has subsided.

He told me we were more worried about my nerves than the rashes. He told me to avoid pregnant women and young children. The blisters contain the active phase of the virus. He told me to keep it covered in the sun, because the photons can cause scarring. He took careful notes of the rashes's locations. He found me a coupon for the anti-viral. My mom paid (I currently don't have insurance or a job). We went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription.

When I got home, I cried. I was disappointed to miss my nephew's baptism. And even though I was mentally prepared, I really deeply hoped that I had a bad case of poison ivy that could easily be knocked out. And maybe I was a little nervous about developing complications because I had waited seven days to go in when they want you to go in within three.

Twenty-five year olds can and do get shingles.

To be continued . . .

Stay healthy,

Sharon

VARK

This is not a poem. I know, it's April. I know I haven't posted a poem in five days. But maybe I'll get back on track this weekend. Allow me this divergence.

Who ever would have thought that I would be defending the current president? Well buckle up, because I'm about to.


Actually, I'm not defending him. Today I am going to attempt to educate people about diverse learning styles.

I was reading an opinion piece from the washington post when I came across this. I like and respect the Washington Post, but this is not okay. This Comic Riff by Michael Cavna was published this morning at seven. It seems to poke fun at Trump because his team allegedly requested that intelligence briefings have more graphics and visuals because he claims to be an auditory and visual learner.

But my concern is that reading between the lines, it seems like Trump isn't the only one being made fun of here. To me, it seems like the author is implying that auditory and visual learners are dumb. And that is alarming.

When you scroll down and look at the comments (there are four at the time of this posting), two commenters have posted comments that are negative. They read as follows:

"There is nothing here that a third grade education couldn't fix."
"There is no such thing as a 'visual AND auditory learner.' What is being described is someone who can't read."

Both of these comments are making the conclusion that someone claiming to be an auditory and visual learner is actually under-educated or illiterate, but that is not the case.

In actuality there are diverse preferences of learning. The most recognized in the field of education are: Visual, Aural (auditory), Read-Write, and Kinesthetic. If you are curious where you fall, you can take a VARK assessment here. You can be any combination of learning styles, from only one mode to all four and any combination in between. Visual and Auditory learners DO exist.

As a peer educator in a university writing center, I spend a lot of time pondering how to help visual and kinesthetic learners improve their writing. School systems tend to target read-write and aural learners. I can tell you from first hand experience that having a less common learning style does not make you less intelligent.

If you are interested, my most recent results are: Visual 9, Aural 7, Read/Write 13, Kinesthetic 10. What surprised me the most was that visual was higher than aural. In the past, visual had been my lowest learning style.

In general, visual learners are found to be more rare (see VARK stats); however, due to the rise of infographics, I would hazard a guess that visual learners are more common than indicated by the VARK assessment. Visuals are often more intuitive to process and more approachable. You might not even finish this blog post because it would only appeal to my fellow reader-writer learners.

We are diverse people, with diverse learning styles. No style of learning should be treated as less intelligent because they are not.

Our world is a highly visual place, from print ad campaigns to videos and photographs on the news. The more senses you use to experience something, the more it sticks with you. Before written language developed, we had cave paintings. Being visual is ingrained in who we are. In fact, I might argue that we are becoming more visual, just look at the rise of social media like instagram and snapchat which focus on the visual aspects of sharing and communication.

Even scientists put an emphasis in reporting their information visually. We create graphs, diagrams, pictures, and drawings to be used in reports and to convey our research to the public. You can tell me numbers and trends all day, but show me a graph illustrating your point, and I'll understand the concept much faster. Things won't stick if you don't understand. Personally, I will be more willing to take in more information in the form of an infographic. I will scroll through my feed on instagram endlessly. We are all about the visual. Take food porn, normally with food you are focused on the taste, but with food porn, you are focused on the appearance of the food. We are a highly visual society.

In actuality, the best way to learn and understand something is by encountering it in multiple ways: reading it, writing it, hearing it, seeing a picture of it.

There is nothing wrong with asking for graphics and pictures. If anything a person should be praised for asking for information delivery in the method that works best for them.

Sharon