Perhaps because it’s the turn of a year I have encountered over the last couple of weeks a lot of people completing, or embarking upon, projects to do something every day or every week for a year. It’s the kind of thing I think I would love to do, but the kind of thing for which I always tell myself I don’t have the guaranteed free time. One obvious option would be to do something connected directly to work: a Glacier of the Day blog for students to enjoy, perhaps? Perhaps not. An appealing and more sensible alternative would be to choose one of those things for which I keep telling myself I must find more time but which, year after year, continue to go undone. I want to paint more. I want to write more. I want to re-watch more old cowboy films. And then I’m back into the old trap of there being so much I want to do that I can’t choose, and I go off for a cup of tea, or back to work, instead. But then I saw two websites that seem to have focussed my intent. The first was Valerie Wetlaufer’s Poem a Day blog (the title kind of explains what she’s doing there) and the second was Jenny Matlock’s “Saturday Centus”, in which a weekly prompt is provided to inspire participants to write 100 words. In my writing (can I really call it that?) the fundamental problem limiting worthwhile output has been that I have nothing much to say, so while I work off-stage on that particular problem here’s a nice game to motivate that all important act of actually writing by providing (forcing) a constraining idea. Perhaps this might help to kick-start my stalled writing engine and keep it ticking over until I discover what my point is. This way I don’t have to wait until I have the perfect idea for a poem – I just have to write 100 words this week on that topic. Let’s try it and see where it goes. My first thought (as usual) was to spend the day setting up a new blog or web page to house the flood of great writing that I was about to produce. Luckily I recognised that old trap, and will just put my first attempt here right away. If I manage to keep it up (ie do another one!) or if I graduate to something more like Wetlaufer’s one a day, then I’ll take this outside and move it onto the website. So here’s my first go at the Saturday Centus:
The “prompt” this week was a photograph of an orange, growing on a tree, but with snow on it (a bit like a little hat of snow sitting on the orange). You can write whatever you like, limited to 100 words. Here are my 100 (well, 96), which come from a context of seeing snow in cruddy back streets of Stoke and Newcastle this winter while teaching classes about ice ages and thinking about The Earth.
I live near the Goose Street car park.
Where the gas works used to be.
This is rain country with short, cool summers.
We don’t grow oranges here.
Before people, a glacier a mile deep
Covered everything for a thousand miles.
Snow fell last night.
When it felt the first, soft, silent, falling flakes
Did the ground remember the mile-deep ice?
Those prison years must have started the same way.
Oranges don’t have fears as old
Or memories as long and cold as that.
To them, today, the snow is just some funny kind of hat.
Very nice. I giggled at the end. Enjoyed reading this
Really glad you enjoyed it, Terra – thanks.
Wonderful! Loved the ending. I think we can all relate to the issue of time. You inspire me to do complete something, to do something meaningful lest I end the year in regret!
Thanks, Faith: I wasn’t sure about that last line (a bit light?), so I’m pleased you think it works ok.
Let me be the first to welcome you to Saturday Centus and thank you for a wonderful submission! I loved your take on the prompt and look forward to reading more from you in the future! Well done!
Thanks very much, Tom: I’ll try to do something again next week. I was looking on the web page for a twitter feed that I could use to remind me… Any tweeters out there in this group?
Peter, your poetry is inspired. I don’t know what else to say as my words pale in comparison to your prose.
Hi Polly – that’s really nice of you, but I think you’re being kind to a newcomer!
Dear Peter,
Welcome to Saturday Centus!
Your poem reveals perhaps an interest in either history or archology or geology, depending upon how far back int time you wish to go. You can also mix serious busines with humour. Perhaps a little whimsical?
Prose or poetry is welcome here.
Hope you like it and return next week. There are some very good writers here and I think we have fun while doing these writing exercises.
Best wishes,
Anna
Anna’s SC#36
I’m on tweeter. My name on tweeter is:
Tinaparl
Hi Anna – Thank you and yes, I am a Glaciologist and a Physical Geographer (so, Geology in the broad sense).
I wish I could correct comments on WordPress! I hate this. There are always mistakes on my comments that would be easier to correct on Blogger! So embarassing!
Anna
Anna’s SC#36
It’s not Tweeter it’s Twitter!
Welcome to Saturday Centus! I think you will find that it is a great way to kick start your writing. I know it has mine. Loved your response to the prompt, really well written. Looking forward to reading more of your writing!
Thanks, Kat. I’ll try to come back next week!
Welcome … welcome! brilliant, beautiful … i am reading and rereading … the imagery is just beautiful …
Thank you. I’m pleased you like it. You are very kind.
Lovely temporal link created by the falling snow between the enduring and the fleeting. I like your sense of the earth being alive enough to hold memories. Which it does physically of course, but also emotional memories…?
So vivid. An absolute delight!
destined destination
I agree that the last line worked. Good :Centus!
=)
Peter. I love the meter and rhythm of this poetry. It was wonderful spoken aloud. I often read my favorite posts both ways…and yours is eloquent written and spoken.
A little over a year ago I made a decision to write every single day. I used my blog as a vehicle toward it but write quite a bit independent of the blogging as well. It has proven to be a wonderful method of waylaying excuses…doing it tomorrow, doing it next week, I got nothin’ all tend to lose their power when you have that daily deadline to create.
I hope SC is a means to an end for you. It would certainly be a shame if you didn’t pursue your talent because you’re setting up a blog.
No twittering here…you can sign up for RSS feed on my blog, although the subtitle of it, “Off on my Tangent” is pretty much exactly what you’ll get daily if you do…just a warning.
I really enjoyed your work. I look forward to reading more from you.
Thank you for linking.
Thank you to everybody for the generous comments.