What's Going on in my Writing World...

A friend informed me through her Facebook page that a little website called Poetry.com was back up, and open for business.  It was off the grid for a while.  Seeing as it was the first place I had any poetry published, I visited the site once again to reclaim my now archived works.  There was six poems in all that I included in my first book of poetry Fateful Firsts: A Collection of Poetry.  They were also published separately in different anthologies.  A couple of my archived poems ended up being duplicated, so I left a comment on those particular poems.  I only stopped contributing to Poetry.com because I started writing my own book.  It was nostalgic to go back to where it all began, and re-read through poems I wrote long ago.

I also have several new poems to share that I put onto 21st Century Poets.  I haven't won a weekly competition since writing "A Lover's Dance," but I've been diligently writing anyway.  Here's the new poems:

Concrete Angel

There is a concrete angel sitting atop

A mausoleum keeping watch

Over the inhabitants within,

And welcoming visitors of long lost friends.

Awaiting the day when Jesus will come again,

And slowly eroding away until then.

All that’s left is a picture

Taken to reserve the beauty of a fixture

Of the Christian faith
To which other believers can relate.

There are angels on Earth

That take many forms and are disguised.

This particular seraphim

Watches through stony eyes

As the world passes it by.

© January 29, 2012 by Amanda Waley

The Elementals

Just like the Muses are sister of nine,

The Elementals are also four sisters divine.

Earth, Air, Water, and Fire,

Know a lot about desire.

The one that represents air

Is the most fair.

”She’s Like the Wind” is her song,

And she can be very strong.

Earth is the Mother of us all.

Her girth is the life force as I recall

That makes animals, people, and plants-

From the petunia to the tiniest ant.

Fire is the most fierce,

And must be revered.

One little spark

Can leave anyone out in the dark

after the flames peter out.

Fire has a lot of clout.

Water is the most powerful

Because a whole bucketful

Can douse a fire out,

Saving the earth around it

As the wind just whips about.

Amanda Waley

© February 3, 2012

They all got a lot of comments from other poets.  It's been nice to read all the comments, and see how my words affect other people.  "Concrete Angel" was a poem written for the weekly writing competition.  It was a "What is it?" picture prompt.  The actual picture ended up being a male and female white tiger, but I guess the group admin liked my poem so much that this week's challenge is to write about angels.  I shared this poem that I published in my second book of poetry Second Thoughts: A Collection of Poetry because I wasn't really feeling inspired to write another angelic type poem after "Concrete Angel," and the picture prompt made me think more along the lines of the Angel of Death.

I've shared this poem here before, but here it is again to refresh your memory:

The Littlest Angel

The littlest angel

Is waiting for me

Among the clouds so billowy.

I will be there someday,

And we will play

I’ll tell him or her they were missed

Since the time they ceased to exist.

A hole in my heart will never be filled

As my secret is revealed.

It’s one of the reasons my heart never healed

From a rape so long ago.

This poem is what I have left to show,

And possibly grow

A little more stable

Emotionally than I’ve been able

To live for the past twenty years,

Mourning a life

Snuffed out like candlelight

Before he or she had a chance

To see my loving, motherly glance.

I think of you night and day,

And love you in every possible way.

I hope you know

That this is so.

I wrote the poem "The Elementals" because the Facebook/twitter group administrator wanted in this week's all the participating poets to write a poem using the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as the subject.  I also have another poem I entitled "Lavendar" partially written, and a short story I'll share later once I've got them typed up.

I also have a new writing blog I've created at Tumblr called "The Written Word" that I created to document my writing journey from the very beginning.  I wasn't sure about joining Tumblr at first, but a friend of mine had a page there I wanted to comment on and follow.  In order to do that, I had to become a member and create my own blog for people to visit.