home.social

#sijo — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sijo, aggregated by home.social.

fetched live
  1. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    If we remain, or: The last machine

    A Sijo

    the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

    Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

    For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Absence #Aspiration #Dystopia #Extinction #Humanity #Language #Machines #Poem #Poetry #Sijo #Technology
    #absence #aspiration #dystopia #extinction #humanity #language
  2. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    If we remain, or: The last machine

    A Sijo

    the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

    Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

    For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Absence #Aspiration #Dystopia #Extinction #Humanity #Language #Machines #Poem #Poetry #Sijo #Technology
    #absence #aspiration #dystopia #extinction #humanity #language
  3. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Vincent, or: Theo

    A Sijo

    EPIGRAPH:

    You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

    –Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)
    the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Anxiety #Beginnings #Decisions #Divorce #Fear #Metaphor #Poem #Poetry #Quote #Sijo #VincentVanGogh
    #anxiety #beginnings #decisions #divorce #fear #metaphor
  4. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Vincent, or: Theo

    A Sijo

    EPIGRAPH:

    You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

    –Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)
    the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Anxiety #Beginnings #Decisions #Divorce #Fear #Metaphor #Poem #Poetry #Quote #Sijo #VincentVanGogh
    #anxiety #beginnings #decisions #divorce #fear #metaphor
  5. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Search history, or: Hyperlinks

    A Sijo

    Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
    then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
    my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

    W3 poetry prompt

    For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Books #Comparison #Internet #Kaddish #LeonWieseltier #Poem #Poetry #Quote #Research #Sijo #VincentVanGogh #W3
    #books #comparison #internet #kaddish #leonwieseltier #poem
  6. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Search history, or: Hyperlinks

    A Sijo

    Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
    then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
    my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

    W3 poetry prompt

    For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Books #Comparison #Internet #Kaddish #LeonWieseltier #Poem #Poetry #Quote #Research #Sijo #VincentVanGogh #W3
    #books #comparison #internet #kaddish #leonwieseltier #poem
  7. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    I walk, or: Carrying less

    A Sijo

    sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #BillyJoel #GrowingUp #Immigration #LettingGo #Memories #MiddleAge #Music #Nostalgia #Poem #Poetry #Sijo
    #billyjoel #growingup #immigration #lettinggo #memories #middleage
  8. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    I walk, or: Carrying less

    A Sijo

    sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #BillyJoel #GrowingUp #Immigration #LettingGo #Memories #MiddleAge #Music #Nostalgia #Poem #Poetry #Sijo
    #billyjoel #growingup #immigration #lettinggo #memories #middleage
  9. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Arakan, or: Jerusalem

    Poetry Partners 268

    ‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

    I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

    A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

    my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    List of Poetry Partners

    #Empathy #Exile #Homeland #Identity #Longing #Memory #Partnership #Poem #Poetry #Refugees #Sijo
    #empathy #exile #homeland #identity #longing #memory
  10. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Arakan, or: Jerusalem

    Poetry Partners 268

    ‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

    I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

    A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

    my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    List of Poetry Partners

    #Empathy #Exile #Homeland #Identity #Longing #Memory #Partnership #Poem #Poetry #Refugees #Sijo
    #empathy #exile #homeland #identity #longing #memory
  11. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    The ghost, or: The silence

    A Sijo

    for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

    W3 poetry prompt

    For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Kaddish #Poetry #Mourning #Grief #Loss #Poem #Writing #Sijo #SelfExpression #W3 #Threshold
    #kaddish #poetry #mourning #grief #loss #poem
  12. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    The ghost, or: The silence

    A Sijo

    for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

    W3 poetry prompt

    For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Kaddish #Poetry #Mourning #Grief #Loss #Poem #Writing #Sijo #SelfExpression #W3 #Threshold
    #kaddish #poetry #mourning #grief #loss #poem
  13. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

    Poetry Partners 267

    ‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

    I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

    A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

    another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    List of Poetry Partners

    #Chance #Comfort #Dignity #Exile #Fate #Hope #Partnership #Poem #Poetry #Refugees #Sijo
    #chance #comfort #dignity #exile #fate #hope
  14. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

    Poetry Partners 267

    ‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

    I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

    A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

    another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    List of Poetry Partners

    #Chance #Comfort #Dignity #Exile #Fate #Hope #Partnership #Poem #Poetry #Refugees #Sijo
    #chance #comfort #dignity #exile #fate #hope
  15. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Uncurl, or: Unanswered

    A Sijo

    I plant my unanswered questions 
    hoping spring knows what to do; 
    yearning tendrils spread outward 
    straining to find some purchase; 
    crisp, green vowels uncurl softly 
    beside bright consonant foliage

    W3 poetry prompt

    For Sally’s W3 prompt last week, she invites us to explore what lies beneath the surface—whether in gardens, nature, or ourselves—through the images of soil, roots, weeds, and hidden growth.

    My above sijo was inspired by this limerick I wrote for a d’Verse community prompt back in 2021:

    Crisp, or: Fresh

    I sow d'Verse prompts in my garden
    But I feel that I must beg your pardon.
    For my rows are of keys
    That yield green abc's
    Though my gardenin's really quite ardent.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Conceit #Garden #Gardening #Hope #Metaphor #Plants #Poem #Poetry #Questions #Sijo #W3
    #conceit #garden #gardening #hope #metaphor #plants
  16. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Relieving song, or: Rising steam

    A Sijo

    my pot begins to murmur
beneath its plain, faithful cap;
every heartbeat finds less room
inside the thick, waiting steel;
then comes the valve's relieving song
each stanza lifts with rising steam

    d’Verse: Ars poetica revisited

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write an Ars Poetica that reveals our relationship with poetry through imagery, symbolism, or personification, showing our writing process rather than simply explaining it.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #ArsPoetica #Conceit #Metaphor #Need #Poem #Poetry #Pressure #Release #Relief #Sijo #Writing
    #arspoetica #conceit #metaphor #need #poem #poetry
  17. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Relieving song, or: Rising steam

    A Sijo

    my pot begins to murmur
beneath its plain, faithful cap;
every heartbeat finds less room
inside the thick, waiting steel;
then comes the valve's relieving song
each stanza lifts with rising steam

    d’Verse: Ars poetica revisited

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write an Ars Poetica that reveals our relationship with poetry through imagery, symbolism, or personification, showing our writing process rather than simply explaining it.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #ArsPoetica #Conceit #Metaphor #Need #Poem #Poetry #Pressure #Release #Relief #Sijo #Writing
    #arspoetica #conceit #metaphor #need #poem #poetry
  18. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Seasons of my home, or: Sunlit

    A Sijo

    newly back in Jerusalem
autumn gathered over stone;
sunlit droplets veiled the city
my delicious walk in the rain;
at last, my Jewish liturgy
fit the seasons of my home

    W3 poetry prompt

    For this week’s W3, Artie encourages us to let ourselves drift from Mary Oliver’s poem Drifting. We may use either of the prompt lines, “my delicious walk in the rain” or “what it is that music is trying to say”, directly or indirectly as inspiration.

    The goal is not to imitate Oliver’s poem but to follow our own memory, wonder, weather, music, or other experience wherever it leads, especially when it seems to communicate something beyond ordinary language.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Judaism #Prayer #Poetry #Israel #Weather #Poem #Seasons #Sijo #Rain #Roots #W3
    #judaism #prayer #poetry #israel #weather #poem
  19. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Something borrowed, or: Returned

    A Sijo

    moving day: behind the shelves
rectangles untouched by sunlight;
nail anchors loosen from plaster
with soft clicks into my palm;
tomorrow, fresh coats of primer
mute the shades of former lives

    d’Verse poetics: Something borrowed, something blue

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to compose poems based on the old wedding rhyme “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Poets may use one of those phrases in their poems or make up their own lucky customs, traditions, or superstitions. Our poems can be happy, funny, creepy, or anything else we choose.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Change #Instability #Moving #Poem #Poetry #Sijo #Temporary #Transience #Transition #Wistfulness
    #change #instability #moving #poem #poetry #sijo
  20. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Still, or: Shabbat tables call

    A Sijo

    snowlight whitens the village roofs
while burning windows glow askew;
through rising smoke a wagon tilts
while alleyways darken again;
still our Shabbat tables call
through centuries of ashes

    d’Verse: Don’t box me in

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to compose poems inspired by one of several paintings by the famous Jewish painter Marc Chagall (1887 – 1985). I selected ‘Burning House’ (1913).

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Art #Ekphrasis #History #Interpretation #Jewish #JewishHistory #MarcChagall #Painting #Poem #Poetry #Sijo
    #art #ekphrasis #history #interpretation #jewish #jewishhistory
  21. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Still, or: Shabbat tables call

    A Sijo

    snowlight whitens the village roofs
while burning windows glow askew;
through rising smoke a wagon tilts
while alleyways darken again;
still our Shabbat tables call
through centuries of ashes

    d’Verse: Don’t box me in

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to compose poems inspired by one of several paintings by the famous Jewish painter Marc Chagall (1887 – 1985). I selected ‘Burning House’ (1913).

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Art #Ekphrasis #History #Interpretation #Jewish #JewishHistory #MarcChagall #Painting #Poem #Poetry #Sijo
    #art #ekphrasis #history #interpretation #jewish #jewishhistory
  22. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Schoolchildren, or: Shown fireflies

    A Sijo

    the last clean river snakes
across flickering subway billboards;
schoolchildren are shown fireflies
on grainy government footage;
only old poems remember
how small palms gathered lights

    d’Verse: What art says

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to compose poems inspired by one of several pieces of art by Indian artists. I selected ‘Waste Archives as Landscape’ by Navjot Altaf (b. 1949).

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Art #Dystopia #Earth #Future #Garbage #Poem #Poetry #Pollution #Sea #Sijo #Trash
    #art #dystopia #earth #future #garbage #poem
  23. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Schoolchildren, or: Shown fireflies

    A Sijo

    the last clean river snakes
across flickering subway billboards;
schoolchildren are shown fireflies
on grainy government footage;
only old poems remember
how small palms gathered lights

    d’Verse: What art says

    At d’Verse, we are encouraged to compose poems inspired by one of several pieces of art by Indian artists. I selected ‘Waste Archives as Landscape’ by Navjot Altaf (b. 1949).

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Art #Dystopia #Earth #Future #Garbage #Poem #Poetry #Pollution #Sea #Sijo #Trash
    #art #dystopia #earth #future #garbage #poem
  24. The Skeptic's Kaddish @[email protected] ·

    Incoming, or: From sky and screen

    A Sijo

    in the living room, at my keyboard 
quarter-to-two, the walls still;
the night splits open around me 
air convulses through the room; 
whump—walls shudder—glass rattles 
my mother’s text lights up my phone

    Tanka Tuesday: Onomatopoeia

    For Tanka Tuesday, we are encouraged to compose syllabic poems that employ onomatopoeia.

    Sijo?

    A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

    Let’s write poetry together!

    When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

    –Ben Harper (b. 1969)

    Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

    #Concern #Danger #Iran #Jerusalem #Onomatopoeia #Poem #Poetry #Sijo #Sound #War
    #concern #danger #iran #jerusalem #onomatopoeia #poem
  25. Rob🫟 @[email protected] ·

    Originally from Korea, the Sijo is 3 lines of 14-16 syllables for a total of 42-48 syllables in the piece.
    Line syllable structure is:
    Line 1 (3,4,4,4)
    Line 2 (3,4,4,4)
    Line 3 (3,5,4,3)

    #Sijo #poetry #MicroPoetry #PoetryCommunnity #poems #writingcommunity #writing #writers #korea

    #sijo #poetry #micropoetry #poetrycommunnity #poems #writingcommunity