Author Archives: Elizabeth
Evening Walk
Also published this date on the Quilted Poetry blog and inspired by a photograph (third one from the top) on Thomas Gable’s post: Spring is Near on the blog When Timber Makes One Still. honey-dark amber reflected in the water … Continue reading
Sometimes…
Sometimes, at waking, the most odd and unexpected trains of thought roll through my mind. time does not heal all wounds, but only stretches out the tepid stream life—an endless river immortality its death Copyright © 2018-06-13, by Elizabeth W. … Continue reading
Tidying up #NaPoWriMo2018 month
In the midst of all, I have misplaced text files for poems I wrote and meant to put here and/or email to my writing partners for this National Poetry Month challenge. I hope to have all gathered together (more poems … Continue reading
April 21 – Rewriting the World | #NaPoWriMo
nahaiwrimo prompt for Day 21: PRINT “I just finished reading ‘The Printmaker’s Daughter’ by Katherine Govier about Hokusai’s daughter and their lives together early to mid 1800’s . The book got me thinking about woodblock printing, printing presses with moveable … Continue reading
Story Poem, another Day 27 prompt | #NaPoWriMo2018
Brewer: For today’s prompt, write a story poem. Think of a story, could be a long, complicated, winding story, but for a poem, it may make more sense to make it a short, direct story. Sort of a plot summary … Continue reading
Day 25: Warning Sign | #NaPoWriMo2018
The prompt that I chose for April 25 was from NaPoWriMo: Today, we challenge you to write a poem that takes the form of a warning label . . . for yourself! (Mine definitely includes the statement: “Do Not Feed … Continue reading
Day 23: Vistas | #NaPoWriMo2018
slumbering dawn tucked away in grey-pink clouds— wake the morning sun Copyright © 2018-04-24, by Elizabeth Bennefeld.
Day 18 – Tempted to Silence | #NaPoWriMo2018
Brewer: For today’s prompt, write a temptation poem. Nearly everyone is tempted by something: fame, glory, money, chocolate. Today is the perfect day to give in to the temptation to write about your (or “a friend’s”) temptation. Also, I totally … Continue reading
Day 17: Aeronautics, Intermission | #NaPoWriMo2018
Prompt from #RonovanWrites #Haiku – Original post with more photos. sunlight on his wings iridescent dragonfly the joy of his dance Copyright © 2018-04-17, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld.
Day 16: fish | #NaPoWriMo2018
I love to dance balancing vertically strong horizontal sweeps of the tail fin below… gill covers and filaments vibrating, my head up looking at the bright waves of sunlight as the lights flow on above me the water moves and … Continue reading
Day 13 Prompt: “M” = Muskeg | NaPoWriMo2018
Cuyahoga Library Prompt: ‘Open a dictionary to the letter “m.” Scan until you find the first word you don’t know the meaning of that intrigues you, and then write a poem about that word.’ muskeg meadows camouflage soft ground that … Continue reading
Day 9: Who We Were | #NaPoWriMo2018
I decided to go back to April 9, to the Pilgrimage prompt, and wander a bit through the family tree. My mother was a genealogist, among other things, and we kids got to do research, each in our turn. Who … Continue reading
Day 10: Simultaneity | #NaPoWriMo2018
NaPoWriMo Prompt: “Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem of simultaneity, in which multiple things are happening at once.” geese cry overhead the dogs sit up and listen leaves remain silent I would fly like those wild … Continue reading
Journaling: paper vs. digital
I find it interesting, how different the topics are for my online journal from the paper journal that I have returned to since the first of 2018. Things that I would only post, if at all, on my Patchwork Prose … Continue reading
Day 8: Late Snowfall | #NaPoWriMo2018
tulips pushing through loam to newly fallen snow wait in line for spring our rabbits, lacking new grass, nibble tender tulip shoots Copyright © 2018-04-08, by Elizabeth Bennefeld. We have a lot of rabbits in our yard and the surrounding … Continue reading
Day 5 Prompt – Intelligence | #NaPoWriMo2018
Brewer: For today’s prompt, write an intelligence poem. Of course, intelligence is subjective. What is common sense for one person makes no sense to another. But intelligence is more than IQ and test scores. There’s artificial intelligence, intelligent animals, and … Continue reading
Day 6: uneven lines | NaPoWriMo2018
Prompt from NaPoWriMo: “Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that stretches your comfort zone with line breaks. That could be a poem with very long lines, or very short lines. Or a poem that blends the … Continue reading
Day 4: Dragonfly, Perspectives | #napowrimo2018
Prompt for Day 4 from the NaHaiWriMo page on Facebook. Sleepy dragonfly… reconsider this day’s world shifting perspectives warmth and rest can set thoughts free transforming dreams into flight Copyright © 2018-04-04, by Lizl Bennefeld.
Day 3: Empty | life of words
life of words filtered through words life lived at second hand a slower pace—indepth reexamined contemplated and reworked without the words written out or spoken— if only heard, repeat them before they disappear into the aether— wordless melodies and rhythms … Continue reading
Day 2: Portrait | NaPoWriMo2018
Prompt: Portrait the face in the mirror…mine as I looked 30 years ago gaunt…drawn…withdrawn hair cut short—cut off after all those years do I appear the same to anyone but me? will they know me at a glance? I will … Continue reading
Day 1: Dreams in Porcelain | #NaPoWriMo2018
within the bowl blue trees surround a small house patterns from childhood born of her best memories— paths forward…wishes…hopes Copyright © 2018-04-01, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld (Lizl). I read both the NaPoWriMo and the NaHaiWriMo prompts for this day, coming … Continue reading
Late night thoughts
Reading about the excess profit taking on generic drugs by companies centered on fast money rather than service to society, I find myself becoming convinced that for me to purchase and use such products would not be something I could … Continue reading
Rough Draft – (28 November 2017)
I wrote a rough draft for a longer poem, yesterday. I’ve been working on revisions, but it’s not ready to post anywhere.
ecology (19 November 2017)
we didn’t expect oceans dead, oxygen gone cities down sink holes we thought…smog and air filters self-sufficient geo-domes Copyright © 2017-11-21, by Lizl Bennefeld. I believe that the 19th day was the one that I missed in the poem-a-day string. … Continue reading
What I Meant to Say (18 November 2017)
I did write a poem for Day 18 in response to the prompt “what I meant to say”, but decided not to put it on my blog. Sometimes that happens. Still working on a poem for Day 19.
Swoop Down (5 November 2017) | #NaHaiWriMo
peregrine’s swoop grasping talons…beating wings flickertail feathers Copyright © 2017-11-05, by Elizabeth W. (Lizl) Bennefeld. Prompt: #NaHaiWriMo : Swoop
Tomorrow never comes
the sun rose rolled along its silent path— solitary it’s wandered off unnoted tomorrow will not happen Copyright © 2017-10-22, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld Fargo ND USA
trapped in dystopia
not fake news poor people live there… let them starve caught up by someone else’s timeline…no way out of here Copyright © 2017-10-13, Elizabeth W. Bennefeld. Tough, getting to sleep, tonight.
Graveside memories
Remembering my parents’ graveside military services as the months progress toward first anniversaries. A year ago, plus a few weeks, my mother entered the hospital, and then into hospice care for two months before her death. Father followed her perhaps … Continue reading
In its own shadow
The tanka practice in week three of the workshop continues. This is one of the practice poems that I think I will not submit to the workshop leader; it feels like just an extended haiku. I like the flower, though. … Continue reading
Finding Everyday Inspiration, Day 19: Roundup of Great Reads
Perhaps not so much great “reads” in every case. I do enjoy looking at photographs of the out-of-doors and the creatures that live there. Belinda Grover Photography: Belinda Grover has a particularly nice photograph of a hoverfly on a plant … Continue reading
Too short, mourning
only photographs– still, silent in their stark frames– wait for tears to fall 12 months, too short for mourning … too soon, the memories fade too short, mourning. Copyright 2017-08-18, by Lizl Bennefeld.
July 26: A pair of poems
“i did not want to trouble her” i would not trouble her with present reality the look behind her eyes, knowing that she did not know, worrying what she’d once again forgotten that should always have been remembered i’d said … Continue reading
Fading Rainbow
‘fading rainbow’ rainbows fade too soon turning to vapor as night falls upon the sky mist rises at the new moon the night sky falls toward the Earth Copyright © 2017-06-18, by Lizl Bennefeld. All rights reserved. As the … Continue reading
Getting It Right
“Getting it Right” I write the story of my life one day at a time, taking care to leaf through previous pages, editing events, adjusting back stories, tidying errors and casual mistakes that I would not have made, had I … Continue reading
Daily Post Photo Challenge: Friend
Constant companions… Daily Post Photo Challenge, 2017-05-31
NaPoWriMo, Day 30 – “Tulips at Springtime”, “The Future”
Prompt: Something that happens again and again. “Tulips at Springtime” One year soon after I was married, my mother ordered tulip bulbs to be planted in the fall, sent all the way from Holland, from the farm on which they … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 29 – Who’s Hiding in the Fog?
The prompt for day 29 from NaHaiWriMo was “What hides in this fog”. fog hides me deep fog hides my form and footsteps still, unseen well-meaning trees wrap their branches with mist “fog hides me”. Copyright © 2017-04-29, by Lizl … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 28 – Lake in Winter
the lake in winter whispering silence gentle touch of winter’s cold water’s smooth surface the quiet of falling snow the chime as each flake fractures Copyright © 27 April 2017, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld. Source: “The Sound of Snowflakes”, … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 27 – Changing Weather
approaching storm murmuring of wind the chill taste of springtime snow a shake of thunder Copyright © by 27 April 2017, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld. NaHaiWriMo prompt for Day 27: “shake of thunder”.
NaPoWriMo17, Day 26 – Regret
Robert Lee Brewer, Writer’s Digest: For today’s prompt, write a regret poem. Most people regret some action they’ve taken over the years, whether it’s saying the wrong thing, making the wrong choice, or putting off something for a tomorrow that … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 24 – Mountain
There has been much back-and-forth on our poetry association’s mailing list about contemporary English haiku. I am feeling my way. [untitled] bare dirt heaped where a bush used to grow our only mountain Copyright © 24 April 2017, by Elizabeth … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 23 – Horizon
I chose the “horizon” prompt from nahaiwrimo and wrote this poem in consideration of the weekend’s wet and windy weather. a day of rest on the horizon the sun peers through heavy clouds forecast, partly wet frogs take heart in … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 22 – Shooting Star
NaHaiWriMo prompt: shooting star Jeweled shooting stars line the wooded limestone path on which I wander. Copyright © 22 April 2017, by Elizabeth Bennefeld. The Jeweled Shooting Star is a wildflower that grows in Minnesota.
NaPoWriMo17, Day 20 – God of the Suns
Prompt: Typically we can only see the moon and stars at night; however what if inexplicably the stars were visible in the blue sky of the middle of the day? How would a poet (such as yourself!) describe this phenomenon? … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 19 – The Years
Prompt from NaHaiWriMo: “Candle” All the Years In your memory a candle at the window each day as light fades Copyright © 2017-04-19, by Lizl (Elizabeth) Bennefeld.
NaPoWriMo17, Day 18 – Cluttered Timelines
Cluttered Timelines The cobweb that grows in my head makes changes that disregard thread. I remember tomorrow, but to my great sorrow, I don’t know when I went to bed. Copyright © April 2017, by Elizabeth Bennefeld. The prompt was … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 17 – Dark Stars
Constellation of Dark Stars Night darkness distant sounds of water flowing A branch broken by the wind beating Dark stars surfaces too cool for light invisible Isolation constant as an old friend forever Copyright © 2017-04-17, by Lizl Bennefeld. Writing … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 16 – Management System
Prompt from Brewer: ‘For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) System,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.’ Management System Understanding is at the roots … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 15 – Feather
NaHaiWriMo’s prompt (as offered on our small NaPoWriMo writing list) for April 15, was “feather”. I now have a photograph to go with my poem. feathers, twigs and grass sparrows, each spring, build a nest home’s where children are Home, … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 14 – Out Walking (2 poems)
“Afternoon Walk” Fair weather forecast— From beneath my umbrella I watch the rain fall Copyright © 2017-04-14, by E. W. Bennefeld. And from a previous challenge, here is a poem about a longer walk with mist and fog. “From Past … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 13 – [untitled]
failing light along the dark path fireflies at star rise fish dance in the light of moonbeams night sounds call my head nods over my teacup [untitled]. Copyright © 2017-04-13, by E.W. Bennefeld. I have tried to do the … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 12 – Fog
The prompt is the one given to our group from NaHaiWriMo, but I have not written a Haiku. Instead, I am sharing a poem that I wrote for the February 2015 Blogging U Poetry 201 writing course/event, which was a … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 11 – Wonder
From the hill nearby one can spy blue lakes, wonder at nature’s lush green a cup of tea, a blanket the afternoon sun brings warmth “Wonder”. Copyright © 2017-04-11, by Lizl Bennefeld. I wrote the three-line haiku for this … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 10 – Frost
I wrote this poem while thinking of the photos that I have taken of frost that often decorates my windows when the temperature and humidity cooperate. Much less in recent years as the winters are warmer and the most recent … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 9 – Fitting In
The prompt that I’ve chosen for Day 9 is “Fitting in is hard to do”, a prompt from the mailing-list group that I’ve been on during the current month. The poem I’ve selected in response to this prompt is “Roots”, … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo 2017, Day 8 – Sunflowers
Following the sun from dawn to dusk, soaking in energy to stop, sunflowers face east when grown. Morning’s bees love warm flowers. Copyright © 2017-04-09, by E. W. Bennefeld. I suppose that I could have stayed awake, last night, to … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 7 – Who Am I?
“Who Am I?” I am lightly anchored to the Earth, drifting gently on my mooring lines when the wind is strong … Or, when the water rises, I pull in the lines and ride the tide of river flood or … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo17, Day 6 – Tides of the Heart
Prompt: Tide “Tides of the Heart” sea water stretches toward the moon in vain…no time to reach its heart’s dream Copyright © 2017-04-06, by E. W. Bennefeld.
NaPoWriMo17, Day 5 – Water Lily
Prompt from NaHaiWriMo: Water Lily golden fish retreat beneath white water lilies, sheltered from the sun Copyright © 6 April 2017, by E. W. Bennefeld.
NaPoWriMo17, Day 4 – Thunder
distant thunder calls Strike! as lightning’s bright echoes roll over raindrops Luna’s face shines past dark clouds frogs trade their logs for moonbeams Copyright © 2017-04-04, by E. W. Bennefeld. I got the prompt from the prompt list sent by … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo2017, Day 03 – Allantide Dreams
The prompt that selected for today called for a poem about a holiday that I do not celebrate. Information about Allantide, also known as the Feast of Saint Allan, can be found, among other places on the Internet, at Wikipedia, … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo2017, Day 02 | “Ghost Echoes” & “Trout and Water Strider”
I find that I am enjoying the writing process, so far, this time around. Even though I do not know more than one of the people in this writing group, I find it stimulating to write. Having the group also … Continue reading
NaPoWriMo2017, Day 01 | “Everything Is Gone”
Several of the provided prompts led me to writing the poem “Everything is Gone”. The first suggestion to appeal to me was to write a poem in a couplet style called the “landay”, with 9 syllables in the first line … Continue reading
National Poetry Writing Month 2017
I have tried upon occasion to write a poem for each day of the month, sometimes for National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) and sometimes during NaNoWriMo. I haven’t always done really well. In the best years, I have generated a … Continue reading
SFF Net and grief
Among the losses that I am mourning is the closure of SFF Net, of which I had been a member since 1997, I think. Believe I didn’t get a newsgroup until the next year. Yesterday I had my first in-person … Continue reading