Dear Readers,
May has come and gone, and the gateways of summer are starting to open.
In May I continued to work on themes, but a little less constrained than I did in April. The first theme I did was around bonfires (what’s more spring than bonfires?)–(Readheaded Lady of the Pines, Vagrant Spirituality, Embers, Church Point, Powder Keg, and Eternal Flame). The next loose theme was relationships with Touch, Lazy Morning, Seven Days, and In Praise of Beauty as highlights. This was followed by fire escapes (a lot of fire themes) including Lena-Go-Round, Boredom, and Fire Escape. The last theme of May was Coffee: Same Coffee as it Ever Was, Filling up the Essence of Emptiness.
I also went prompt crazy in May. When you’re writing a poem a day, I found working a prompt helped to shake out the doldrums and was helpful in exploring new ideas and poetry forms. All of the top 10 poems this month were from prompts (wider audience, wider views). If any one has any particular blogs they read with fun prompts feel free to drop me a note in the comments (I personally have been respond to dVerse, Go Dog Go Cafe, and Word Craft Prose & Poetry).
The experimental poems for the month were an Ottava Rima (If Wonder Was), a Palinode (Palinode to Happiness) (there was also coincidentally a Palinode related prompt, An Old Man Confronting Youth), a Panegyric (In Praise of Beauty), a Pantoum (Reflection on her Lips), and a Pastoral poem (Shepherding in the Pastoral).
I published one short story in May as a response to a prompt, Interlude to a Departure, a conversation on the last night together.
In photography I took pictures from a hike through an old abandoned train tunnel (Snoqualmie Tunnel at Hyak, WA) and of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle (Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA)
This month as a writer I was reflecting on voice. I’m not quite sure I’ve figured out what my voice was. As I responded to a prompt regarding writing a poem to another poet (Dear Charles (Bukowski) Written on a Cocktail Napkin 5/8/21 and Howl for Alan Ginsberg) I felt the voices of those writers. So it’s something I continue to ponder—what do I want my voice to sound like as a writer; how does someone read something and recognize it as uniquely me versus the million other poets out there. (Any suggestions? Leave a comment).
Keep musing and creating!
TJS Sherman
The top posts from May
Short Stories in May
Photographs in May
Leave a comment and let me know what some of your favorites were.
I also appreciate the help you all give from sharing my posts, thank you!
Copyright © 2021 TJS Sherman All rights reserved.
Musing & Creating with T.J.S. Sherman 
An Old Man Confronting Youth (#5) I liked best. I liked the short story (I am less familiar with the art of poetry). Because of local bias, I loved the photographs.
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Just keep doing what you are doing
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The voice is an inherent feeling. You recognize it like you would your own baby. It’s a part of you and speaks from within you. Congratulations on your posts and cheers to many more! 🙂
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Very clever how you presented this post! Keep on keepin’ on.
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