I’ve been dabbling in my notebook with Inktober’s prompts this month. Inktober was a challenge first issued to visual artists to create drawings in response to particular words each day in October. Poets, always primed to see a writing possibility, grabbed the words and created a “Poemtober” challenge instead. I’ve played along for quite a few years now. It’s low stakes fun 🙂 I do take some liberties with the words, altering their form if that works better for me. In case you’re interested, here are the prompt words:
Oct. 6–golden
As summer exits
spruced-up trees applaud
toss confetti
into drifts
of autumn
gold
©Molly Hogan
October 9–bounce
Small Tragedy
A cage of balls,
bright buoyant spheres,
captive behind metal bars.
So eager to bounce
and play!
Forlorn and
locked away…
©Molly Hogan
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Catherine Flynn who’s sharing a review of Irene Latham’s recent release and a wonderful original poem. Click to visit her blog, Reading to the Core.
Nix the comfort zone 
Molly, I love your imagery! Confetti tossing trees and those poor balls in that overcrowded cage just wanting to get out and play. Very clever!
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I really enjoy the Poemtober prompts and they often inspire me in very unexpected ways.
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Molly, your first poem is a beautiful image. I finally created a Canva video for my Destination: Summer’s End Gallery with your poem as an ending piece. Thanks so much.
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Thanks, Carol. I will definitely check out your gallery and the video. I really love how you use your energy both to create and to curate collections of poetry. Thank you!
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Oh, those spruced up trees. Wonderful! Such a contrast to the sadness of fun locked away, waiting for someone, someoneS to come out to play.
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There’s not much worse than being denied your purpose for being, right?
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I love the image of spruced-up trees tossing confetti! Perfect fall poem!
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Thanks, Linda! I am continually enthralled by autumn!
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That looks like a really fun challenge. Love the idea of balls being eager to bounce!
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I’ve been doing it for years now and although I don’t participate every day, I almost always create a few poems that I enjoy or that surprise me in some way.
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I love the potential energy those balls, “so eager to bounce/and play,” hold! And the image of trees tossing leaves like confetti is perfect. Thank you for reminding me about Poemtober challenge!
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Poemtober is always a welcome low-stakes nudge to my writing life in October!
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We had wind and rain yesterday…and now have plenty of confetti to rake up! (If I keep calling it confetti, will that make the task less tedious?)
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I’m pretty sure you’ve found the answer to the tedium of raking, Mary Lee. Up on our little hill in Maine, we just wait for the wind to blow our leaves away. 🙂 or not…
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Hurry those balls are in such a fix, let’s let them out and play, thanks Molly!
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Sad little captives, right?
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“confetti” — what a GREAT image for this seasonal change, Molly!
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Thanks! Autumn is a festive time of year, isn’t it!?
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Those drifts of gold and the forlorn balls–thanks for sharing your Inktober with us!
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Your “bounce” poem is brilliant, Molly.
I actually like the Inktober words much better than the scbwiArtober words…and using them to write poems is a great exercise.
Maybe next year I’ll try to write and draw from the inktober list?
(My ambition gets the best of me sometimes. 🙂 )
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I, for one, appreciate your ambition and that you share your creative efforts so joyfully!
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Lovely image in your golden poem, and of course in comes from the grandness of the trees. And boy those balls want to get out and “bounce” you sure captured their energy, thanks Molly!
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Thanks, Michelle. The autumn gold is mostly faded now, but those balls remain eager to bounce!
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