Poem – Sgeoil

Ars Poetica (the art of poetry)

spend time in observation
of this and that and communication

jot down a sultry word
none of this is absurd

take long walks, speak to a tree
let your toes touch the sea

make up a rhyme
string some words until they chime

just let yourself feel
it's in your house-wheel

and when your heart gropes with the dark
release the tension with a mark

keep a notebook handy
let the words spill forth, all will be dandy

for poetry is heart in motion
breath in-breathe out your devotion

and when your pen feels a drought
gather your senses all about

for poetry is in all you do
just let the magic come from you

©Heather Carr-Rowe

NaPoWriMo – Day 26 – we challenge you to write your own ars poetica, giving the reader some insight into what keeps you writing poetry, or what you think poetry should do.

The Skeptic’s Kaddish, W3 Prompt # 208 is given to us by Nancy Richy
We are asked to:
Write a poem in rhyming couplets (two lines that rhyme) that gives instructions for making something.

Traditionally, “rhyming recipes” were used to help people remember how to prepare food. Your poem does not have to be about food. You can write a “recipe” for anything.

Requirements:

Use rhyming couplets throughout
Give clear steps or instructions
Be creative with what your “recipe” is for
Think of it as turning instructions into something memorable and playful through rhyme.

What About My Name?

a name seems simple enough
letters printed together
sounded out until pronounced

some lyrical on the tongue
others gravelly and harsh
stuck in the back of the throat

chosen at birth
they become us
or do we become them?

some remain steadfast
others shortened
or changed

I've been called - Heater, I've been called - Leather
and my French friends call me 'edder
and my mother called me all my siblings names...

regardless-
my name, carefully chosen
began in a place of love

©Heather Carr-Rowe

NaPoWriMo 2026 – Day 21 – In your poem for today, we challenge you to write your own poem in which you muse on your name and nicknames you’ve been given or, if you like, the name and nicknames for an animal, plant, or place.

When Storms Subside

worms tunnel safe
beneath the ground
consuming decay

the rain bounces 
pit, pat, pit, pat
ground level splat

like drums calling
danger, danger
-unknown alarm

worms wiggle 
towards the light
from unknown harm

lightning strikes blind -
when storms subside
there's no place to hide

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish, W3 Prompt # 205 is given to us by the multi-talented Marion Horton. 

Prompt: With spring flowers pushing up along the verges, it’s easy to forget how long they lay buried in darkness as bulbs. That contrast draws my attention to what remains unseen—what lies beneath, whether in the soil or within ourselves.

For this prompt, I invite you to explore the theme: Beneath the Surface.

NaPoWriMo Day 4: We’d like to challenge you to craft your own short poem that involves a weather phenomenon and some aspect of the season. Try using rhyme and keeping your lines of roughly even length.

Didn’t See It Coming

All my friends were starting to do it
do it...
strapping a slender stick on each foot
each foot
that pointed primarily down hill
down hill
beginner, knees wobbly, slip sliding
ding
dong - what have I done?!- at the earliest I'm out of control 
troll
like tick tock all a tumble, heart beats boom
boom
crash! Poor lady -startled- didn't see
see 
it coming at all
at all!

©Heather Carr-Rowe

For this week’s W3 #201, our Poet of the Week and challenge host O'Nika McGill, challenged us to write an Echo Poem:

Echo Verse has one simple rule: Repeat the end syllable(s) of each line.

There are two ways to do this:

Repeat the ending syllable(s) at the end of the same line;
Repeat the ending syllable(s) on its own line directly beneath each line.

Write an echo poem about a first — first anything that mattered.
Show us how you felt — excited, embarrassed, afraid, proud, uncertain.
Include at least one variation of one of these words:
Early (earlier, earliest)
Begin (beginning, began, begun, begins)
Primary (primarily, primaries)
Start (start, started, starting, starts)

Blest

I think - sacred
-wondrous galaxies appear,  vibrant - yet
quietly promising opulence -
behold unearthed curiosity 
-momentus-
zenith reigns, delights...
ever knowing love's xenial hours
-forever-
just blest

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish, W3 Prompt # 200 is given to us by Christine. We are asked to write an alphabet poem. I chose option 1.

Option 1 — 26 words, A–Z once each (Any order)

Option 2 – a 26 line poem where the first word of each line begins with the next letter of the alphabet in order, a thru z.

A Cherita (inverted)

winter storms in
the devil in disguise 
disturbing tranquility

neighbour blows away the offering
saved my back the trouble

it was just the slightest kindness

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish W3 Prompt # 194 is given to us by Nolcha Fox. 

We are asked to write a Cherita on one of the following themes:
Cave
Special delivery (I chose this)
Missing road sign

 A Cherita is the Malay word for story or  tale. A traditional cherita unfolds in three verses, each growing in length:

Verse 1: one line
Verse 2: two lines
Verse 3: three lines

You’re also welcome to rearrange the order of the verses (Cherita Terbalik)

James Crews, weekly pause, Invitation to Write: You might borrow his line: it was just the slightest kindness.

Beginning 2026

My heart trembles in the current winds.
Blood boils as anguish builds with the
callousness of those bound by
greed - in their tainted minds
world governance by
strength, force, power -
care lacking,
my heart
aches.

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish W3 Prompt # 193 is given to us by Carol Anne. 

Write a Nonet about the new year — 2026. How does this year feel to you so far? Are you hopeful, uncertain, energized, reflective? Have you set any goals or intentions? Are there resolutions you’re excited (or nervous) about?

Let your poem capture your thoughts, expectations, and emotions as we step into this new year.

Nonet Form: Line 1 — 9 syllables and then each line decreases by one syllable until you reach Line 9- one syllable.

By the Lea

Sunrise on my morning commute, Dec. 1, 2025, for the Weekend Sky #150

This sea that bares her bosom to the moon
she ripples pink at sun rise.
Is she but an illusion to make us swoon
and whisper promise from our sleepy eyes?

Breathe deeply to our vision sense
this sea that sets our heart afire.
For she gathered moon without offence
to let the day transpire.

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
before the sea becomes winter grey
beg a wish, and a plea
to let my heart sashay?

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish W3 Prompt # 190 is given to us by Sally. 

Sally asks us to Choose one phrase from William Wordsworth's “The world is too much with us,” and steal it—boldly and poetically. Weave the phrase into our own poem in any way we like; it should be recognizable, but the poem should be ours.

I felt the need to steal two lines (highlighted below):

The World Is Too Much With Us’ by Wordsworth

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

Melancholy


night steps lightly
darkens the path 
intermittent snow swirls
as still as shadows dance

notes take flight,
breathe the melody 
a verdant wave serenades
the dreamer that dreams no more

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish W3 Prompt # 187 is given to us by A.J. Wilson. 

This week’s challenge is to write a piece of “musical poetry” inspired by an instrumental guitar track.

Listen to “Canción Triste” by Jesse Cook from the album Vertigo:

Gutter Trash

discarded, 
dropped,
released,  
swept up with the leaves

disused,
stepped on,
tread upon,
flattened in the street

dismissed,
ignored,
cardboard
gutter trash, that's me

©Heather Carr-Rowe

The Skeptic’s Kaddish W3 Prompt # 186 is given to us by Dennis Johnstone.
Write a poem consisting of three quatrains (12 lines total).

Your subject must be an unimportant, non-emotive object that carries no nostalgia, metaphorical uplift, or symbolic gravitas. It simply is.

Let the object speak in its own voice (1st person) or describe it with cool clarity (objective 3rd person).
Avoid sentiment, life lessons, or moral turns.
You may use meter, free verse, rhyme, or no rhyme: anything goes as long as the tone stays grounded and unvarnished.
The object should remain exactly what it is, even at the end: no transformation.