Many thanks to HaikuUniverse for publishing an haiku that I wrote recently while waiting in an exam room at the doctor’s office and gratitude also to Morgen Bailey for publishing a few of my 6 word stories.
The Killing Fields Of Home
It is a most difficult task to make sense of violence, particularly when it often seems unceasing. There have been numerous horrific acts of murder recently, and in trying to write about them, it feels important to see these events not only as individual incidents but to also make the connections between them, both in why they happen and how we process them. The following is a poem I wrote in response to the bloody and heartbreaking first week in July, 2016.
The Killing Fields Of Home
On July 4th,
when I was trying to make sense
of the bombings in Medina and Baghdad
on the very same day that the not so United States of America
was ritually celebrating what we call independence,
with colorful bombs bursting in air,
it seemed really important to remember that
the children who saw real bombs were shouting not with glee
but with fear before bleeding to death,
so I wrote haikus about that,
little poems like the children who died–
one for Medina,
Bombs bursting in air,
bodies explode, people die–
no celebration
and one for Baghdad,
Car bomb in Baghdad,
the twenty five kids who died
did not like fireworks
and I thought I had done my duty as a poet,
but then I read that dozens of people were shot
in Chicago over the holiday weekend
for who knows what reasons and they were bleeding too
and we haven’t even caught our breath since Orlando
and it occurred to me that maybe I needed to write a longer poem,
then Alton Sterling and Philando Castile
were gunned down by the police
because the color of their skin was a crime
and Melissa Harris-Perry wrote about how that feels
as a suicide note that I can’t stop reading
on the heels of the Chilcot Inquiry that minces no words
blaming Tony Blair for lying to his country about the Iraq war
while in this country we turn endless battle into
an anthem and Bush and Cheney just smirk
as a veteran of war, taught to kill in defense of our country,
shoots at the police in Dallas and more blood is spilt
and they send in a robot to take him out
which prompts Donald Trump to want a photo op with the NYPD
and I’m wondering if a sonnet is adequate
when my morning paper tells me that there have been
ten gang killings in ten months in the county where I live
and they have a column too about the child
of a woman who was killed by her boyfriend
and someone says we should all remember that
sometimes the police help and he tells a story
about a police officer who helped a lady repair her mailbox
and that was mighty nice of her, and I mean that sincerely,
but I’m thinking that sounds like a bandaid story
when we need a tourniquet because
a GOP Congressman says there are a lot more steps to be taken
before they will vote on gun control legislation
and I’m wondering how many steps there could really be
from his office to the floor to take a vote and when are we going to
quit playing six degrees of separation and take action
and in the time I have been writing this,
more people have been killed,
and I cannot type fast enough to keep up,
or even pause long enough
to pretty up this poem that cannot find its end.
–Lucinda Marshall, © 2016
Workshop: Moving Beyond Writer’s Block With Breath, Meditation, and Movement
Writer’s block is often due to issues that have nothing to do with our writing. At a half day workshop in June, Kim Thompson and I will introduce you to some ways to free space for your words to flow, using meditation, breathing and gentle movement techniques combined with writing exercises that help us move past what is blocking the flow of words.
Moving Beyond Writer’s Block with Breath, Meditation, and Movement at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD: June 5, 2:00-5:00 pm. Fee: $50. Taught with movement teacher Kim Thompson.
Can’t think of the next line? Sometimes it is more than our minds that are blocked. This workshop will introduce meditation, breathing and gentle movement techniques that you can utilize to get un-stuck and free space for your best writing. We will look at techniques that address stress, mind clutter, posture, how energy (and ideas!) move through our bodies, ways to unscramble our thoughts, and more. Please bring paper and pen and wear comfortable (suitable for gentle movement) clothing.
Creative Writing For Teens Workshop At The Gaithersburg Book Festival
I am so excited to have the opportunity to co-facilitate a Creative Writing For Teens workshop at The 2016 Gaithersburg (MD) Book Festival on May 21 from 4:00-5:30 at the Writer’s Center Tent:
Using participatory writing prompts, teen writers will have an opportunity to experience and learn more about how workshopping techniques can assist them in their creative writing. They will have a chance to share their work and get feedback as time allows. They will receive information about MWA’s teen writing clubs which are offered without cost at libraries throughout the state as well as other resources to further their writing.
The workshop is free and open to all teens and a great chance to find out more about the ongoing Maryland Writers’ Association’s teen writing clubs and the experience of being a writer.
“When It Comes To Peace…”
Deeply grateful for this quote from the Washington Nuclear Museum and Educational Center (although I’m not quite sure where they got the birthdate, but close enough :-).
5 Poems-Columbia Journal
Many thanks to Columbia Journal for publishing five of my poems, If Unencumbered (The Story Of A Life That Did Not Happen), Self-Destruction:, Sepia Legacy, What Can’t Be Buried, and You Are Who I’ll Become.
Great Article About The Gaithersburg Teen Writing Club
Great thanks to The (Gaithersburg) Town Courier for this great article about the Gaithersburg Teen Writing Club. I think the quotes from two of our writers says it all,
Gabby Howenstein said the group met her goals “to expand my horizons in my writing, get good feedback, and hopefully make a few new friends.” In addition, she “had the opportunity to hear and read the wonderful writing of some of our other members.”
Yamini Manikoth heard about the club from Gabby, and “thought it would be interesting to see what it was like. And I think it’s one of my favorite things now, because so many people come in and talk about things of mutual interest. … So as someone who enjoys writing, hearing feedback from other people who think the same as you is one of the best feelings in the world.
Teen Poetry Workshop At The Writer’s Center–Signup Info
I am very excited to be offering a workshop for teen poets at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD this fall.
Here is the info about the workshop:
Days: 4 Saturdays
Time: 2:00 PM-4:00 PM
Dates: 10/10–11/7
Location: Bethesda
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Young authors (ages 12-16) will learn to use workshopping techniques to fine tune, revise, edit, and present poetry. Participants will have a chance to share their work, respond to writing prompts, get feedback, and learn about publishing options. In the last session we will hold a poetry reading to share work with family and friends. Please bring a laptop, tablet, or paper notebook. If you are already writing poetry, please bring something you’ve written to the first session. No meeting October 31.
You can sign up for the workshop here.
New Poem–Kaddish Season
I’m very pleased to have my poem, “Kaddish Season” in the Summer, 2015 edition of Poetica Magazine.
Articulation of a Dreamtime
Many thanks to Nortina Simmons for publishing my poem, Articulation of a Dreamtime in Sediments Literary Arts Journal’s Newbies issue. You can read the poem here, page 38 (although of course I encourage you to read all the other fine work in this issue as well!).