Inspiration, Interpretation, and Inktober

I remember when I first started getting into writing poetry, I was fairly prolific.  I was writing 2 or 3 poems a week.

I'm the first to admit that I will never be a Poet Laureate or even an award winner.  I've been accused of being "Hallmark-y".  I don't mind.  I write what I write.  I like to rhyme.  I like rhythm.  I like simple storylines or emotions.  I don't feel the need to "dig deep" or use huge complicated words or convoluted structures.  I repeat:  I write what I write.

Writing has gotten harder over the years.  Less time, more distractions, fewer inspirations.  Autumn is my favorite topic, and one can only use so many autumn analogies.

However...this year was different.

Elizabeth introduced me to Inktober.

Now, granted, Inktober is actually for artists...specifically, black-ink artists (hence the name).  Kind of like what is used in graphic novels.  The goal is to make a creation a day for the entire month of October.  However, nothing is carved in stone.  You don't have to write every day:  you can write every other day, once a week,..whenever the inspiration hits you.  And, while I did say that it's mainly for black-ink artists, it's encouraged that anyone can use any creative outlet.  Also, while they supply a "prompt list" with key words to give inspiration, you don't have to follow the prompts.  It's all in fun.

So, I decided to give it a go...and surprised myself.  I actually posted a poem every single day for every single prompt.  Granted, I may have cheated just a little by using a few older poems in my portfolio,  Seven, to be specific. However, the other 24 days were all original and new.  While a few I pretty much just wrote to get them written ("Tasty Treat" comes to mind"), a few of them came as a surprise...even to me.

Here they are...just click on the prompt word:

Prompt: ring
Prompt: mindless
Prompt: bait
Prompt: freeze
Prompt: build
Prompt: husky
Prompt: enchanted
Prompt: frail
Prompt: swing
Prompt: pattern
Prompt: snow
Prompt: dragon
Prompt: ash
Prompt: overgrown
Prompt: legend
Prompt: wild
Prompt: ornament
Prompt: misfit
Prompt: sling
Prompt: tread
Prompt: treasure
Prompt: ghost
Prompt: ancient
Prompt: dizzy
Prompt: tasty
Prompt: dark
Prompt: coat
Prompt: ride
Prompt: injured
Prompt: catch
Prompt: ripe

This just goes to show that you can do anything you put your mind to, that inspiration can come from some unlikely places, and that people can have different interpretations of the same words.

Please, feel free to give these a glance...and if you want, let me know if any of them has touched you, made you laugh, made you cry, made you think.