I hope those of you who wrote like mad through April are starting to catch your breath, because it’s time to pick up those pens and pencils again. The summer solstice is a little over a month away. So in case you need an excuse to write poetry . . .
Not only does my name derived from the same origins as Oberon (i.e. Alberich), A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. And with the summer solstice being the longest day of the year, it seems only fitting to incorporate light in some way (and as some of you know, I just really love lanterns).
That being said, I will take small poems until Sunday, June 17th about faerie folk (elves, dwarves, faeries, mermaids, etc) and/or lanterns. As I have with other projects, I will take up to 5, and I’ll at least take one. I reserve the right to ask you to try again if nothing really catches my eye, but don’t take it as a brushoff; that really does mean try again!
Theme/What to write about: Faerie folk (elves, dwarves, faeries, mermaids etc) and/or lanterns.
What form: Haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka, gogyōka, renku, haibun, haiga (doodles most welcome!), small stones, etc. As is art!
How many: As many as you want! I will take as many as 5 and no less than 1.
When: Send them in by Sunday, June 17th (I will wait until the whole world has reached the 17th); I will post a PDF on this blog on June 20th.
Where to send: Either leave a comment to this post or send an email to aubriecox [at] gmail [dot] com! If you email, put “MIDSUMMER” in the subject line, if you please.
Other important stuff: Things you should keep in mind/include:
• Most journals will consider these works published
• If your work is already published, include the publishing credits (it’s kind of important and a nice thing to do)
• You, as the writer/artist/poet/etc, retain the rights to you work before and after it appears on my blog/in the PDF.
• If you want me to link back, please send along the name and link of your blog/Twitter account/website/etc! Also, make sure your have your name listed as you would like for it to appear.
Yay Words! 
machair
two mermaids in flagrante
on the opposite bank
Mark, is there any website/Twitter/blog you’d like for me to link back to for you?
https://sites.google.com/site/markfharrismemes/
Great! I’ll be sure to add it to the list of links at the end.
Also, before I forget, this poem rocks my socks so hard.
I hoped you might like it. Knowing I rocked your socks hard makes my day.
If any others come to you before the deadline, feel free to send them my way!
thanks, Aubrie, if I am visited by a faerie poem, I’ll think of you
leafless
the arms of the rowan
who lent me her love
Hum. Been mulling over this for the last couple days. I feel like there’s something missing. What if you moved “leafless” down to L2 and added a new first line? Like:
[new line]
leafless arms of the rowan
who sent me her love
Then you’d also be cutting the first article in the second line?
Just a thought.
thanks Aubrie,
I was enjoying the opportunity (that i gave myself) to think aloud. As little, okay no, work went into it, if you or anyone wants to riff on my haiku, do. Or we could leave bowls of milk out beside our open computers, and hope a peerie trow (or lucas stensland) comes to finish it. Hum, I like your thoughts,
m
Lucas Stensland is of mythical proportions, yes.
I totally welcome thinking aloud! Sadly, nothing is coming to my mind right now, though I do love the slight reminiscence of The Giving Tree in combination with the rowan mythology.
Hum. Just had a thought:
arms of the one
who sent me her love
leafless rowan
or flipped
leafless rowan
arms of the one
who sent me her love
Chinese lantern/ rivaling the moon glow/ firefly dance
Brownies in the house/ the little brown goblins/ are calling me
Thanks, Aubrie. I’ll work on it.
she holds his hand
to her belly
a yin yang flicker
through the holes
of the pinprick lantern
land-locked
the mermaid marooned
on his forearm
OR:
land-locked
the only mermaid
a tattoo
Peter, I’ll let you know closer to the deadline! I have to mull over these for a bit—I like them both!
castle ruins
homeless faeries
in a fast-food mote
Love this one, Peter! 🙂
the way the water
shimmers
my belief in mermaids
(And keep in mind of course Aubrie that I’m writing these trying not to over-edit them so feel free to just throw them back 😉 wondering about that castle ruins one myself . . .)
Peter, of course! I am smitten with the mermaid tattoo one though. I love that you feel comfortable enough to compose on my blog.
I had to read the “fast-food mote” part a few times, but I’m still not sure I quite follow (I just keep imagining a ditch). I like the imagery though!
Peter, I’m going to use this and the first version of the land-locked poem!
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