The Wordsmith's Forge

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "Gentleness Is Strength." I'll be soliciting ideas for caregivers, first responders, clergy, outreach workers, philanthropists, an anonymous benefactor, activists, volunteers, teachers, parents, comares, strongmen, tough guys, superheroes, supervillains, other gentle and strong people, caregiving, feeding each other, babysitting, brushing or braiding hair, catching someone who's falling, lifting heavy things, volunteering, supporting people in hard times, offering crash space, helping someone move, creating intimacy, making friends, getting to know each other, cooking together, discovering things, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, sharing, fixing what's broke, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, Triton Teen Centers, the Peace Store, charities, homeless shelters, clothing banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, sobering centers, mentor circles, support groups, gyms, churches, sharehouses, intentional communities, other polyhomes, social justice departments in schools, clubs, quiet rooms, inclusive workplaces, Thalassia, the Maldives, community gardens, other helper hangouts, self-control, intentional neighboring, altruism, harm reduction, diversity, inclusivity, activist symbols, interfaith work, family dynamics, alternative family structures, partnerships not based on sex/romance, emotional closeness, first contact, rescue, interspecies relationships, trial and error, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

The Blueshift Troupers travel the galaxy helping colonies solve problems.

Clay of Life depends on the friendship between a blacksmith and a golem.

Daughters of the Apocalypse relies a lot on kindness for survival.

Frankenstein's Family has diverse subgroups interacting, of which the vampires in particular are gentle with others.

The Moon Door features a women's chronic pain support group, which is all about being gentle with each other.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis is about Shaeth learnng how to take care of his new followers.

Path of the Paladins balances gentleness and strength.

Peculiar Obligations is about Quakers and pirates learning to help each other.

Polychrome Heroics is largely about people helping people. Threads particularly focused on this include Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, Aquariana, the Big One, Iron Horses, Officer Pink, Rutledge, and Trichromatic Attachments.

Quixotic Ideas is fantasy with a gentle angle.

Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they take care of each other.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

These are the character notes for "The Release of Human Potentialities" Part 2: Cora & children.

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This poem is spillover from the August 6, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred, helgatwb, rix_scaedu, and wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "books" square in my 8-1-24 card for the Discworld Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and janetmiles. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning: Most of this poem is upbeat, but it does touch on some past issues of educational abuse.

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This poem is posted as a birthday present for Anthony Barrette.


"A Walking Song"


I walk in the morning, the sun at its rise.
I walk up the hill, and I there feast my eyes
On gardens and fields, and the grass growing green:
The loveliest sight that I ever have seen.

I walk in the midday, the sun at its peak.
I walk through the valley to find all I seek.
I pick the sweet berries, I taste the green leaves,
I gather the nuts underneath forest eaves.

I walk after lunchtime, the sun heading west.
I walk by the river, where fishing is best.
I catch a few catfish to hang on my string
And forage some cattails where young blackbirds sing.

I walk in the evening, the sun sinking low.
My baskets are full, and my heart is aglow.
The fireflies flicker, the fox and deer roam;
I walk down the hill toward the lights of my home.

Based on an audience poll, "Babes in the Pineywoods" is now complete.  Bo-Art and Creamjeans take their leave of the Pineyspooks.

The general fund currently contains $25. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open at least until Saturday night. If there is a clear answer then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open at least a little longer. Here are your options...

"Babes in the Pineywoods" needs $25 to be complete. You could finish that one.

There are 2 unsold poems from the May 6, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl that could be opened for microfunding:

"Cause a Riot of Color"
[Evening of Wednesday, September 14, 2016]
Shiv welcomes Creamjeans and Bo-Art to Omaha.
263 lines, Buy It Now = $132

"A Lens of Ice"
Johan intervenes in a squabble and meets someone from the Triton Teen Center.
147 lines, Buy It Now = $74

dialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "recovery and rebuilding."

Most of my readers are familiar with the way this works: send a prompt, I write a gentle fiction story (I warn for swear words, implied violence, sex, et al) and if I were any good at embroidery any more, I’d embroider “EARNED happy ending” instead fo “Home, sweet home,” and have it framed. With those very loose limitations, ask for the story that you, the reader, want to see.

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This poem came out of the May 6, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from janetmiles, nsfwords, see_also_friend, lone_cat, chanter1944, and readera. It also fills the "Caught Red-Handed" square in my 5-1-25 card for the Colors Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the Dr. Infanta and Kraken threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes drawbacks of superpowers, vulgar language, allusions to mad science, necessity and difficulty of studying supervillain bodies, sensitive data, reference to past educational neglect, discrimination based on type of superpowers, kidnapping and coersion, data theft, vague reference to terrorizing and killing unprincipled mad scientists, abuse of supervillains, pickpockets, irresponsible and violent use of superpowers, arrogance, bullying, and other mayhem. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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Thanks to a donation from fuzzyred, there are 18 new verses in "Babes in the Pineywoods." Bo-Art and Creamjeans interact more with the Pineyspooks.

This is today's freebie, inspired by prompts from wyld_dandelyon and LJ user My_partner_doug. It also fills the "true colors" square in my 5-1-25 card for the Colors Fest Bingo. It belongs to the Farce and Fortressa threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning for supervillain response to sex crimes.

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