I know it’s August, but I am sharing a poem I wrote in March for Ed DeCaria’s March Madness Poetry Tournament. You can find out more about this fun event HERE. Authletes are given a word and have only 36 hours to compose a poem using that word. I was given the word amicable. I searched high and low for an idea and ended up in the depths!
Swimming Toward the Light
On a lonely, lightless bottom, fathoms down below,
a solitary, stalk-eyed shrimp is swimming to and fro.
“Look! A luminescent, phosphorescent, incandescent glow!”
On that lonely, lightless bottom, fathoms down below,
a serrated-saw-toothed anglerfish’s lure waves to and fro—
Thus…the luminescent, phosphorescent, incandescent glow!
Gulp!
And what to shrimp seemed amicable…never would be so.
– © 2013 Penny Klostermann
I hope you enjoyed my poem.
Thanks to Renee for mentioning Poet’s Garage in her post today. I am happy to be a part of this wonderful critique group. If you would like to know more about Poet’s Garage, click HERE. And since Renee is the host today, head on over to No Water River and enjoy all the Poetry Friday offerings.
Penny Parker Klostermann 
I wonder if I should do it next year… Great poem! 😀
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Of course you should, Erik!!! You would have fun! Hope you’ve had a great summer! Thanks for coming by!
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Thanks for posting (and the motivation! 😀 )
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Great poem! I would feel bad for the shrimp if I hadn’t just enjoyed some shrimp tempura the other night..
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Ha! I’m sure the anglerfish finds shrimp as tasty as we do!
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Ah, March Madness. It seems like such FUN from this distance, doesn’t it?!?
Love your repeating line!
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That’s a great description, Mary Lee…FUN from this distance!
Thanks for stopping by!
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Beautiful image, loved this, thanks Penny!
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Thanks, Diane!
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Fabulous poem! So great to read it again!
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Iza! I’ve missed you! Hope you’ve had a great summer on your island! Thanks for coming by 🙂
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Thanks, Penny, for taking the time to comment on my newest baby board book – and – leading me to YOUR blog and fun poem!
I also loved following-the-links from your blog to those of other writers.
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Glad you enjoyed following the links! I appreciate you stopping by!
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I loved it in March and I love it now! 36 hours was Madness, but you completely scored! Thanks for sharing again… =)
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Thank you, Bridget. The Madness made for a fun time!
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I love this poem, Penny – I remember it from March Madness and it’s still just as great 🙂
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Hi, Susanna! Thank you. I still like it and thought it would be fun to share on this Poetry Friday!
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The imagery was so beautiful. I really loved the poem!
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Thanks, Pat! I’m glad you came by.
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Oh, the wordplay! This is a wonderful poem, and to think you wrote this in such a short period of time! Amazing!
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Thanks, Linda. That’s one of the things I love most about poetry…the wordplay.
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I remember this one very well. You got quite a few March Madness words in there.
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Thanks for coming by!
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I remember this one, Penny. Very nice! I love the description of the seafloor as ‘lonely, lightless.’
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Hi Carrie! Once one of my 5th graders did a report on the anglerfish. I didn’t know much about this ugly guy until then. Thinking of how deep they are and how dark it is does sound VERY lonely. Thanks for coming by!
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I do so love that poem, Penny! And I’d love to join your poet garage too :0)
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Thanks, Catherine. Next time we have an opening, I’ll let you know about it 🙂
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Thanks, Penny!
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Penny – what is the schedule for Poets Garage? (Do you post once a month or biweekly or other?) Is it a swap where you critique two and get critiques back each time? Thanks!
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We post on a quarterly basis and have to critique so many poems for each poem we post.
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Wasn’t March Madness wonderful? And this poem is certainly one of the bright stars (or anglerfish) to have come from that. Thanks for sharing it with us again!
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Yes, March Madness was wonderful. I love revisiting the Live Scoreboard and reading the delightful poems!
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March Madness was wonderful, wasn’t it? And this little poem is certainly one of the bright stars (or perhaps anglerfish) to have come from that. Thanks for sharing it with us again!
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Go shrimp, go!
Get away from that glow!
Oh no.
A tale of woe.
Seeing Poetry Friday makes me feel as though summer is drawing to a close! Hope yours has been a happy one Penny.
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You are so clever, Cathy! Maybe that shrimp will listen to you. It sure would pay off for him!
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Still love it!
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Thank you, Julie!
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Love this!!
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Hi Carmela. Thanks for stopping by and reading my poem. Hope you enjoy this poetry Friday!
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I especially love the TITLE because it makes me expect something totally different. Then BOOM! Poor little shrimp’s a goner. 🙂
Fun wordplay as always, Penny. And hey, your poem fits the roundup fishing theme today!
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Yeah! Poor little shrimp. And I did hit the theme. Something’s fishy! Oh wait, that’s not a good line! I can’t think of anything clever, so will you let me off the hook? OK…enough!
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Great poem, Penny, as usual. 🙂
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Thanks, Gail. I sure enjoyed yours. It was like a perfectly designed puzzle!
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I remember this, Penny! Terrific job.
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Thanks, Matt! I appreciate you dropping by!
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Love this one, Penny! It seems quite Poe-esque to me with the repeated line of wonderful words – luminescent, phosphorescent, incandescent!
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Those are my favorite words in the poem, too B.J. Hey…I’m excited that you started a blog. I love your header and title.
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Wonderful poem! No easy task to complete in 36 hours.
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Thanks! Yes, the 36 hours make it a challenge, but the madness was all kinds of fun!
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