Once again we have a collaborative poetry between twitter friends. This is what originally got me into starting a poetry blog, and I share this on Dverse OLN tonight.
Written by: @brudberg, @permabloom, @jdubqca, @afcoory, @troublegummer, @vivchook and @myvogonpoetry
Collaborative poetry is great. You should try it 🙂
An Estuary in Brittany by Eugene Boudin
At the horizon I see the clear sky melting
into an azure mirror of the ancient sea
I take a smooth rock, carefully selected
break the silence by throwing it away.
An exercise in torpid deliberation,
I ask of the chosen stone to make me proud
and so it does, skipping, walking on water,
my own personal Jesus.
Wandering along the beaches of yesterday
I reflect on the past and pray in isolation
that the worries of the world will dissipate
like the ebbing of the tide.
Ghostly fingertips of salty coolness
caress my face and entice me to turn.
But when I look back, all I see
are my lonely footprints in the sands of fate
At that moment I realise the stone and I
have a situation in parallel
Both of us falling in an ocean of sorts
Each of us worn down by the elements of our existence
Once I skipped and danced the waves,
The breakers a force to ride to shore.
But now I fear my momentum has ebbed
And I’m sinking, drowning in self doubt
Submerged in my depths I find peace,
no longer at the mercy of ethereal forces.
Still. Tranquil. Undisturbed.
I whisper a silent prayer.
That I will soon rise again.
—
May 21, 2013
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I like especially ‘wandering along the beaches of yesterday.” I also like “I whisper a silent prayer. That I will soon rise again.” Really a fascinating collaboration. It is quite an art to be able to accomplish this so proficiently! Smiles.
Thank you.. we really enjoy the process, and do it monthly.
Very cool collaboration piece–I love how this feels so unified in voice–there is something softly contemplative about this for me–
It’s a tone we have created after many collaborative poetry efforts.
cool colab and i like how nature and emotions intermingle…the each of us worn down by the elements of our existence…and also the dancing that follows…the drowning…think we all can relate to the emotions
Thank you .. the process is such a wonderful one… everybody in colab look forward to it…
dang…really it fascinates me those that do this…blend voices and come up with poetry like that…i rather like the throwing of the stone and wanting it to make you proud…and it does….the expectation of the inanimate just caught me…def like the touches of nature as well…
Thank you.. the process is just fantastic…
Wow. I love this…how do you collaborate poetry. I am intrigued. My mind usually flies solo. Warp speed and all that…but I am fascinated with the idea! I fancy the whole lot of words but especially …NOPE, every time I re-read I like it more. I like the individual stanzas…
Basically we shift order, and let one person start writing a stanza and then try to carry a coherent thought through all the way to the end. I think it’s amazing that’s it not done more. Haiku for instance is almost meant to do collaborative (renga)..
Powerful words, perhaps the power comes form the collaborative effort. An interdependent meditation of sorts. I found my peace and tranquility as I whispered my own prayer. Much needed and appreciated … Thanks!
Thank you for reading and commenting. I think the effort of finding a common voice and a coherent thought makes it strong…It’s the voice of many.
A very nice collaboration..I’ve have done some collaborative work and sometimes it can truly be amazing..just like your piece here.
Thank you.. we like the creation process.. and the result, trying to carry a thought all the way through..
A very beautiful composition, loved the line where you have compared the stone and yourself, it is very thought provoking, the poem is deep and profound with intense meaning. Loved the concept of collaborative poem, results are wonderful.
Thank you 🙂
I love the output of the collaborative writing ~ It reminded me of Footprints in the Sand ~ I like that hope and faith in the ending lines ~
Thank you, yes I think it went well this time. It’s interesting when you only write one stanza how it influence the whole poem
wow.. that was an amazing collaboration..my favorite are 3-4 stanzas and the concluding one..though it unfolds beautifully as a whole.
love it, thanks for sharing Bjorn~
Thank you.. we have so much fun writing it.,
That’s pretty great right there.
Lots of lines here that were just aces.
Thank you 🙂
there are some stunningly beautiful lines in this Bjorn; the one that hit me most though was: “And I’m sinking, drowning in self doubt” – I know exactly how that feels.
Thank you, I think collaborative poetry is great.. Trying to adopt your own voice and content to what’s before, and anticipate where it might go.
Fabulous.
Wish I could work out how to Twitter: would love to try this some time.
Great result.
We know each other from twitter… and have met around different hashtags.
Lonely footprints in the sand–very potent, anyone facing loneliness can identify exactly with this forlorn image. Great work, A+ to everyone involved in the creation of this piece!
Thank you Nico 🙂 I know the others have been in and checked out the comments.
I;m amazed at the seamlessness of this collaborative work…Great job!
Thank you (and I think you know most of the persons from twitter already) ..
What a lovely compilation here, Bjorn. It’s hard to tell it’s a collaborative poem.
Thank you.. It’s quite different writing this type… maybe a little like singing in choir compared to singing solo…
Bjorn,
I am unfamiliar with collaborative poems…what a lovely idea.
This read is nicely woven and I had to go back to be sure that you said
“collaborative” because it was so …seamless…(thank you 1emeraldcity for the word). Enticing … one to read and share.
Thank you for the new to me form,
Peace,
Siggi.
Maybe you have read that collaborative poetry has been quite common – Basho was involved in many renga poetry. I also think that rap musicians create common poetry 😉
I like this alot Bjorn. How you have taken nature and mirrored that with feelings makes a powerful write. Nice.
Nature and feelings goes hand in hand 🙂 Thank you 🙂
Bjorn, this turned out beautifully, it sounds and reads as one voice.
Pamela
Thank you, that’s greatly appreciated.
…an excellent collaboration of thoughts that almost sounded as one… good job kindred spirits! smiles…
Thank you Kelvin. It’s a lovely process to take part in.
This must have been fun…
It’s a lot of fun 🙂
I love this line: “An exercise in torpid deliberation”
Me too .. 🙂
Your collaboration flows so well – I particularly like the stone making one proud!
Rowan, that’s the beauty of collaborative work, I can say that I love that line too… 🙂
A ;lovely, coherent poem which belies its multiple origins. The first time I tried a renga with a group of friends the result was chaotic because of one person who kept throwing spanners in the works. Done with one other person, it worked perfectly, even though we held different points of view on the theme.
I have never tried renga, but it would be fun to do. This we write one stanza at a time, and I found that one has to move a theme gentle along to create something coherent. 😉
This is just amazing!!! Even though it is a collaborative work, it mingles so smoothly that wholeness emerges effortlessly. Not to say how tough it is to bring out such seamless collage. Most important is that central theme is constant. Superb, really enjoyed this one.
Wonderful. Gorgeous imagery and sentiments. You’d never know this wasn’t written by one person with one voice.
Stay tuned… we do one entry per month… 🙂 published on several bloggs