The Poetry Haul Challenge
Week Eight - #artstackpoets #artstack
Poets, word-weavers, and lovers of language—welcome to Week 8 of The Poetry Haul! Each week, we assemble under the rich glow of inspiration, taking on the challenge of shaping ten words into poetry that stirs the soul.
This week’s words are: sun, honor, award, wonder, somewhere, fall, assemble, rich, girl, meet.
Where will these words take you? Perhaps into the golden rays of memory, a tale of honor and recognition, or a moment of wonder found somewhere unexpected. Let them guide you through new poetic landscapes.
How to participate:
Write a poem using some or all of the words.
Share it with us by [posting directly on Substack with #artstackpoets] and tag us ARTSTACK please remember to type @ with our name and click our account. From there our account should be highlighted.
Share your poem in the comments or in our online art center (tag #ThePoetryHaul so we can find it!).
Engage with other poets—this is about community, connection, and expression.
Need inspiration? Try crafting a poem based on a theme—mystery, dreams, or even a journey through time. There are no rules, only exploration.
“The Black Haze”
In the black haze of my mind,
I’m hosting ghosts of people
long gone, their wishes
etched deeper than memory.
Seven times I’ve sought access
to that remote place where
their voices take flight,
but silence answers instead.
“My wishes have been granted, I suddenly have access to all the things I ever wanted.
But things are getting darker, maybe it's time to leave the masses.
I am changing all the time, the people now are on my side, and still I feel alone and deprived.
It's like a haze on my mind, a total black out of my life.
Maybe it's time to take a flight, but whoever said it wasn't hard? Still, it doesn't feel right.
It's like hosting my own televised night, and the remote is too far to turn it down, so I might just sit and watch.
Is this how it feels? Will it ever be this harsh? Is it temporary or is this all about being alive?
There is no way of knowing the secrets of my life, unless I keep digging deeper and deeper, and maybe someday, I might find the seven wonders that somebody promised me.”
So many wishes
Pennies thrown in the well
Each one splashes
Thoughts clear as a bell
Taking flight
Seeing the world below
Even in the darkest night
There’s a small light that I know
That keeps me alive even through the haze of lies
That bombards us daily
And tries
To make a false picture
But this light burns through all that
Access to the deeper picture that exists behind the
Fake flat scene of delusions presented to the people
We have to look deeper
To see the lurking evil
And beyond that to see the good that can be
If we can get beyond this era of so much cruelty
and create a new prophesy.
Deeper by
In the remote wilderness of my mind
I curl my toes in the Earth of my past trauma
The energy here is quiet; slumbering
It’s at peace
I allow my spirit to take flight, through the haze
Towards a life of happiness
Letting go has freed me
Given me access to a whole new way of life
The energy here is palpable
Positive, enlightening and alive!
Seven divine lives
in a nine year
you won’t see
black people
on any flight
any time soon.
instead we’re
hosting remote
jubilee celebrations and
smoking purple haze
thinking of all the ways
we’ll limit access
to the oppressor
instead we lean
into the spiritual wishes
of those that came before
A clearer vision
emerges as we
unwind deeper
in the hands of time
Seven divine lives
in a nine year
The Poetry Haul Challenge
Welcome to Week 7 of The Poetry Haul! Another set of 10 words awaits your creative touch. Whether you write free verse, haiku, or spoken word, your challenge is to incorporate these words into a poem:
Even the bright sun must slip below the horizon each and every day.
We pray for the honour of wonder and the feeling of peace because
Somewhere along the path of life we were told about the moment
Where the girl meets here prince. But, we know that does not exist.
It is up to us to assemble our own surrender to the love frequency
And to choose a partner who's heart beats with a shared, divine melody.
Like the fall of Rome, or the riches of Cleopatra, some things are inevitable.
The award to a life well lived, is remembering the unforgettable.
each morning at dawn
she’d rise to meet
the sun with quivering expectations
she assembled her pain
in tiny little piles
of hopes, dreams and lessons
but somewhere
in another dimension
lives the girl who meets
herself for the first
and last time
dancing in moonlight
with abandon
honoring the voice
that says
“keep evolving”
spinning
she comes alive
with fire in her eyes
high on wonder
and whimsy
floating effortlessly
is her reward
for all the deaths
she has died
and even as her soul
surrenders
she is
replenished by
an energy so rich
with higher frequencies
and sound healing
appealing to the
healer within
May the gods award
her willingness to fall
answering the call
to resurrect
until there’s
nothing
left
to protect
truth is
i am her
she is me
and we are both
free
(see my page for the painting)