One Shot Wednesday - Poetry Week 30

Welcome to One Shot Wednesday - Poetry Week 30

Hi and welcome to another week of celebrating and enjoying Poetry. I am Pete Marshall and I shall be your host this fine evening.

Before we start however I have a few announcements to make....

Over the last six months we have seen One Stop Poetry grow from strength to strength, and in doing so One Stop Poetry has outgrown this site and needed to create a new, more structured place. A place where you can continue to enjoy what we do. As we introduce more ideas and features to an already exciting place, we promise to  keep alive the community spirit and love of poetry that brought us together. We are expanding to include elements that encourage young people to write and explore the arts. We strive to make creative writing explode off the pens of young people. We therefore are proud to announce the creation of  www.onestoppoetry.com.

Obviously moving address is always a stressful time yet we hope that the transfer will be a seamless exercise and cause as little disruption to you as possible.

Thank you all also for your support and votes for One Stop Poetry in the Shorty Awards. If you haven't as yet voted or wish to encourage your followers to vote we are nominated for two awards in the categories Art & Poetry. The voting finishes this week so as much support as you can muster is more than welcome.

Now I feel its time to let One Shot Wednesday begin. If you are new or wish to have a recap here is how it works;

1, Write an original poem and post it to your blog

2, Link back to One Shot Wednesday from your post

3, Sign up in the Mr Linky list,(use the URL from your blog) linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted it. Mr Linky will be open from 5pm EST Tuesday (10pm UK)  until 3am EST Thursday (8am UK). If you need help with this, please ask in the comment box.

4, Go visit others that have posted. This is a great way to learn new forms, meet new poets and gain inspiration for your next piece. though this is not mandatory we encourage you to visit at least one other poet and give some helpful feedback.

5. For some of you I need to stress - don't feel that you need to comment on each poem, take your time and enjoy the read.

On behalf of all the One Stop Team...Happy One Shot

A Saturday Celebration: Lord Byron

A Saturday Celebration:
Lord Byron, 1788 - 1824

Today at One Stop Poetry we celebrate the work of one of Britain's most famous poets, George Gordon Byron. He is  6th Baron Byron, born, 22nd January 1788, better known as Lord Byron.

Byron’s short life of 36 years was full of adventure and literary acclaim. From being revered as a national hero in Greece, for taking arms and fighting the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, to the famous tale of being cooped up for three days during a “wet, ungenial summer” at the Villa Diodati, which  led to Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Frankenstein.

Byron shared the benefits and pitfalls of celebrity.  Affairs and scandals were to follow him throughout his life, including those of sodomy and incest. These things coupled with bouts of depression, extravagant, flamboyant and eccentric behaviour, an extreme temper, a club foot which caused a limp to blight him all his life, Byron certainly had many sources of inspiration.

Following a violent fever, he died, on 19th April 1824, whilst in Greece fighting for their independence. Such was Byron's standing that having been embalmed, the Greeks wanted to keep part of him with them. It is rumoured that either his heart or lungs remain in Greece. Byron's body was returned to England for burial at Westminster Abbey. However, due to "unquestionable morality" the Abbey refused the burial. He is buried at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, in Hucknall, Nottingham. 

He left behind a daughter, The Honorable Augusta Ada Byron, born 1815, who herself holds a notable place in history. It was she, who worked closely with Charles Babbage, the man who was widely regarded as the inventor of the modern computer, and is known for  being the world's first computer programmer.

As a leading figure in the Romanticism movement, Byron was a prolific writer, and it is his work that we wish to share and celebrate today. There have been so many poems to chose; I am sure you each have your favorites. Today I will leave you with three poems, starting with, perhaps, his most known, She Walks in Beauty, 

She Walks In Beauty
by Lord Byron (1814)

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

When We Two Parted

by Lord Byron (1817)

When we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted,

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning

Sank chill on my brow— 

It felt like the warning

Of what I feel now.

Thy vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken,

And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

A shudder comes o'er me— 

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee,

Who knew thee too well:— 

Long, long shall I rue thee

Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met— 

In silence I grieve

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?— 

With silence and tears.

Epitaph to a Dog

By Lord Byron (1808)

Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.

This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG,
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead Nov. 18, 1808.

When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,

Unknown by Glory, but upheld by Birth,

The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe,

And storied urns record who rests below.

When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen,

Not what he was, but what he should have been.

But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,

The first to welcome, foremost to defend,

Whose honest heart is still his Master’s own,

Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,

Unhonoured falls, unnoticed all his worth,

Denied in heaven the Soul he held on earth –

While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,

And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.

Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,

Debased by slavery, or corrupt by power –

Who knows thee well must quit thee with disgust,

Degraded mass of animated dust!

Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,

Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy words deceit!

By nature vile, ennobled but by name,

Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.

Ye, who perchance behold this simple urn,

Pass on – it honors none you wish to mourn.

To mark a friend’s remains these stones arise;

I never knew but one – and here he lies. 

images all courtesy creative commons/wikipedia

One Shot Wednesday - Poetry Week 29

Welcome to One Shot Wednesday - Week 29

Welcome to One Shot everyone! My name is Brian Miller and I will be your host today. We look forward to reading your amazing poetic offerings, and are excited you are here, but first let me tell you about a few things that will be rolling out in the next couple weeks with my Friday Poetically.

If you joined us last week, we wrote poetry to the amazing talent of Joe Satriani. Each month we will look at different musical inspirations for our poetry. This Friday, I will launch a new monthly children's wall, where we will be posting poems by children/teens. If you know word artists that happen to be children or have kids of your own, we encourage you to submit their work via email to One Stop Poetry. We will put several up each week and you will be notified the week your child's poem goes up on the wall. In order to provide protection for children under 14 years of age, we ask that you have them create a pen name. Each work of poetry can then be displayed with that name.

Those are just a few of the features you can look forward to on Fridays.

We also would appreciate your vote for One Stop Poetry if you are on Twitter. We have been nominated in two categories  (by the Twitter community) we are in good position to receive an award which would reflect back on each of you as this is a community.  There is a Shorty Awards button to the right of the page. 

Let's give the microphone back to all of you for One Shot Wednesday. Happy One Shot everyone!

If you are new to One Shot Wednesday, please feel welcome to participate by doing the following:

1, Write an original poem and post it to your blog

2, Link back to One Shot Wednesday from your post 

3, Sign up in the Mr Linky list,(use the URL from your blog) linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted it. Mr Linky will be open from 5pm EST Tuesday (10pm UK)  until 3am EST Thursday (8am UK). If you need help with this, please ask in the comment box.

4, Go visit others that have posted. This is a great way to learn new forms, meet new poets and gain inspiration for your next piece. though this is not mandatory we encourage you to visit at least one other poet and give some helpful feedback.

5. For some of you I need to stress - don't feel that you need to comment on each poem. Take in the inspiration of a few with a good cup of tea or coffee.

On behalf of  my fellow cohorts, Adam Dustus , Leslie Moon, Pete Marshall,Chris Galford, Jessica Kristie, Claudia Schoenfeld, Gay Cannon and myself - welcome and enjoy!!!!!

One Shot Wednesday - Week 28

On behalf of all the team at One Stop Poetry, I warmly welcome you to One Shot Wednesday, Week 28!

I am Claudia Schönfeld and will be your host this evening. One Shot is growing - and not only in numbers but also in quality. I personally have learned so much by reading all the wonderful poems you bring to the table each week and thoroughly enjoy the variety of styles, meeting poets from all over the world and the warm-hearted atmosphere and feedback. It's great to be a part of this bustling and alive community.

If you think One Stop is great and like what we are doing, you can nominate us for a social media award in the Shorty Awards. You can do this by clicking on the Logo on the right side bar. We are being represented in two categories, #art & #poetry. A vote for both would be wonderful! 

And now before we start this weeks One Stop, I would like to hand you over to Pete who has a special message;

"Hi everybody and thank you very much for your continued support of both One Shot Wednesday and One Stop Poetry. As we have grown over the past 6 months, in order to maintain the high standards that we set , we have seen the need for the team to expand. Today I would like to introduce to you the newest member of One Stop Poetry, Jessica Kristie. I am sure you will welcome her on board accordingly.

Thank you also to Claudia for a wonderful introduction and I can only reiterate her words with regard to the Shorty Awards, on behalf of us all we are very thankful for the nomination and the votes we receive.

This Sunday, for those of you on Twitter, Leslie  hosted  our first weekly scheduled #ospchat, which is held for an hour starting at 3.30pm EST (8.30 UK). The first of these live chats was a resounding success and we look forward to seeing more of you this coming Sunday at the same time.

On a last note, please do not forget the One Stop Anthology. If you have entered a poem into weeks 1 - 25, then you are eligible to be considered. If you have entered more than one poem and would like what you consider to be your best, to be voted on,  please email us at Oneshotpoetry@gmail.com, headed Anthology, with your chosen two poems and the weeks they were entered. we will only accept these emails up to 21st of January so please hurry. For more details please visit One Stop Poetry  - Anthology. 

Thanks again and now I hand you back to the wonderful Claudia....all the best...Pete"

Well yes - thanks Pete - it's poetry time - woo-hoo - !!

~ Claudia

If you're new to OSW, here's how it works:

• Post a poem on your blog

• Link your poem to One Shot, using Mr Linky. Where the prompt asks put the URL (web address for your poem) for the poem there.

• Visit as many other One Shot Poets as you like. Tell them how you feel when your are reading, encourage and interact with them

• Tell others about OSW by including a link to this page on your post

A Saturday Celebration: Thomas Hardy

A Saturday Celebration:     Thomas Hardy

This Tuesday marks the death of one of Britain's most finest writers, today One Stop Poetry celebrates the work of poet & writer  Thomas Hardy, who died 11th January 1928.


Hardy is famous for writing so many classic fictional tales, Far from the Madding Crowd & Tess of the D'Urbevilles, to name just two, but he always preferred to be known as a poet, writing novels for financial gain only. As a poet his was prolific, having written over 800 poems before his death, and most having been published!


Thomas Hardy was born 2nd June 1840 in Higher Bockhampton, situated in the small parish of Stinsford, near Dorchester, Dorset. His father, also named Thomas, was a stonemason & builder.  Despite showing great academic potential, a college education was unaffordable, so at the age of 16 Thomas was to become an apprentice to a local architect in his village. Such was Hardy's promise at this that in 1862 he enrolled at King College, London, as a student of Architecture, winning many prizes from the Royal Institute of British Architects & the Architectural Association. Hardy was to spend 5 years in London before returning to Dorset following concerns over his health.


In 1870 Hardy was to travel to Cornwall and undertake work on the restoration of St Juliots Church. It is here that he was to meet and fall in love with Emma Lavinia Gifford, whom he married in 1874. As a side note, St Juliots is situated very near Tintagel, my favourite place in the World. It was on a walk one day from Boscastle, a neighbouring village, through Valency Valley, heading inland, when my wife and I were to take shade at a Church looking down across the valley. Whilst taking rest we became aware that this was St Juliots, the Church restored by Hardy himself!


Emma was the love of Hardy's life and all though they were to be separated, she remained the main focus of his work. On her death in 1912, Hardy would undertake a trip to Cornwall revisiting the places linked to their courtship, resulting in the collection of Poems 1912 - 13, which reflects on her passing.


Although Hardy was to marry his secretary in 1914, who was nearly 40 years his junior, his love for Emma never waned. Having contracted pleurisy in the December, Hardy was to die on 11th January, 1928. At the nations request he was to be buried in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey, although his family and friends wished for him to be buried alongside Emma at the parish church in Stinsford where he was born. Eventually a compromise was agreed whereby his heart was buried with Emma and his ashes at Poets Corner. Alongside Hardy at Poets Corner lay other notable literary genius's such as Alfred Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Browning & Geoffrey Chaucer to name but a few.


On Sunday 16th January there is to be a memorial service held at Westminster Abbey, with a reading of his poetry to mark the 83rd anniversary of his burial.


Hardy was admired by many, including D H Lawrence, Robert Graves, Virginia Wolf and more recently Philip Larkin. In 1910 he was to be bestowed with the Order of Merit, which recognised his services to Literature.


The list of work associated with Hardy is immense, as well as the poetry, plays and short stories, the following are all novels written by him;

• Desperate Remedies (1871)
• Under the Greenwood Tree (1872)
• A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873)
• Far From the Madding Crowd (1874)
• The Hand of Ethelberta (1876)
• The Return of the Native (1878)
• The Trumpet Major (1880)
• A Laodicean (1881)
• Two on a Tower (1882)
• The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)
• The Woodlanders (1887)
• A Group of Noble Dames (1891)
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)
• Jude the Obscure (1895)
• The Well-Beloved (1897)

Today, One Stop Poetry would like to bring you two poems by Thomas Hardy,

At Castle Boterel

by Thomas Hardy

As I drive to the junction of lane and highway, 

And the drizzle bedrenches the waggonette, 

I look behind at the fading byway, 

And see on its slope, now glistening wet, 

Distinctly yet

Myself and a girlish form benighted

In dry March weather. We climb the road

Beside a chaise. We had just alighted

To ease the sturdy pony's load

When he sighed and slowed.

What we did as we climbed, and what we talked of

Matters not much, nor to what it led, -

Something that life will not be balked of

Without rude reason till hope is dead, 

And feeling fled.

It filled but a minute. But was there ever

A time of such quality, since or before, 

In that hill's story? To one mind never, 

Though it has been climbed, foot-swift, foot-sore, 

By thousands more.

Primaeval rocks form the road's steep border, 

And much have they faced there, first and last, 

Of the transitory in Earth's long order; 

But what they record in colour and cast

Is - that we two passed.

And to me, though Time's unflinching rigour, 

In mindless rote, has ruled from sight

The substance now, one phantom figure

Remains on the slope, as when that night

Saw us alight.

I look and see it there, shrinking, shrinking, 

I look back at it amid the rain

For the very last time; for my sand is sinking, 

And I shall traverse old love's domain

Never again. 

*************************

The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy I leant upon a coppice gate,  When Frost was spectre-gray,  And Winter's dregs made desolate  The weakening eye of day.  The tangled bine-stems scored the sky  Like strings of broken lyres,  And all mankind that haunted nigh  Had sought their household fires.  The land's sharp features seemed to me  The Century's corpse outleant,  Its crypt the cloudy canopy,  The wind its death-lament.  The ancient pulse of germ and birth  Was shrunken hard and dry,  And every spirit upon earth  Seemed fervorless as I.  At once a voice arose among  The bleak twigs overhead,  In a full-hearted evensong  Of joy illimited.  An aged thrush, frail, gaunt and small,  With blast-beruffled plume,  Had chosen thus to fling his soul  Upon the growing gloom.  So little cause for carolings  Of such ecstatic sound  Was written on terrestrial things  Afar or nigh around,  That I could think there trembled through  His happy good-night air  Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew,  And I was unaware.  ************************* Historical Notes Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 and died in 1928, living to be almost 88 years of age. During his life time the word was to change greatly.  To put the duration of his life into some perspective, the year that Hardy was born, 1840, also saw Queen Victoria marry Prince Albert and the introduction of the very first stamp, the penny black. In 1928, the year of his death, Andy Warhol was born, & Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in the animated cartoon "Plane Crazy".

One Shot Poetry Wednesday - Week 27

Welcome to One Shot Wednesday - Week 27

Welcome to week 27 of One Shot Wednesday. We hope you each had a wonderful holiday? I am you host for this week & my name is Leslie Moon, aka Moondustwriter one of the One Stop Poetry founders. We started One Stop Poetry six months ago to create a cyber site where poets, artists & creative types could join and share their insights and their work. We hope that you feel comfortable and welcome here?

One Stop Poetry has new things in the store for 2011. One of those started yesterday on our Monday Poetry Form day. Our intention is to give even seasoned poets a look at poetry forms they may or may not be familiar with. 

We are also creating an opportunity for poets to chat on #OSPChat on Twitter. We will be introducing twitter chat this Sunday the 9th at 3:30pm EST (8.30pm UK). If you are new to twitter, type in the hashtag (#ospchat) and it will connect you to others using the same hashtag (I use Tweet Deck but Hootsuite is also another good app for twitter). You must type the hashtag with each comment to be part of the conversation. Join us on Sundays to meet each other and talk about poetry.

If you are new to One Shot Wednesday, please feel welcome to participate by doing the following.

1, Write an original poem and post it to your blog

2, Link back to One Shot Wednesday from your post 

3, Sign up in the Mr Linky list,(use the URL from your blog) linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted it. Mr Linky will be open from 5pm EST Tuesday (10pm UK)  until 3am EST Thursday (8am UK). If you need help with this, please ask.

4, Go visit others that have posted. This is a great way to learn new forms, meet new poets and gain inspiration for your next piece. though this is not mandatory we encourage you to visit at least one other poet and give some helpful feedback.

5. For some of you I need to stress - dont feel that you need to comment on each poem. Take in the inspiration of a few with a good cup of tea or coffee.

On behalf of  my fellow cohorts, Adam Dustus , Brian Miller, Chris Galford, Claudia Schonfeld, Gay Cannon and Pete Marshall - welcome and enjoy!!!!!

A Saturday Celebration: Happy New Year from One Stop Poetry

Happy New Year to one and all…

Saturdays bring me great joy when I share with you the Saturday Celebration, but today I wanted to celebrate something different, today, as we start the New Year, we also start the next 6 months so today I celebrate One Stop Poetry.


Having launched One Stop Poetry on 1st July our very first posting was a poem by Leslie Moon, When Two Worlds Collide, looking back now how apt this was….

The poem was a wonderful metaphor for the unison of the founders of One Stop and what we strived to bring forth…6 months later I feel very proud that we have achieved our original goal and are creating new ones whilst still maintaining our original ethos.

As One Stop has grown, we have recognised that to maintain the standards we have set we needed additional  staff. We now find ourselves with 7 members on the team (the original team being Adam, Brian, Leslie and myself.).

Looking to the future, we have so many things in store. As we continue to expand and bring poetry, art & photography to the forefront new ideas are always formulating, the next 6 months are promising to be an amazing time!

One Stop Poetry isn’t just about One Shot Wednesday, One Shoot Sunday, or the amazing spotlights, it's more than that. One Stop Poetry is about finding you, your voice, your style and helping promote you to the rest of the world as we constantly discover ways to find an opportunity for you to be published, whether that be through competitions or our first, of many, Anthology's.

During this coming year, we have additional plans to encourage writers. We will be starting the New Year with a critique site which is not open forum. This site will be a place for poets who are serious about their work to get the critique they need to go to the next level; for many that will be seeking critique in order to publish. Starting this 2011 year One Stop will once a week offer a “poetry class.” This class is intended to be fun and informative. Our hope is that even the seasoned poet will learn new forms of poetry. These classes will be offered on Mondays, starting the 3rd, by teachers schooled in that particular form of poetry.

Today I am also pleased to unveil our revamped  forum and really hope you stop by and embrace a place that has been created for you.We also will be announcing a weekly chat session for those of you on Twitter.

As the year progresses, there will more exiting news to unveil so be sure to stay close and see what's being offered!

Finally, on behalf of all of us at One Stop Poetry, Bri, Leslie, Adam, Claudia, Chris, Gay & myself….we would like to wish you a very happy, healthy & prosperous New Year and look forward to sharing the Wonders of One Stop with you even more….

Happy New Year from One Stop Poetry


If you would like to share any New Year poetry, prose, art or photography please feel free to use the link below

Happy New Year from One Stop Poetry

Happy New Year from One Stop Poetry

Auld Lang Syne

By Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

(CHORUS) For auld lang syne, my jo,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !

and surely I’ll be mine !

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,

and pu’d the gowans fine ;

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,

sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,

frae morning sun till dine ;

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !

and gie's a hand o’ thine !

And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS 

image courtesy creative commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/c_r_i_s/

One Shot Poetry Wednesday (Week 26)

Welcome to One Shot Wednesday!

Hello, Everyone! I'm Adam Dustus, your host for this week's OSW. As 2010 draws to a close, it is my pleasure to begin the festivities for our final One Shot of this year. Before beginning, I'd like to officially welcome Gay Cannon (beachanny) to The One Stop Team. We are extremely fortunate for her skillful help (in addition to her overall wonderfulness); and in case you missed it, check out her excellent Monday post on a familiar face from One Shot Wednesday, Anthony Desmond Scott. 

*Also, don't forget about the One Shot Wednesday "Best of the First 6 Months Anthology." If you entered a poem in weeks 1 - 25, then you are eligible. Please refer to One Shot Wednesday Anthology for more information.

Okay, enough with the speeches, let's get right into it....
If you are new to our weekly poetry meme, here are the guidelines:

1) Write a poem (due to the growing number of links, please post 1 poem)

2) Link your post to One Shot via Mr Linky (put in your name & URL of poem)

3) Please visit the poetry sites of other One Shot poets & provide feedback

4) And don't forget to invite others to join in our community of online poets!

*All forms of poetry are accepted.

Thank you for your participation & support,
dustus

 

Merry Christmas to all our readers

To everyone of you that reads, contributes, shares and enjoys, have a great Christmas and a fantastic New Year... cheers Pete

We appreciate each of you. Writing poetry just wouldn't be the same without the support each of you gives... Best Wishes Leslie

To our artistic peers, readers, & friends, Happy Holidays & Thank You.
Warmest regards...  Adam

Thanks to each of you for your creative and inspiring presence - you make One Stop what it is...have a fantastic Christmas and a good start into 2011...Claudia

It's an honor being part of a community filled with so many talented and creative people...each and everyone of you have a gift, and it's a real pleasure you've shared a piece of it with us. To all, my thanks, and my best wishes for the holidays! ~Chris

Great to join with you and see where poetry takes us in 2011.Wishing the best of Holidays to you and yours ~Gay

photo by dustus

One Shot Wednesday - Week 25

Welcome to One Shot Wednesday - Week 25

Hi and welcome to this weeks One Shot Wednesday. I am Pete Marshall & today I will be your merry host.

Following the recent announcement of our "The Best of One Shot Wednesday - The First 6 Months" anthology, published under Limited Editions Press, today's One Shot is the cut off week, number 25,  for poetry to be considered. For further details please visit the following link;

 One Shot Wednesday Anthology.

Rest assured however this is not the last One Shot Wednesday, just the last for your poetry to be considered in our first Anthology. I hope you also note the word "first" as we will be releasing further publications throughout the coming year.

The first 6 months of One Stop Poetry really has been a wonderful success which has seen us grow at an amazing pace whilst still keeping true to our original beliefs. As we have grown so has the team, who work diligently, week in week out, to bring you such wonderful features.  We have so many great plans & announcements  in store for 2011 and look forward to enjoying every day of the next 6 months with all of you, who help make this such an exciting place to be.

In just 6 months One Stop Poetry has seen itself firmly established as a place that brings together the arts from all around the globe, and lends itself to quality and as a platform to helping you realise your dreams.

On behalf of all the team at One Stop Poetry I would therefore like to thank you for your support over the last 6 months & to wish you the happiest of Christmas's and a wonderful & prosperous New Year.

Cheers Pete

One Shot Wednesday - week 25

For those of you who are new here's how it works

1) post a poem to your blog

2) link your poem to One Shot using Mr Linky, where you will be prompted to enter your name and the URL for your poem. The URL is the web address for your poem

3)Visit other One Shot Poets, as many as you wish. Tell them how you feel when you are reading, encourage and interact with them. If you wish to critique remember to be positive and constructive, negative criticism does not help anyone.

4) Tell others about One Shot Wednesday by including a link to this page on your post

Welcome to One Stop Poetry - A Christmas Tour Around the World

Welcome to One Stop Poetry. As we begin the week of Christmas, we want to recognize the importance of families and friends. Because of that One Shot Wednesday will open earlier on Tuesday in order for last submissions (that can be considered for the anthology). Thursday will be a time to write poetry in honor of those we love (i.e. parent or grandparents) who we miss during this time of the year. You may have a poem written to honor that person or a Christmas memory that you would like to share.

Christmas Eve will be a story (based on a true story); one that can be enjoyed by the entire family. Christmas Day and Boxing Day (UK) will be observed as holidays for you to enjoy (off-line). Though we will probably post a poetry prompt for you die-hard bloggers.

We wanted to start the week by learning about different cultures and how the Christmas holiday is celebrated. Celebrations may include many things: food, songs, things the family or community does. There are things your family does that is it's own unique celebration. We would love for you to share how you celebrate. You could write a poem about your celebration or a funny story. Please feel free to link in and/or share in the comment box.

The One Stop Poetry Team (Adam, Brian, Chris, Claudia, Gay, Leslie, Pete) would like to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday.

We asked Claudia to share her traditions from Germany to kick us off.

Oh sing me silent Holy Night

When I was asked to write about how we Germans celebrate Christmas and what kind of traditions we have, my ambivalent relationship with traditions was the first thing that jumped to my mind and with it this story...

As I thought, a Christmas tree had nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, I refused to have one for years...and how our children suffered as everyone else had one of course! As I didn't change my mind, one Christmas Eve, my eldest daughter (she must have been six or seven then) told me, this year we will have a tree as she had crafted one herself - and there it stood in our living room - made of a broomstick and colored paper...so we were celebrating Christmas around this broomstick tree and from then on  - we started to have real christmas trees...

So the Christmas tree is one tradition we have - in 95% of the German households it's a genuine tree, cut in a forest. Usually we put it up in the living room the day before Christmas Eve and leave it there until the 6th of January.

The Advent wreath is my personal favorite Christmas tradition, dating back to 1839.
Pastor Wichern was at this time the leader of an asylum for homeless boys in Hamburg (The Rough House) and in the dining room, he hang up a huge cartwheel for "his" boys with 19 small and 4 big candles and every evening, the boys would light another candle to show them, there's hope in their
hopelessness.

Something you might know is the "Star of Herrnhut" which was the Christmas challenge for the boys of the Missionaries home Niesky in Herrnhut/Germany by their math teacher in 1821 - and since then re-built a million times and well known in most countries of the world.

And it was Martin Luther who re-arranged the date when the children would get their Christmas presents from the 6th of December to the 24th of December.

The reason for changing the date was that he said: Nicolaus was a good man, but can't help us any more - but on Christmas, God gave us his only son and every year this gives us a reason to celebrate. His wife and all the people in this small church in Wittenberg didn't like this at first - until
he introduced the song he has written for this Christmas celebration in 1535 - > "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" - > "From heaven above I come"

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs and we used to sing it a lot with the children. And one year, we went skiing and Tim, my son (he was quite small then) was sitting in the chair lift and singing full sound "From heaven above I come...." and all the people around were smiling...

So we will decorate our Christmas tree on the 22nd or 23rd of December - will go to church on the 24th at around 5pm - then have Christmas Dinner with the family (Fondue most years) , sing the first stanza (we only know the first stanza by heart..) from all the christmas songs that jump to our mind with me playing the guitar and then unpack presents under the Christmas tree.

Last but not least, let me share a Christmas poem and then extend my German Christmas experience to a tour round the world...

~ Claudia


Oh Sing me silent Holy Night

oh sing me silent holy night
when angels held their breath in awe
and wonders tender, true and raw

were born just when the time was right
I can’t hold on to what is wrong
my soul entwined in brightest light

with him who's stronger than the law
oh sing me silent holy night

(Claudia Schönfeld)

this is an Octain -
a new poem structure, created  by One Stop's featured friend Luke Prater.
We will have an opportunity to learn more about this style in the New Year.

Please Join Us in a Christmas Tour Around the World..

The Wise Men photograph courtesy of Creative Commons and Visual Panichttp://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpanic/314708685/