Roberta Writes – W3 Prompt #110: Downward Spiral #naturechaos #poetry #W3

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Nature Chaos Artwork by Robbie Cheadle – Blue whale dying in a desert. Concept: there is nothing more unnatural than a whale in a desert and it is a death sentence.

II. Deanna’s prompt guidelines

The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, …

This sequence gives the Golden Ratio, or divine proportion, seen in nature, art, and architecture.

  • FORM: Compose a ‘Fib’ poem(created by Gregory K. Pincus), which is a six-line poem of 1,1,2,3,5,8 syllables).
    • VARIATIONS:
      1. Write as few or as many lines as you wish, as long as your syllable count is based upon the Fibonacci Sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc.).
      2. You may write more than one stanza, repeating the amount of lines of your first stanza.
  • THEME: Write about a spiral; spiral shapes in nature or art, or perhaps a more figurative or metaphorical spiral.

Deanna’s most recent poem: https://shiftnshake.wordpress.com/2024/06/02/w3-prompt-109-unrequited-love-again/

Downward spiral by Robbie Cheadle

Down

Down

It swirls

All the hope

Of broken people

Spiralling down into drains dark

Joining grey water interspersed with freedom’s debris

Washing tunnel sides smooth, no hand or feet grips to aid escape from the ocean of lies

Where it sinks, choking on manmade plastic waste, bandied about by random currents, until it finds a discarded hermit crab shell – curls up; dies

This poem is about the recent election process in South Africa which doesn’t seem to have made anyone happy. The country is now in a state of limbo while coalition negotiations take place.

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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96 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – W3 Prompt #110: Downward Spiral #naturechaos #poetry #W3”

  1. not having a mathematical brain, I’ve concentrated on the poem itself ; and the sense of waste and despair is palpable; one of my Friday friends is South African so I will sound her out though she hasn’t been back for a few decades; I admire your tenacity in sticking to such a rigid form and carrying it off with aplomb —

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  3. That’s an amazing painting of a whale. Such a neat perspective from viewing it underneath. But powerful in how you placed the whale in a desert. Also powerful is your poem. My family also feels a deep sadness and outrage about how humans are littering the ocean with plastic waste.

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    1. Hi Dave, it is outrageous what humanity has done to the world’s wildlife. So many creatures are endangered and, for me, it is a terrible tragedy. Plastic adds to the destruction of marine life and unnecessary waste we are creating. It’s incredibly hard to get away from plastic as it is used to wrap all foodstuffs and all medications.

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  5. A good extended metaphor, though I wouldn’t have known you were thinking of South Africa and the elections. It fits the world in general. So many countries in flux right now. Good luck!

    A while back I wrote some Fibonacci-based variation poems. There’s a journal devoted to Fib poems, too.

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    1. Hi Merril, I know that people in other countries, including America, are feeling as if the political way and will has been lost. I keep reminding myself that it would have been much worse during WW1 and WW2 and that things aren’t that bad. I hadn’t heard of this style of poetry before. It is rather intriguing.

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      1. Hi Robbie. You have to do whatever helps you. 😊 I know there have been many horrible times in the past, and much depends on where you are and who you are. If the convicted felon is re-elected, or any Republican is, we in the US will be living in a fascist state.

        I went back and looked up what I had done with the form. I reversed it and combined it with a trimeric. I got the idea from Jane Dougherty. If you’re interested: https://merrildsmith.org/2023/03/28/cranes/

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          1. You’re welcome. I’m not good at math, so tricky for me, but not all that complicated. 🙂

            Yes, the followers of the orange felon have no idea how the whole world is affected. 😔

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  12. Robbie, a poem of such deep darkness and despair, I felt entangled by your words, suffocated by the anguish of uncertainty. Terrific poem. I see you like maths – the concept for this type of poem had me reacting the way I did to physics, my mind tunes out!😀 Wow, an astonishing painting by yourself, I love it and love the unexpected impossible of the whale in the desert!

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    1. Hi Annika, I always use poetry to express emotion. This election has everyone in a twist and things got a bit worse today. The currency took a dive. Anyhow, onwards and upwards … I’m delighted you like the painting. A whale in the desert was about the most unnatural nature setting I could think of.

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  16. A terrifying painting couple with a matching poem that mirrors my own feelings. I’m not into math at all, but the painting really says it all. I didn’t know you paint But — Of COURSE you paint. You make magical sugar creations for cakes that are far too lovely to eat.

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    1. HI Marilyn, we do eat the sugar creations – smile! I only started painting and drawing last year September. You were one of my inspirations, together with another blogger called Kerfe who also creates beautiful artworks. I will write something happier next time. I had to get this off my chest.

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  17. That is a very beautiful and ponderous painting. Fibonacci series is very useful but I’ve thought of it as a form for poetry. That seems very difficult but you pulled it off. I hope the situation in South Africa gets better.

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    1. Hi Thomas, I don’t think things will get better here in SA. You may have noticed that African countries follow a pattern … We are making medium terms (end 2025) plans to leave now. I am very excited – I always wanted to live in Europe. This is the first time I’ve heard of this poetry style.

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  18. Your artwork captures the surreal, Munch-esque quality of the whale dying in the desert very well. I’m trying very hard not to get sucked into the spiral of despair.

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  19. A powerful poem and artwork as well.
    Your politics seem to be echoed everywhere in the world these days. There will be no good ending to our election in November either, no matter who “wins”. (K)

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    1. HI Kerfe, I’m pleased you enjoyed the poem and artwork. Yes, politics everywhere is a mess so this poem can apply to a few countries. I agree about your election, both candidates look out mainly for the wealthy citizens of the country as far as I can tell.

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  21. Well done Robbie! Despite the restriction in syllables, I am amazed that you were able to make a very strong statement about the current political state of South Africa.

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  22. What a fascinating type of poetry. Your bold statement is a reflection of the turmoil around the world embroiled in political conflict, lies and destruction. Amazing job, Robbie!

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    1. Hi Priscilla, thank you. It is very unlikely things will improve here in SA. The government is very corrupt and incompetent and things have been deteriorating rapidly over the past few years. We are now looking to leave within an 18 month timeframe.

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  30. Gorgeous artwork, Robbie. You are an accomplished artist indeed. Your words take us down the spiral of withered hope. Politically, I feel the same about what’s happening here in the US.

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  33. Where it sinks, choking on manmade plastic waste, bandied about by random currents, until it finds a discarded hermit crab shell – curls up; dies

    This conceit you’ve composed is utterly brilliant, Robbie… I watched a couple videos about your election results… Messy! Do you have any political predictions for S. Africa? What’s the most likely outcome?

    ~David

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    1. HI David, thank you for your comment. I think initially people were generally pleased that the ANC only go 42%. However, I look through that and say if you add the ANC and MK votes which are effectively the same corrupt and ineffective leaders we’ve had for many years now, 55% of voters want more of the same. It is a tragedy. The proposed Government of National Unity is meeting a great deal of resistance. I don’t know what the outcome will be but its unlikely to be good for the poor and uneducated people of this country. I don’t think we’ll be able to live here much longer. I would just like to get my younger son through high school which is another 18 months.

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  34. Robbie, among the many wonderful responses to this prompt, I have to choose the next Poet of the Week. I have selected you based on this powerful poem that, sadly, depicts so well current politics and the state of the world. Best of luck to you. D.~

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  37. Such a powerful poem and a very deserved win Robbie. At the moment I don’t think there is anywhere in the world running smooth – we have elections coming up in the UK, I think people are giving up voting seeing it as pointless – feels a heavy world …. 😔

    Suzanne

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