Hello and Welcome!!

I am so sorry that this week's Chatter is late and shorter than most. We are having some major technical problems with the Pub site.  At the moment we are unable to access any of our Private Messages, as such we are unable to post any of your submissions.  We are working hard trying to get this situation fixed, but right now we have no idea how long it will take.
Sooooooo...please go ahead and send in your submissions for the Crossover contest as well as our July contest and we will get your poems posted as soon as all of this is cleared up.
I truly apologize for the inconvenience!!
Cheers,
Myna

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CROSSOVER CONTEST
between the
Poets Pub
Storyteller-Saloon
Flash-Fiction-Forum
IS OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

It will be a three-part contest with each site hosting one leg of the contest.  There will be a set of basic rules that will apply overall, but each site will have a prompt that is unique to that site.

A poem for the Poets Pub
A short story for the Storytellers-Saloon
A flash fiction story for the Flash-Fiction-Forum
All of the prompts will be based on a selection of Brothers Grimm Fairytales.
We will be using the same book cover on all three of the sites to help you find the contest easier.
There will be a winner for each site, chosen by YOU.  We will also have an overall winner, but to be eligible for the overall winner you MUST participate in all three parts of the contest.
This contest will be open, on all three sites, on July 12, 2020 and will be accepting submissions through August 15, (five (5) weeks).
Invite all your friends and followers to join in!!!

AWARDS TO BE GIVEN:

Reader's Choice Awards (chosen for each site)
1st - 3rd place will receive a sticker associated with the site.
Shout-out in Chatter and on all three sites.

Over-All Winners: (chosen from those that entered all three contests)
1st-3rd place will receive a sticker
Shout-Out in Chatter and all three sites
Shout-Out on social media accounts
1st Place will receive a certificate.

Whatif
By Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow talle?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

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Random Poetry Prompt
Write a poem about a day at the zoo.
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JULY CONTEST –
ATTENTION: OUR SECOND PROMPT WILL BE A DAY LATE, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR IT TOMORROW.

Our July 2020 contest has been AMAZING SO FAR.  Our second prompt will be open for submissions THIS WEEK!! 
We already have some fantastic poems, please come by and read them, get inspired and then send in your own submission.
Our July contest features Mythology!! The mythology of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Vikings and more will be open for your creative juices to latch on to and explore in verse.  Check our contest book for full details!

GRIMM TALES REDUX –
This is the prompt for the Pub's part of the crossover contest
Choose any character from two (2) different Gimm Tales below (i.e. Rapunzel and The Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood) and write an ACROSTIC poem using their two names to write about a tea party in the Brothers Grimm world.

PLEASE HEAD ON OVER TO THE CONTEST BOOK FOR FULL DETAILS!!

You must use two of the stories listed here:
Rapunzel
Hansel and Gretel
Cinderella
Little Red Riding Hood
Tom Thumb
Sleeping Beauty (Little Briar Rose)
Snow-white
Rumpelstiltskin

POEM-A-WEEK –
As an encouragement to all of our members that have joined in on the Poem-a-Week challenge I would like to invite all our Pub members to stop by and check out our Poem-A-Week challenge book, read some of the poems and leave a comment for those participating.

To participate in the challenge, all you need to do is create a book on your own profile or use one of your existing books, then let us know what book it is and start writing.  You can also send in your poems to include in our collection here.  Please PM us if you take on the challenge so we can add your name to the participants list and send you a link for the participant sticker.

2020 Poem-a-Week Participants

Musings by aMusedAndPoetic
Sillage by -Nynaeve
Weekly Whimsy by Anneshiningstar
Twenty-twenty's Poetic Bounty by most_bay
Concours by Schwethz
The Quantum Journal by MichaelTyger
Poetry Beans by undoubtedlymine
Pieces of Me by ShaunAllan
Pastel Paean by ImperfectPsychotic04
Narrow Feelings by SoulFarAway
Beautifully Mysterious by MysteriousDyrad
Genteel Reveries of an Outrié Poetess by MystresMyna
Rhyming Feelings by EmLover123
THAT SCHEME IN OUR MINDS by user42439792 (Mina)
That Orange Energy by gemkawiraa
Void of Morsels by AbhayDavid
Ragtag Poetry by NAGAdventures
Reverie by Gadralneure
A Paintbucket of Words by nubivagant_words
To Be a Poet by ElizabethAndersonJr
Words of Yesterday by Mysterywriter_007
To be a Poet by ElizabethAndersonJr

Please stop by and check out their books, show them some Poets Pub love!
IF I MISSED ANYONE PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST!

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Poem-a-Week Prompt
Week Twenty-Nine Prompt
Write a personification poem about a lost sock.
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storytellers-saloon

MAY CHALLENGE –
We won't have a new Write The Story prompt for you this month, however we are thrilled to be apart of the

CROSSOVER CONTEST
GRIM TALES REDUX
We will be accepting submissions for the crossover starting next Sunday, July 12th.  We invite all of you to join in the fun! If you know anyone who would be interested in this challenge, then send them on over to the Saloon.
You must use two of the stories listed here:

Rapunzel
Hansel and Gretel
Cinderella
Little Red Riding Hood
Tom Thumb
Sleeping Beauty (Little Briar Rose)
Snow-white
Rumpelstiltskin

It is a Fairytale Mash-up pick any of the two stories above, and mash them up into one story. You must include the following words in your story:

fireplace
sword
grove
stoke
underbrush
mourn
seven
friendship
cardboard
giver

Busted Gulch Vol. 14 Update:

Bella heard that the Marshall was in town to get the prisoners. She wanted to get a last word in with Alexander but they left. The Doc tried to keep CS from leaving town like everyone else. His attempts were futile but CS did stay. Bishop DoRito wrote a letter to his friend, the ArchBishop Hal Apino, saying that he was moving to BG. He believes that the Spirit is leading him to a new purpose and that he can be of use there.
Thank you MysteriousDryad for another great update!!

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Random Poetry Prompt
Close your eyes for two minutes and just listen to the sounds around you,
then write a poem about what you here.
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flash-fiction-forum

GRIMM TALES REDUX -

Please join us for our next contest!! A CROSSOVER CONTEST, with the Poets Pub and Storytellers-Saloon!  Submissions for the GRIM TALES REDUX, will be open on Sunday, July 12th.  The contest will run for 5 weeks!! Please check out our contest book for full details!! Oh, invite all of your friends and followers to join in as well!
Prompt: The hero/heroine in one of the tales writes a journal entry in their darkest hour. What does it say?

You must use two of the stories listed here:
Rapunzel
Hansel and Gretel
Cinderella
Little Red Riding Hood
Tom Thumb
Sleeping Beauty (Little Briar Rose)
Snow-white
Rumpelstiltskin

Personification is widely used to explore feelings and ideas in an expanded way.  Aside from just implanting human feelings and ideas on inanimate objects, personification gives the poet the ability to step back from reality and examine our emotions from a different point of view.  Here are a few examples:

First, we have an example of examining feelings by giving them to life through personification:

Regret vs Grace
By MystresMyna

Regret sits silently, by my side.
Knowing I have nothing more to hide.
He smiles, then chuckles and rolls his eyes;
Seeing me now, without my disguise.

Surly now, he would leave me alone?
But no, he reminds me in a melodious tone...
My wicked betrayals he vomits back;
Again, and again with an evil knack.

Until the day Forgiveness shines,
Regret cowers and coyly whines.
Forgiveness steps up and says, "Now Go!"
Regret hisses and moves away slow.

Forgiveness smiles and embraces me,
Dries my eyes and helps me see.
Regret no longer has a place,
I have been forgiven by His Grace.

Secondly, we have an example of the pain of watching someone we love grow old, by the personification of a stone:

Death of a Stone
By MystresMyna

In sorrow the stone lays,
Unmoving in the cutting rain.
Greedily, the earth beneath,
Drinks the stone's sandy pain.

Each chilling drop, a dagger,
Plunging into the stone's heart;
Carrying away its substance...
Tearing the stone apart.

There once was a time...
When the stone was a bolder, grand.
Mighty and massive, hulking,
Until the rain turned it to sand.

The stone, soon only a pebble,
Washed away in the laughing rain.
Who will remember the stone?
As it softly weeps in vain.

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Double Mega Poetry Challenge
In the comments below
write a 12-word poem
that includes a sound, a color and a flavor.
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Until next week, I hope everyone has a fantastic week, stay safe and keep those pens and keyboards flying!!
Cheers from you Mystres of Chatter
MystresMyna

P.S. – Children's Poetry Corner by BB
Write an acrostic poem using your first name and have each line describe something about yourself.