More writing prompts for 04/2021, pieces of both 25 and 100 words : )

Again, friends, Jim Harstad has suggested this month’s writing contest rules.  Here they are:

1. First, write a piece that is either exactly 25 or exactly 100 words long.
2. Then, if you wrote a 25-word piece, you must expand that to exactly 100 words, then publish both those pieces together on the contest site.
3. If you wrote a 100-word piece, you must edit that down to exactly 25 words, then publish both those pieces together on the contest site

In other words, each time you enter, you will enter two pieces with the same title.  One will be 25 words, the other 100 words.  Please indicate which one you wrote first : )

All writing prompts here are from Ho’iho’i Hou, A Tribute to George Helm & Kimo Mitchell, Bamboo Ridge, The Hawaii Writers Quarterly, No. 22, Spring 1984, edited by Rodney Morales.

From the issue introduction, by Rodney Morales:

Around March 6 or 7, 1977, two young men disappeared off the waters of Kaho’olawe.  George Helm 26, a musician and president of the Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana, and Kimo Mitchell, a commercial fisherman and National Park Service Ranger from Ke’anae, were never seen or heard from again.  Now — seven years later at this writing — though considered legally dead, there is no doubt that George and Kimo are alive in spirit.  They still move the hearts and stir the minds of people old and young.  Hopefully, the pages that follow help to explain why they do.

(97 word excerpt)

* * * * *

“Big business has turned the ‘spirit of aloha’ into a commodity”

“Kaho’olawe can teach the rest of the world Aloha ‘Aina and save us from becoming evolutionary dropouts.”

— George Helm

* * * * *

From “Seven Pools,” Words by James Kimo Mitchell, Music by Harry Kunihi Mitchell

Fragrance of flowers fills the air
along the way
You are the answer to my only dream

God’s world is my world
at Seven Pools in Kipahulu
Till we meet again, aloha, I love you

(25 word excerpt)

* * * * *

From “Hawaiian Soul,” words and music by Jon Osorio and Randy Borden, “Dedicated to the memory of George Helm.”

They say before you left
to seek your destiny
that older voices called
and drowned your laughter
but I believe you knew
what you would have to be
a beacon in the storm
to guide us after

(37 word excerpt)

* * * * *

Kaho’olawe is an island for
bombing, bombing, bombing.

Kaho’olawe is an island for
death, death, death.

by Samuel Waiohu, Grade 4

* * * * *

From “In the Spirit of George and Kimo,” by Noa Emmett Aluli, M.D., The Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana, Hui Ala Loa.

Keoki a me Kimo.  E ho’omaika’i makuo ia ‘olua.  Ka mokou hoa i ha’awi lilo ai i ke ola no ka pono ame ka ho’omau ‘ana o ka lahui Hawai’i a me ke ea o ka ‘aina.

We salute you as brothers, George Helm and Kimo Mitchell, brothers whom we have known; who have given your lives in the struggle to preserve and perpetuate the native Hawaiian culture, and the life of the land.

* * * * *

Don’t forget to have two poems in your submission, one exactly 100 words, the other exactly 25 words.  Tell us which one you wrote first, so we can see either how you expanded it, or how you edited it down.

Let’s write : )

By participating in the Bamboo Shoots community, you agree to the following rules:

1. We reserve the right to remove content that promotes hate or gratuitous violence. Be respectful and courteous to others.
2. All contest challenge entries must be submitted by the designated
3. Enter as many times as you like using a trigger/prompt (this page).
4. Contest Challenge entries can be prose (including short stories, nonfiction essays, or whatever you write), poetry, or plays -- or any type of hybrid writing you dream up.
5. Every entry must have a title -- unless you choose to enter a haiku, in which case you can simply enter the word haiku in the title section.
6. All content/entries should be original work. You retain ownership of your entries; however, we may ask to use them elsewhere on the site or on social media to help promote Bamboo Ridge and/or the Bamboo Shoots online writing community.
7. Winners will be announced with all possible speed after the end of each month. Winners receive 10 Bamboo Bucks credit to spend in the BRP online bookstore. Bamboo Bucks have no monetary value outside of the online store.
8. Entries may also be selected for publication in the regular Bamboo Ridge Journal. If your piece is chosen, the editors will contact you via the email address on file.
9. Please note that you need not enter the contest challenge in order to post on Bamboo Shoots. You may post other writing if you choose. We welcome that here:  Click this link to go to Shoot da Breeze.