NaPoWriMo #30 - Cento from Emily Dickinson's Nature Poems

Today's final National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo challenge #30

is to write a cento. This is a poem that is made up of lines taken from other poems. My source was from "Nature" in "The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson." I made sure to annotate the title of each poem (scroll to the bottom of this post to see the annotated version.)

 From the Latin word for "patchwork," the cento (or collage poem) is a poetic form composed entirely of lines from poems by other poets." https://poets.org/glossary/cento  

"Nature, the gentlest mother,
will there really be a morning?
two butterflies went out at noon

the day came slow, til five o'clock
an awful tempest mashed the air
it sounded as if the streets were running

apparently with no surprise
she slept beneath a tree
not knowing when the dawn will come

how the old mountains drip with sunset
the moon was but a chin of gold
as children bid the guest good-night

* * * * *

I.                Nature, the gentlest mother,

II.               will there really be a morning?

XVIII.       two butterflies went out at noon

IV.              the day came slow, til five o'clock

XXI.           an awful tempest mashed the air

XXXIV.     it sounded as if the streets were running

LXXVI.      apparently with no surprise

LXXXIV.    she slept beneath a tree

LXXXIX.   not knowing when the dawn will come

CX.             how the old mountains drip with sunset

CIII.            the moon was but a chin of gold

LXVIII.       as children bid the guest good-night

NaPoWriMo #29 Birthday Gifts

 

red-haired baby born
blue eyes ... fair skin
wee Irish lass

August ninth birthday
summer parties every year
one to seventy-one

big brother's birthday
January seventeenth
so jealous

grandpa's empty shelf

fills with grandma's birthday gifts

brown skin dolls

bairn's eyes wide open

looks at warm loving smiles

sees a photograph

then and forever

my gift

* * * * * 

Today's National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo challenge is to write a poem in which I muse on the gifts received at birth — whether they are actual presents, like a teddy bear, a kind brother, or not.

NaPoWriMo #28 - Concrete Poem

 

lost at an art show

trying to find the exit

real, or a dream 

National Poetry Writing Month #28 challenge is a "concrete poem" in which the lines 

are shaped in a way that mimics the topic of the poem.

Since I usually write in haiku form I made this short, sweet and to the point. i.e., to the exit.

NaPoWriMo #27 Mr. G.M. Pitcher

 

Thank you for being my partner

Mr. G.M. Pitcher

I fell in love with you Mr Pitcher

as soon as I held you in my hand

When I held you I envisioned 

you photographed with fresh flowers 

You with newly snipped wildflowers 

looked so handsome on a tree stump

And even more handsome in the windows

colored by the light of the sunset

Later, the angle of the morning sun

thankfully illuminated you both

Sincere thanks for being an artful partner

Mr. G.M. Pitcher

* * * * * 

The National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo challenge #27 almost defeated me but ultimately it was fun. 

The challenge was to write a “duplex.” 

A “duplex” is a variation on the sonnet. 

Like a typical sonnet, a duplex has fourteen lines. It’s organized into seven, two-line stanzas. The second line of the first stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the second stanza, the second line of the second stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the third stanza, and so on. The last line of the poem is the same as the first.

NaPoWriMo #26 - Their Just Reward

 

like many snowbirds

they abandoned winter's

new-fallen snow

as if it was a

vital quest to seek spring buds

hundreds of miles south

like snowdrop clusters

too slow to break northern soil

that thrived blue springs' warmth

as if a race

over the Ozarks with

white knuckles on the wheel

was worth the cost

of discovering a secret garden -

truly the richer reward

til their silent stroll

felt as right as rain -

like their just reward

* * *

National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo #26 challenge was easier said than done.

Working outside the comfort of a single haiku can be quite a stretch especially when the challenge is to write an epic simile. Also known as Homeric similes, these are basically extended similes that develop over multiple lines.

NaPoWriMo #25 - Pouring Peace

 

Eirene

dreams of a pitcher

pouring peace

* * *

 

National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo No. 24

I'm not following the full instruction prompt of writing an Aisling long poetic story,

but rather doing a haiku poem imagining the Greek goddess of peace's vision.

Pouring Peace

 

Eilene * 

imagines a pitcher  

pouring peace  

*Eilene the Goddess of Peace

Strolling in a Verdant Meditation Garden

 

picture a stroll in a  

verdant meditation garden  

camera in hand  

picturing peaceful paths  

painted in soft mizzle rain  

NaPoWriMo Day 24 #2 - Like A Cowboy

 

yee haw

tulips ride the wild wind

like a cowboy

on a bucking bronco

yee haw

National Poetry Writing Month Challenge: Simile, e.g. "like a cowboy."

Honestly, I was hesitant to share my first composition written with several revisions in the wee hours of the morning. Now, eight hours later, it's growing on me so I'll share this one as well.

NaPoWriMo Day 24 #1 - Sunday's Prayer

 

garden drinks

the misty morning rain

Sunday's prayer

National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo challenge: write a poem in which you describe something with a simile.

I realize this is not a "hard-boiled" simile as suggested however, for this one, I prefer the implied message i.e. like a Sunday prayer.

Sunday's Prayer

garden drinks  

the misty morning rain  

Sunday's prayer  

Hours Before Sunrise - A Gift

 

hours before sunrise  

a dark cocooning time  

when the mind takes off  

travels in time and space  

a daily gift to self  

NaPoWriMo #23 Carpe Diem

from earliest bud

to drop of the last petal

carpe diem

brave young buds 

breakthrough the soil

reach for the sun

petals push outward

open wide and wonderful

commune with bees and bugs

aged petals curl

tight as they hold their

power inward

naked stem

remembers its earliest

days but forgets yesterday

National Poetry Writing Month #NaPoWriMo challenge today gave the option to follow the example of another poet and write in the style of proverbs or aphorisms.  

I followed the latter, thinking of the Latin aphorism: seize the day.

Mother Nature's Gift

 

from the first bud  

to when the last petal falls  

mother nature's gift