Saturday, April 30, 2022

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


Friday, April 29, 2022

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.

Thursday, April 28, 2022

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.



Wednesday, April 27, 2022

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.


Tuesday, April 26, 2022

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.



Monday, April 25, 2022

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  


Sunday, April 24, 2022

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  


Saturday, April 23, 2022

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 

Hands Are Full

  petrichor   heavy in the air   fills our hands