NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 8

Went off prompt today... oh well... 

Absolutes

I am creation
made from many parts
each, on its own, 
nothing special
    a single grain of sand
    a star
    a blade of grass
when gathered in numbers
become something spectacular

You cannot judge a diamond
by a single facet
it's only when you step back
take in its entirety
do you see the magic
It's there - in everything
the drop that becomes a rainshower
cleansing us
allowing us to see

NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 7

 April 7, 2022 - write a poem that argues against, or somehow questions, a proverb or saying.

Finders Keepers Losers Weepers

It's said that loss is a bad thing
And who hasn't wept over lost love?
Or a parent gone too soon?
Sometimes losing can feel like the end of the world

And sometimes, 
it can mean the entire world
When you lose your heart and soul
to your truest love
When you lose your fear
of growing old,
and embrace the wisdom gained
When you lose your inhibitions,
throw caution to the wind
and learn to live

In losing, sometimes you find yourself...

NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 6*

 April 6, 2022 - write a variation of an acrostic poem. But rather than spelling out a word with the first letters of each line, I’d like you to write a poem that reproduces a phrase with the first words of each line.

Endless Winter

Now is not the time
Is there anything more frustrating?
The skies seem to overflow with flakes of snow
Winter does not want to be ousted any time soon
Of endless cold we quickly grow old
Our hearts sink as day dawns cloudy
Discontent ensues - there is no end in sight

* I realize there is no Day 5 - nothing came to me yesterday. That's all I have.

NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 4

 April 4, 2022 - write a poem . . . in the form of a poetry prompt.

Poetry Prompt Poem OR Leaf

1. You are a leaf - where will the wind take you?

2. Check the forecast for direction and speed.

3. The heights you achieve will depend on your moisture factor

4. tumble - toss - flip - fly

5. Finally land

6. I'm one of a multitude

7. Housing bees and butterflies and ladybugs - I take my job seriously

8. No longer nice to look at - utilitarian

9. Reborn as compost, feeding new growth

10. A darn good destination

NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 3

 April 3, 2022 - Today's prompt is based on a Spanish form called a “glosa” – literally a poem that glosses, or explains, or in some way responds to another poem. The idea is to take a quatrain from a poem that you like, and then write a four-stanza poem that explains or responds to each line of the quatrain, with each of the quatrain’s four lines in turn forming the last line of each stanza. 

From Ernest Dowson's - Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam*

Existence Endured 

Transient time passes quickly
even swifter as this body ages
I have see plenty, but still ache for more
Another beautiful blossom, another fine bottle
They are not long, the days of wine and roses

I surge ahead, determined
to savour every single sweet drop
before my taste is taken
and memories become mired in fog
Out of a misty dream

I think of you - recalling
hands that once touched precious petals
powdery soft and delicate
I fleetingly feel your presence
Our path emerges for a while, then closes

Lifeless, the soil stiff and solid
naught can take root - the long sleep starts
It will for each of us...eventually
Only fate can decide who will waken from slumber 
and who will remain
within a dream

*The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long

NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 2

 April 2, 2022 - Write a poem based on a word featured in a tweet from Haggard Hawks, an account devoted to obscure and interesting English words.

imbosk - to hide in trees or undergrowth
obnubilate - hid in cloud or mist

Hiding in Plain Sight

Behind us
   inside us
     live others
who aren't us
We hide 
    barely discernible
our features blurred
like an obnubilated moon
   on those nights
     where stars are no longer visible
We know they're there
Just as we know
   our other selves 
      are there
Afraid to emerge
Shyness not ready to shine
an imbosked hare
     waiting for predators to pass
my frail insides
would be eaten
             immediately

NaPoWriMo 2022 - Day 1

 April 1, 2022 - Today's prompt is based on Robert Hass’s remarkable prose poem, “A Story About the Body.” The idea is to write your own prose poem that, whatever title you choose to give it, is a story about the body.

Two Bodies and a Bench

As I sat on the park bench feeding the birds she sat next to me, a little too close for comfort. Our thighs touched and I could feel the heat from her body. Apparently unaware, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a small bag of sunflower seeds and began to toss them on the ground in front of us. Her hand was weathered and her fingers so curled and arthritic the seeds spilled through them like sand through an hourglass. We said nothing as the chickadees and sparrows flitted back and forth, coming closer to reach the fallen seeds. After a while she reached over and placed her cool papery hand on mine. "You're sitting in my late husband's favourite seat. I come here from time to time to be close to him, his spirit. Thank you for humouring an old woman". Her grey watery eyes sparkled with tears as she rose and slowly walked away. The warmth from her thigh persisted until she was out of sight.