Today's prompts from NaPoWriMo and Write Better Poetry are very basic and direct: (1) Write a love poem, and (2) write a "taste" poem. So here is my very simple response, a senryu (haiku with a human element):
Last night I attended my first in-person indoor poetry reading since the pandemic began. It featured a poet I know and admire, J.C. Todd, and her daughter Savannah Cooper-Ramsey. I got to read two poems from my new book plus one newer poem during the open mic. Everyone was masked, and it was an excellent evening.
Today's dual prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "breaking" poem, and (2) Write a "nonet," a none-line form that starts with nine syllables and decreases the number in each successive line down to one syllable. I guess the utter destruction of war can be seen as a kind of "breaking" - in the sense of physical structure, but also, especially in the case of the current war in Ukraine, in the sense of breaking the spirit of the people who are attacked. I wrote a "double-reverse" nonet, I guess you can call it, where the syllables increase again with an additional nine lines. I thought it was a good way of showing a kind of "rising from the ashes." I also wanted to pay tribute to the bravery of Ukranian musicians who have performed for their countrymen sheltering in place, and even in some cases in the open air under the threat of missile attacks. Music has always been witness to history.
First, I want to bring a new anthology to everyone's attention. The Poet Magazine, a British-based journal, has just published a collection called Poetry for Ukraine, a 300-plus page volume featuring over 250 poets from around the world, writing about the war in Ukraine, or war and peace in general. The book is available directly from them as a PDF, or you can get a paper or Kindle copy through Amazon.com. All profits from the book go to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. I'm proud to be part of this project with a poem on page 84. Here's the link:
https://www.thepoetmagazine.org/poetry-for-ukraine
Today's dual prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "what they never told you" poem, and (2) Write a poem in the voice of a character that you consider your "alter-ego."
I always wondered what my "spirit animal" would be, and recently I took one of those dumb Facebook quizzes, which told me it would be a deer. "Nah," I said. "Too gentle and graceful." I always imagined myself as a bear - lumbering, grumpy, and prone to sleep a lot. Then a few years ago I discovered the wonderful series of children's picture books by Ryan T. Higgins about Bruce, a grumpy black bear who reluctantly adopts a gaggle of geese who hatched in his presence and imprinted on him. And I thought, "There he is! My spirit animal!" I love the books every bit as much as my grandkids, as Bruce grumbles and complains through one situation after another, but still looks out for his adopted family. So here is my poem in the voice of my alter-ego, Bruce the bear.
But
I still could use a nice long nap.
Today's dual prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write an "abundance" poem, and (2) "Write a poem that argues against, or somehow questions, a proverb or saying." I'm not sure if it's because these prompts didn't really speak to me today, or maybe it's other things on my mind. (I had a car accident this morning - I'm ookay, but the caris a mess.) Anyway, I took a phrase rather than a saying or proverb and just mused on it a bit, it's meaning and semantics. Here's the result:
Today's dual prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a poem with the title, "________ in the _________," and (2) write a poem that takes a phrase or section from someone else's piece of writing, and uses those words in order as the first word in each line of that poem - "a variation of an acrostic poem," as Maureen Thorson calls it. I look at, especially if I use a poetry source, as a variation on the "golden shovel," a form invented by Terrence Hayes where the last word of each line is taken from the words in another's poem. In any event, I will use this prompt as another opportunity to write a poem for my other project, powm based on the the lyrics of the rock band Elbow. The epigraph of this poem is my source, and as you will see, each line of my poem begins with a word from that epigraph, used in order.
Looking in the Rearview
I'll start today with a shameless plug: Please note the clickable image on the right, the cover of my new full-length poetry collection, The Bungalow of Colorful Aging, published by Kelsay Books and available through Amazon.com, or directly from the publisher at kelsaybooks.com. If you would like an autographed copy directly from me, leave me a message in the comments and I will tell you how you can get one.
Today's dual prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "makes sense" and/or "doesn't make sense" poem, and (2) write a poem about a mythical person or creature doing something unusual, at least something unusual in relation to that person/creature. My poem gives just a passing nod to the first prompt, I suppose, and focuses more on the second.
Today's dual prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1)Write a "catch up" poem, and (2) write a poem about poetry prompts, using as inspiration the surreal Instagram posts of Matthias Svalina.
