Category: Poems

Poem 20150430

crow

Today is the last day of #NaPoWrimo. I have to say, this was a lot of fun, and some of the challenges were outside of my zone of, if not comfort, than at least what I was used to. Thanks #NaPoWrimo. I will see you next you, I am sure.

And now, the challenge.

And now for our final prompt (still optional!). For the last day of NaPoWriMo, I’d like you to try an odd little exercise that I have had good results with. Today, I challenge you to write a poem backwards. Start with the last line and work your way up the page to the beginning. Another way to go about this might be to take a poem you’ve already written, and flip the order of the lines and from there, edit it so the poem now works with its new order. This will probably feel a bit strange (and really, it is a bit strange), but it just may help you see the formal “opening” and “closing” strategies of your poems in a new way!

—–
here’s the composition order–

leaving everything exposed, laid bare
twisting sinew and removing sorrow
striving against one another
like jacob and the angel
muscles straining
tearing me away in layers
your skin against my skin
and we come together
like sandpaper
our exposed skin like grit
from opposite sides of the same ring
as we approach each other
not a competition
this is not a contest

and the final version–

this is no contest
no competition
we approach
from opposite sides
of a ring that binds us
our exposed skin chafes
like grit
like sandpaper
like the desert we wander
when we come together
your skin presses against my skin
tearing me away in layers
peeling me piece by piece
our muscles strain, ache, scream
like jacob wrestling with his angel
striving against one another before dawn
one seeking a blessing
one seeking domination
twisting sinew, removing sorrow
leaving everything exposed, laid bare

Poem 20150429

crow

Tomorrow is the last day of #NaPoWriMo, but today’s prompt is ready for some reflection:

And now, for our prompt (optional, as always): today, I challenge you to write a poem in the form of a review. You can review either animate or inanimate things, real places or imaginary places. You can write in the style of an online review (think Yelp) or something more formal that you might find in a newspaper or magazine. (I imagine that bad reviews of past boyfriends/girlfriends might be an easy way to get into this prompt, though really, you can “review” anything in your poem, from summer reading lists for third graders to the idea of the fourth dimension).

I’ve been listening to a lot of They Might Be Giants.
—–
we really need to talk
about the gnome that’s in the yard
he was funny when you brought him home
but now he kind of scares me

it’s not my imagination
that his stare has become so hard
i think that you should take him back
and i don’t care if he was free

one star, one star,
one star out of five
it’s all down to me and him
which one will survive

yesterday i caught him
messing with my brakes
he said he was inspecting them
i know that was lie

watching him make coffee
has started giving me the shakes
he wants you all to his gnomey self
and you won’t even cry

one star, one star,
one star out of five
the way the little creep looks at you
is giving me the hives

it’s all right, no it’s okay
i can see where this is going
i’ll just pack up all my stuff
and i’ll be on my way

you think that you’ll be happy
with his wise old face, so knowing
and he’s so witty and urbane
i’m sure he’ll host a great party

one star for the little elf
too, for you, one star
one star for me when i hit the road
but i sure won’t take the car

Poem 20150428

crow

Here’s the prompt from #NaPoWriMo:

And now for today’s prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem about bridges. A bridge is a powerful metaphor, and when you start looking for bridges in poems, you find them everywhere. Your poem could be about a real bridge or an imaginary or ideal bridge. It could be one you cross every day, or one that simply seems to stand for something larger – for the idea of connection or distance, for the idea of movement and travel and new horizons.

—–
the three little pigs gave me these
building materials just for a song
watch out for wolves, they joked
at least i think they were joking

the river that kept me from where you are
runs black in winter, never freezing over
but always full of ice. you can see the faces
of the men who have tried to cross in their too-small boats

under the surface, eyes closed, at peace with
the inevitability of it all. the water is fine,
they whisper, come on in. but i’m not interested
in the soft, muddy bottom, swirling with voices

in summer, the sun shrinks the banks
and i find remembrances of the men
trinkets they tried to carry to you from pockets
now rotted and disturbed by the micro currents

i wait until fall because i know it’s your
favorite season, winds, and leaves, and browns
before i get to work on the bridge. i had hoped
that there would be progress on the other side

but heavy fog over the water keeps me guessing
so i build the bridge out. it’s amazing since
i’ve never built anything more complicated than
a birdhouse before. i hope i have enough

straw and twigs to make it all the way across
but the water seems to widen with every plank i add.
and i’ve started seeing wolves with torches in
their mouths out of the corner of my eye

Poem 20150427

crow

Today the prompt calls for a variation on the haiku. From #NaPoWriMo:

And today’s prompt – optional, as always — comes to us from Vince Gotera. It’s the hay(na)ku). Created by the poet Eileen Tabios and named by Vince, the hay(na)ku is a variant on the haiku. A hay(na)ku consists of a three-line stanza, where the first line has one word, the second line has two words, and the third line has three words. You can write just one, or chain several together into a longer poem. For example, you could write a hay(na)ku sonnet, like the one that Vince himself wrote back during NaPoWriMo 2012!

—–
a
pair of
soft white thighs

glistening
with sweat
summer’s soft exertions

or
something else–
who will say?

Poem 20150426

crow

#NaPoWriMo‘s prompt today will me putting words in someone else’s mouth.

And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). Our last two prompts have been squarely in the silly zone – this one should give some scope to both the serious-minded and the silly among you. Today, I challenge you to write a persona poem – a poem in the voice of someone else. Your persona could be a mythological or fictional character, a historical figure, or even an inanimate object. Need some examples? Check out this persona-poem-themed issue of Poemeleon from a few years back.

—–

i never should have helped zeus, you know
but we’re both immortal and i felt sorry for him
and helped plan and carry a out war against
my own relatives
and i didn’t want to hear him complain forever

and i was supposed to be the smart one

i saw the future in people
and invested heavily
even though i knew he wouldn’t care for that

i suppose, in the end, i got what was coming to me
tied to a rock, my liver torn out day after day

hey, no problem.
i’m immortal, right?
i can take it

but those poor bastards running around on the ground
like ants; my brother and i did what we could for them
at the beginning
but, epimetheus is kind of an idiot
and after i got
them the secret of fire,
well, zeus, the piss-ant,
he sent them pandora

i don’t think it was fair
that the first woman he sent
he sent to my brother
or that she would have so much baggage
and man did she do a number
on the mortals
the poor bastards

well, anyway
let me tell you a secret
my name means forethought
and i’ve done more thinking
chained to this rock
than you can imagine,
and i’ve figured out the whole mess,
how it’s all going to go down

it ain’t pretty
and i could leave if i want,
anytime.
i mean, i’m
a titan, and these are just chains
what’s an eagle to me?
a handful of feathers
hiding a bucket of chicken
but i like it here on this mountain
and zeus is in for a rude awakening

he thinks he’s going to be worshipped forever
but he’s not
and when the sacrifices dry up,
so will his power
his authority
his big, sexy lightning bolts

and he and i are going to have a long talk then

because we’re both immortal

and i’m the smart one

oh, look
the eagle

Poem 20150425

crow

Today, the prompt is all about name dropping. Or, as #NaPoWriMo puts it:

And now for our prompt (optional, as always)! It’s the weekend, so I’d thought we might go with something short and just a bit (or a lot) silly – the Clerihew. These are rhymed, humorous quatrains involving a specific person’s name. You can write about celebrities, famous people from history, even your mom (hopefully she’s got a good name for rhyming with).

—–
There’s something about Nathan Fillion
A guy who is one in a million
From cowboy to castle
He sure loves to wrassle.