Napowrimo 2016 Day 27

The prompt for day 27 was to write a poem with long lines . . .

Arbitrations consisting of compromises are often necessary in this life
If we choose happiness, we can enjoy our time on the planet rather than live with strife
Compared to the life of the earth, each of our lives is rather ephemeral
However, though we are only here for a small fraction of time, our actions ripple through the ages
The consequences of our actions may be minimal during our lifetimes but dire for the earth
And so we must arbitrate and compromise with the earth
Undo what we have done and show her what she is worth.


I suppose this could've worked for the Earth Day prompt as well. Most of my lines are long, I think.

Has April been a long line month? I'm not so sure,

Sharon

Napowrimo 2016 Day 28

I've fallen quite behind it seems, I'll just shrug and trudge on.

Her eyes suddenly flew open, unsettled by the dream
Finally their lips met in the middle of the space, but he wasn't who she should have been kissing
Her eyes eased closed as they leaned closer still
They leaned in so close they were breathing the same air -conspiring
She wanted to tell him the truth but her words did not come
He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand
He raised his eyebrows, sensing her nerves
She looked at him her eyes wide with worry.

Her eyes settled closed as she dozed off to sleep . . . 



Today's prompt was to write a poem that tells a story backwards. As you can see, I had trouble thinking of lines toward the ending of the poem/beginning of the story.

 The journey is almost over!

-Sharon

Napowrimo 2016 Day 25

In a kingdom by the sea
A knight struck down my heart and conquered me.
But I took more after the sea than he
And forever perplexed my love - he
Could not understand
Why I wanted to venture off to foreign lands
He thought I ought to be content holding hands.
But like the sea I longed to touch distant sands.
He captured me and caged me
This turn of events only enraged me
I was not a trinket to be locked away
I longed to run in nature and play.
One night I flirted with the guard
And snuck away and stowed on a barge.
I travelled across the seas
Far from the knight I once held dear
But then I heard stories of a knight who fell -
in love. Only to be left a lovelorn fool.
The stories said too, the knight had fallen quite ill
My heart pricked - I loved my knight even still.
I returned to that kingdom
And found him laying in a darkened room.
I took his hands in mine and
He looked perplexed at me.
He asked why I'd returned
And I told him that my heart burned
I loved him more
Than any foreign shore.
At last, I was content simply holding his hands.


Today's prompt was to write a poem that begins with a line from another poem. I have chosen the second line of Edgar Allen Poe's Annabel Lee. It has a different overall feel than that poem, but I think it still has a sadness to it. I hope you enjoyed my little story poem. Love always prevails, I think. I suppose its like The Taming of the Shrew, but in this case she was tamed because she wanted to.

Wishing you well,

Sharon

Time to play catch-up: Napowrimo 2016 Day 22-24

Day 22
Earth Day Poem

We vacationed by the sea
A love for nature grew in me
Now the natural world I study
It is my hope
To avoid the world depicted in Wall-e
Education is the key
To make sure that people are caring
About the world instead of disparaging
The land we have is a masterpiece
Filled with wonder and majesty
The plants, the animals, the fungi, the algae
All are in our care
Like Atlas we stand,
Holding the future of the world in our hands



Day 23
Sonnet (check back later . . . )


Day 24
Mix-and-match poem (check back later . . . )

I've still got some work to do,

Sharon

Napowrimo 2016 - Day 21

Today is National Poem in Your Pocket Day! Take a poem and carry it in your pocket, yay!

Today's prompt over at Napowrimo.net is inspired by the style of Rosa Jamali's poetry. Specifically the prompt is to write a poem from the point of a view of a minor character of a fairy tale or myth. Inspired by the thunderstorm we are currently experiencing, I have chosen to write about the dragon in Beowulf. Dragon in Beowulf? You are thinking. After Beowulf kills Grendel, we are told that Beowulf was compared to Sigemund, who killed a dragon all by himself. And THAT is the dragon I am talking about. Additionally, I am wishing I knew how to imitate the sound of a thunderstorm in the form of the poem . . . but I am not talented enough to do that, so I'm trying to find a form that seems appropriate or I may just write in free-verse.


The musky scent of human fills my nostrils
I slowly open my eyes and gaze out
Across my pile of collected gold.
I do not see the man creature,
But I know that he is there.
The sound of rolling thunder echoes throughout my lair
As I clear my throat.
I hear the clink of of coin hitting coin
Cascading down my pile.
I turn toward the sound.
I inhale deeply through my nostrils
Then exhale a sharp, flaming blast.
I do not smell the familiar scent of burnt flesh and hair
As I have when other humans intruded in my lair.
This one must be different; more prepared.
"Who dares enter my lair?"
I growl.
The echo reverberate around the room
Boom, boom, boom.
Suddenly I realize he is right beside me - too late for me to flee
Or burn him into a man cookie.
I feel the sting within my flesh
A spot where the scales had fallen off the night before.
I think this is quite unfortunate
And I feel the end drawing near
And my scaly, reptilian heart fills with fear.
"Haha you blasted lizard."
Is the last thing that echoes in my ear.

I feel bad for the dragon . . .

I hope your poetic escapades are happier than this,

Sharon

Napowrimo 2016 Day 20 - Poem for Westley

Gasp! Two-thirds of the way finished? Oh dear . . . I love having the daily prompts from napowrimo and I never know where to find interesting poetry prompts the rest of the year -.

Today's prompt over at napowrimo is to write a poem consisting of kennings. Which is, apparently, "calling something not by its actual name, but by a sort of clever, off-kilter description." When I first read this, I thought my family was made for this! We tend to call things by kennings all the time; for example if you hear someone in my family refer to "Hot Topics Geek Squad" we are actually talking about the popular tv sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory" and just the other day I was talking to my mom and told her my "age card" was going to expire and she knew that I was referring to my driver's license. I think the impressive thing about my family's use of kennings is that even if its the first time we've ever used a particular kenning, we almost always know what we're talking about. So I was confident . . . at first. But then I couldn't think of multiple kennings to describe one person, place, or thing, so I guess we'll see if I manage to come up with anything . . .

Poem for Westley

Wild and crazy guy
Of cinematic origins
Charismatic
Friend to all
Sometimes you're a pillow stealer
Other times you're a laundry sleeper
Often a furious chewer
Always a voracious eater
You who tilt at windmills
Excavator of my bed
Usually quiet, almost to the point of muteness
Startled sound maker
Squeaky toy lover
Happiness you always spread
Sometimes I wonder
If you're a ghost noticer
Or  just a supersonic hearer
You could be called Sir Pants-a-lot
Smartly mischievous
Layer beside me
A velcro dog, you probably are
Company keeper
"Pure comfort" some might say
Probably a foodie
But for sure
The conqueror of my heart.


Not sure these would be classified as kennings; I think they are more like near-kennings. Westley is my puppy by the way; I could explain more, but I think its more fun this way.

-Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2016 Day 19

Per napowrimo.net today's prompt was to write a didactic poem, specifically a poem that instructs the reader on a "practical" skill. However, the practical skill doesn't necessarily have to truly be practical. I rather liked the suggestion of "How to Capture a Mermaid" but I felt that was not creative enough as it was an example so I am attempting to come up with a mythological didactic poem with a topic of my own creation . . .

I have chosen to write the first three stanzas of my poem in the form of a cinquain. The final stanza consists of three lines, the first line contains the main words which were rhymed with (Sphinx, Sahara, and riddle). The other two lines are essentially a couplet. I just sort of ad-libbed this closing and I think it is interesting. Maybe this closing form will one day be named after me? Eh, probably not. (edit: turns out the closing stanza is a costanza more or less, which I have written before but forgotten about)  I have also attempted to incorporate anaphora (which, coincidentally rhymes with Sahara). This is one of my favorite poems that I have written this NaPoWriMo!

How to Stump the Sphinx

a So you want to stump the Sphinx?

b First you'll have to trek across the Sahara

a And ask the creature what it thinks

b I know the journey will be hot and far-a

b But if you succeed you will tell quite the saga

a If you want to stump the Sphinx

b From the Nile, water you will have to draw

a And mix that water with the inks

a Of twenty squids then write with their beaks

b The legend of the pirate of Macedonia

a If you seek to stump the Sphinx

b In a pyramid, you must find a chimera

c When the Sphinx asks you the riddle

c Stand the chimera in the middle

b Of the Nile riviera

In this manner you will deny the mighty Sphinx of the Sahara an answer to his riddle

But stumped by your behavior he will be 

So the Sphinx will let you go free

Having fun yet?

Sharon

Napowrimo 2016 Day 18

Well . . . I looked at the prompt for day 18 and . . . never wrote or posted a poem. The prompt was to write a poem using the language of your childhood . . . which I was unable to remember, which is strange considering I'm only 23. Instead, I'll attempt to catch up by offering this simple poem I composed in my head inspired by some gaillardia or indian blanket or whatever you call those beautiful wildflowers.

Each spring
The world adorns itself
With blossoms

Happy Spring!

-Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2016 Day 17

Today's prompt was to find a specialized dictionary and use some words from it to write a poem. I wanted to use a Dictionary of Biology. I found one here. But it didn't seem very user friendly. So I wanted to use the glossary from my Mammalogy textbook. Despite the fact that I only had the last page of the glossary and my textbook is moldy (how did that happen?!?), I used it. I'm also planning to buy a new non-moldy Mammalogy textbook. I chose words randomly by closing my eyes and pointing a few times.

Zona pellucida
Turbinal bones
Vibrissae
Warren
Vomeronasal organ
Vicariance
Zygapophysis

Oh, boy, this is gonna be a doozy . . .

I am neither thick nor elastic like a zona pellucida
And my turbinal bones make me full of hot air
I have no vibrissae to help me feel
I am more suited to living alone, unlike communal rabbits who live in a warren
I'm not sure if my vomeronasal organ is functional
Perhaps I can use it to detect pheromones; I must use something for that purpose.
I often feel highly vicariant from those around me, though there is no natural barrier separating us.
At the end of the day my zygapophyses are constricted and it feels good to lay down for the night.
I feel weird and isolated from my species and my kingdom.


A combination of two of my favorite things: biology and poetry. Interesting, but definitely could be better.

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2016 Day 16 - Almanac Questionnaire Poem

Today's prompt was to quickly answer the Almanac Questionnaire provided on napowrimo.net and then write a poem inspired by or incorporating one or more of the answers. I have done both, I think. It is another love poem . . . Alas, I am ever the hopeless romantic. Immediately below is the questionnaire with my answers (I didn't answer all of the questions). Followed by my poem. I hope you're enjoying this NaPoWriMo! As always, please feel free to comment.

Almanac Questionnaire

Weather: Sunny at first, but then thunderstorms roll in later in the day

Flora: Is seaweed flora? It isn't technically a plant so I'm not sure . . . also, palm trees

Architecture: The White Greek buildings with the blue roofs

Customs: ?

Mammals/reptiles/fish: Horses! Dogs! Seahorses, pipefish, crabs, starfish

Childhood dream:

Found on the Street: Seashells, especially, sand dollars and lightning whelks

Export:

Graffiti:

Lover: My one and only

Conspiracy:

Dress: A white dress with a hand-kerchief hemline and teal and pink embroidery

Hometown memory: Walking with you down to the creek when you gave me my ring

Notable person:

Outside your window, you find: Boxwoods and trees

Today’s news headline:

Scrap from a letter:

Animal from a myth: Phoenix! Sphinx!

Story read to children at night: the Wizard of Oz

You walk three minutes down an alley and you find: A quiet spot, with lights from one building to the other, a cafe table with two chairs

You walk to the border and hear:

What you fear:

Picture on your city’s postcard: The world's largest pecan

Hand in hand we walk

With our toes in the sand.

The tide rolls in cold and crisp.

I release your hand and run into the water

I jump and dance and you can't help but laugh.

You pull me to you

Hold my face in your hands

Smile into my eyes

Then kiss me deeply

I smile against your lips

And we walk again.

I stoop down and pick up shells

Searching for a perfect, intact

Sand dollar or lightning whelk

Sphinx-like,

You watch me quizzically.

We continue walking.

The sun is setting now.

Like a phoenix, it burns out

To rise anew each day.

You spin me and I laugh and sing.

The sky a masterpiece behind us,

Walking along the beach with the one I love

For this moment, at least, all is in perfect harmony.

Love, love, love

Sharon

NaPoWriMo2016 Day 15

The prompt at Napowrimo.net was to write a poem that incorporates doubles into the poem in some way, whether in form or context (or both). I try to stick to the prompt, but I'm not sure I will today . . . we shall see. Inspired by the fact that we are half way through napowrimo, I was thinking I'd try to write a poem that is incomplete . . .

I rise in the morning unwillingly,
I dress and take my puppy for a walk trudgingly.

By the time I return
It's time so see what money I can earn.

At work I try to perk up
But energy, I cannot work up.

Time ticks by, on snacks I munch
And soon I leave to get lunch.

Up the stairs I go to my balcony
Look out across the sea

And wonder what else life will bring.

If you're struggling, remember you're half way there!

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2016 Day 14

I've been having trouble keeping up with this, but I'm doing my best.

Today's prompt is to write a san san. It's a bit difficult to explain so just take a look here for a decent description. This poem has two main facets: rhyme scheme and repetition. Of course it isn't that simple. So do look at the link above for more information. As soon as I read the prompt, I knew it'd be a challenging one. I've done my best and I'm almost pleased with the result. Almost, but not quite.

Also, it should be read softly. It is a soft-spoken (like me, I hope) love poem. But I think it is a love poem of a different sort.

Please give me feedback; I'd love to hear what you think! One last note: you can disregard the letters, if you haven't realized it, they were simply to remind me of the rhyme scheme.


A  Sitting under the stars one night
B  Leaning against your chest I whispered
C  "What are your intentions with me?"
A "Intentions with you?" You looked at the stars, barely whispered"Well I might
B  Want to marry you." My lips quivered
D  Into a smile against your chest
C  As I whispered "We'd make a nice family"
D We were under the stars when I realized your intentions were best.

(I never know what to say here),

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2016 Day 13

Today's prompt was to write a poem inspired by fortune cookies/fortunes. I've written two poems on fortune cookies. The first is inspired by at least two times that I have opened a fortune cookie with no fortune inside. As for the other, I like to save the fortunes I like so it was inspired by two of my favorite collected fortunes. I quite like the second poem. What do you think? And can you guess which two lines are the actual fortune cookie fortunes?

Empty Fortune Cookies

On occasion,
I have cracked open
A fortune cookie
To find
No fortune inside.
Yes, a fortuneless fortune cookie
I have received
At least twice.
And I wonder if that does not bode well for me?
Is an empty fortune cookie
Unfortunate?
That's how it seems to me.
I have been told by others
That an empty cookie simply means
You make your own fortune
And that makes a lot of sense to me.
How can a piece of paper in a cookie
Tell your future?
And I don't believe in predestination anyway.
Empty fortune cookie
Must mean
You make your own fortune.
Or maybe still
It is an unfortunate thing.



Fortune Collection

All great things had small beginnings.
Be not discouraged if things don't go well.
Follow your heart and you're sure to fail.
But follow your mind and you may not succeed.
Listening to both mind and heart is the key.
Wind is necessary to fly kites.
Keep your feet on the ground and your thoughts at lofty heights.




Feel free to provide me with feedback! I'd love to hear from other NaPoWriMoers/fellow poetry lovers!

May all your fortune cookies be empty,

Sharon

NaPoWriMo 2016: Day 12

Hooray! I've gotten an early start today! The prompt is to write an Index Poem. Here goes nothing.

Dog,
Man's best friend
Chews everything
Friendly places
Walks
Runs
Life Span
House, In the
Domesticated
Leash training,
Feeding,
Pavlov's
Let sleeping dogs lie
Days of summer
Raining cats and
Three dog night
And pony show
Tired
Must love
Dogs.

Meh, my muse is missing; wishing you better luck!

Sharon

NaPoWriMo Day 11

A poem that closely describes an object or place and ends with an abstract line that doesn't seem to have anything with the rest of the poem, but does.

Bluer than the sky
Bluer still than the ocean
In your truck, I'd often ride.
You like to make the sub pound
The windows so dark,
You could be inside and not be found.
I've sat in that seat and watched the stars
How did we become so far apart?


I think I've missed the mark . . . I'm having trouble ending the poem with an unrelated but really related line.

Hmmmmm,

Sharon

Napowrimo 2016 Days 7 - 10

Oh dear, I've fallen quite behind I'm afraid. But don't count me out, I'm still here! Time to catch up . . . Here's a poetry wham bam coming your way!

Day 7: Tritina: 3 three line stanzas with a concluding line. Each line has a concluding word in the following pattern ABC CAB BCA, with the last line having all three words.

A: Several times a day,
B: We take our walk,
C : And afterward from your fur, I must pull stickers

C: You chew at the stickers
A: Multiple times a day
B: After we return from our walk.

B: Along the beach I hope to walk
C: We three (or four) will not find any stickers
A: Oh how I long for the day.

All words: I long for the day when I shall walk with my two great loves and not find any stickers.


Day 8: A poem about flowers

In tropical climes
Flowers abound
In all sorts of forms
They can be found.

They climb on vines
Adorn bushes
Decorate trees
To which flower does my heart pushes?

Is it the ones which grow in lines?
The aster?
The jasmine?
Or is it the double oleander my heart is after?

What flower does my heart seek to find?
Perhaps its the hibiscus?
The rose?
A flower with sap most viscous?

Which flower is sought by this quest of mine?
All of them!
All of them I desire!
I'll pluck an example of each and braid my hair with these gems!


Day 9: A poem that includes a line you're afraid to write . . . oh dear . . .

In November,
I was in a wreck.
My car rolled more than a few times.
I walked away with nary a scratch.
And I can't help but wonder why
My life was spared.
I should be dead, deceased, extinct!
But I'm still here;
Why me?
Is there something more I'm meant for?
If so, why didn't I know it before?
What am I doing?
I'm quite lost, I'm afraid.
And the girl in the mirror
I don't think
Is the one that I should see.
Now which line is the one that scares me? You tell me.

Day 10: Book Spine Poem - I don't have a lot of books here . . .

I've got a small library
It represents my interests many
Perhaps a book will strike your fancy?
There's Loveology for the lovelorn
The title of the book, paired with the description makes me scorn
Loveology is a theology of love, the back claims
Don't you know your latin, I exclaim?
-ology means the study of
So really, Loveology is the study of love.
Maybe that isn't your cup of tea.
You'd prefer something with a recipe
In that case, The Cookie Bible is the book you should see
So many recipes, yet I've only cooked a few.
The last two are textbooks,
But still they might interest you.
I don't have a book on flamingos or fish,
But if you want to learn about the paedomorphic
Then Reptiles and Amphibians of Texas, I'd recommend.
Lastly that brings us to a book, I'm sure will intrigue you
If rodents and lagomorphs
Strike your fancy, Mammalogy is the book I'd reach for.


Well there's something, at least.

Keep on churning out the poetry, friend!

Sharon

Napowrimo Day 6

Today's prompt was to write a poem about food, or inspired by food, or about our relationship with food. Mine is closest to the latter.

"Anorexic?"
They questioned.
"Bulimic."
They reasoned.
"Gumby."
They jeered.
I was thin, a little gangly.
Girls can be mean in high school.
I was awkward,
but man could I eat.
I ate when I was bored, sad, mad, glad,
And of course when I was hungry.
I ate four meals a day, plus snacks.
But I never purged in any way,
My body was just built that way.
I could eat, eat, eat
And not gain an ounce for weeks.
Medical professionals seemed unconcerned.
But  girls always made comments about my size
In response to which, my cheeks burned
And I was anorexic, they more often than not implied.
Even now "You're so TINY."
They say.
But now, while I'm still built that way,
I barely eat one meal a day.
Having been accused of an eating disorder for so long,
I seem to have developed one along the way.
I still like food I do.
And I still like to eat, eat, eat.
But I've gotten so good at procrastinating
That I even wait to put food on my plate.
Most days I get one good meal and a few snacks
I love to cook
But my quantity of meals per day seems to top out at two, max.
I usually blame it on lack of time
But there is part of me deep inside that says,
"I'm thin and I'd prefer to keep it that way."


I don't really talk about this much . . . Suffice it to say, I like food, but my relationship with it is not the healthiest. In high school I definitely didn't have an eating disorder, but now? I'm not sure. I really wish people wouldn't comment on my size or weight, but it is what it is. I guess.

Sharon

Napowrimo Day 5

Today's prompt was to write a poem inspired by the oddly interesting names of heirloom vegetables. I have worked the names of a few into a completely unrelated free verse poem.

like a Sunrise full of Bumblebees

at the beginning of an Early Golden Summer

when you Crook your Neck because the sun is so bright,

sometimes I have a Tongue of Fire

and speak my mind freely with no filter

but really I am like a Clemson, Spineless

I always regret those hasty words and wish my tongue was tame

my words are sometimes too big for me to stand behind

and I feel as though they my tongue taunts me, yelling “Fooled You!”

and I wish to retire to a Turkish Striped Monastery

where the monks have taken a vow of silence

so that my words may never betray me again

The heirlooms I incorporated are as follows (not in the order they are in the poem):

Fooled You Hybrid Pepper

Turkish Striped Monastery Tomato

Sunrise Bumblebee Tomato

Clemson Spineless Okra

Early Golden Summer Crookneck Summer Squash

Tongue of Fire Bean

 

Happy Heirloom Inspired Writing!

Sharon