NaPoWriMo: Day 1 - Poem of Negation

Today is the first official day of NaPoWriMo: hooray! Today the prompt from NaPoWriMo.net is an intriguing one: write a poem of negation - a poem that describes something by saying what it's not. I think I am going to describe a piece of much-awaited mail I received yesterday...



I go to my mailbox, unlock it, reach in
The mailbox isn't empty;
I pull out two pieces of mail,
This one isn't anything noteworthy; I don't keep it.
But this one isn't junk...
It isn't the large envelope I had hoped for.
So it doesn't look like good news.
The flap isn't folded properly,
As though something didn't fit quite right inside.
And the envelope isn't sealed in the typical way either.
The tape doesn't want to come up,
But I don't want to tear the envelope open;
I don't leave it sealed.
Not quite what I expected,
There isn't one thing inside the envelope
(But two).
One of the items isn't a letter.
I don't really read it
(But just skim to get the gist),
It isn't hand written.
I haven't been rejected
But I can't get any assistantships or scholarships.
This isn't good news,
But it isn't bad news either.
This isn't a question
(but it brings a big one up!)
I wasn't excited when I saw it in my mailbox.
I wasn't relieved when I read it.
I wasn't excited after reading it either,
(but people expected me to be).
I don't know what to do,
But I can't do nothing.

Now I exist in that gray space
Between eager anticipation and disappointment.
The dream seems just a little beyond my reach.
I know that I should be happy that I wasn't rejected,
But I'm not.
This answer only caused more questions.
And now I return to the place of uncertainty.
Though I am no longer waiting,
I don't know what do,
But at the same time, I can't do nothing.

And on top of that, there's more mail coming.



This was an interesting challenge, that I did enjoy. I don't often think in terms of the negative when trying to describe something. It's kind of like if you were trying to describe a photograph from its negative (do people even know what that kind of negative is anymore?) I think it was a good thinking exercise; I kept having to ask myself: "how do I say this, without saying that?". Not a perfect attempt from me, but I am content with the results. Perhaps I could even describe the whole experience with more negatives....What do you think? Add more or is it good as is?

Give it a try!

Sharon