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