National Poetry Writing Month

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April 1

NaPoWriMo : Day 1 – April Fools

April 4

NaPoWriMo : Day 4 – Odd transitional spaces (think Escher)

Don’t stop just because
Life tells you go no further
Create your own path

April 7

NaPoWriMo : Day 7 – Poem with strict syllables

I
Keep
Losing
Count when I
Write any type of
Poem with syllable restrictions

April 10

NaPoWriMo Day 10: Junk Drawers

April 13

NaPoWriMo: Day 13 Future News Story

The Day the Earth Stood Still

They came yesterday
And surrounded the world
Humanity braced
For something to unfurl

A voice in our head spoke
In everyone’s mind
The whole world did pause
For a moment in time

It said:

We could not put a finger
We’ve been watching this show
A drama, a comedy, or variety
We really didn’t know

Who writes these scripts
They seem somewhat inane
This anger, hatred, and fighting
Felt simply insane

We thought you were acting
Until we realized
You do this by choice
It’s really not wise

Most have stopped watching
It’s obvious too
You as a species
Don’t know what to do

We are going to take over
And rewrite the show
We’ll get you that Oscar
Then we can go

April 16

NaPoWriMo: Day 16 : Tumbling Verse

Ramble On (not just a great Zeppelin song...) 

I feel that poetry
Is kinda like climbing a tree
A view that you want to see
In the clouds where you ought to be
Rhyming like Silverstein
Imagery sets the scene
Reflecting what could have been
Defining the mood you’re in
With words maybe not so thin
Starting to sound like Eminem
It’s no longer between us and them
No different just more alike than
We want to admit my friend
I throw down some respect to send
Wordsmiths they are in the end
To all the sixties beat poets and
Eighties rappers I’m now a fan
So now that it nears the end
It’s back to the start again
Now’s not the time to feign 
Grab onto that state of being
Just wipe the slate clean
Remember that I climbed that tree
I just got back to poetry

April 19

NaPoWriMo: Day 19 (Time to rant. Yay!)

We love to complain
It’s a right we have you know
As I began to write
The complaints started to flow

There are so many aspects
Of everyday life
If you have a few moments
I’ll tell you of strife

I wake up with the birds
Not the melodious type
The crows in the trees
Gearing up for a fight

When tomatoes looked red
Under the produce light
Then I bring them home 
And they don’t look quite right

Bananas bright yellow
When picked the best bunch
Three days later
They all ripened at once

(Don’t get me started on the avocados)

We can put a man on the moon
You’d think that they could
Make toilet paper perforations
That tear as they should

You bought the pet
You must feed and walk it
Don’t be a jerk
Pick up your dog’s s@%#

Running out of time, so…
“I” before “e” except every other time you think you’re correct
You thought you right but then “What the heck?”
The woman who threw her cigarette on the ground before entering the store
When I called her out, she shrugged and chose to ignore
The guy who zoomed past, cutting me off the other day
Then turned on his blinker and turns right away

I’d like to go on
I need to bring this to an end
I’m just making dinner
And my rice is boiling over (again)

April 22

NaPoWriMo: Day 22 (Earth Day)

Am I to blame
Should I feel shame
Awaking to find the Earth still weeping
Without fanfare
Like people don’t care
Earth Day continues it’s creeping
Nothing on the news
No reminders I can use
One single day seems somewhat fleeting
My search engine failed to show
A humorous graphic to alert me to know
That we all have to work on succeeding  
Our world still needs 
Our attention and good deeds
Goals set and targets to be meeting
I do my part
Vehicle remains in park
More often than I am driving
A big consumer I am not
My needs outweigh want
I’ll fix before I think of buying
I limit my waste
Don’t toss things in haste
Avoid products in excess packaging 
To throw out I refuse
I’ll try to reuse
Or pass on to others for using
This rock is on loan
As a species we don’t own
Our damage deposit slowly dwindling
One last thing to say
It will still be Earth’s day
When you wake up the next morning  

April 25

NaPoWriMo : Day 25 – Occasions

Graduation Day

Can I sit beside you and cheer out loud
Without fear or paranoia
And not be nervous in a crowd

Handshakes replaced by an eyebrow raise
I don’t recognize you
If you don’t wear the same coat

Tired of my recycled breath
And my moist chin
The anti-fog cloth fails every time

Is this separation a trial
Giving wide berth
As if everyone is suspicious

Not missing some social expectations
Did I just purge
Unnecessary friendships

Throw my mask in the air
Like on graduation day
If this is ever over

Lessons learned
Yet are we be prepared the next time
When the world fights back

April 28

NaPoWriMo: Day 28 (Questions)

Purpose

What will I write about today?
The poet pondered
Lying in the meadow away
From distraction
Will it be poignant?
Do I try to shed a little light?
Does it need to give a fright?
How can the words I write
Make a difference in someone’s life?
Will rhyme present itself
At the proper time?
Where will inspiration come?
Or do I sit here deaf and dumb
Until the words…until the words…
Begin to surge
Why do I write anyway?
The poet sat and questioned 
There are not enough words
To answer that
Then
Then as the sun set
And the moon rose
And the sky exploded
In a tumult of emotion
The answer was revealed
Because I can
And the poet’s fate was sealed

April 2

NaPoWriMo : Day 2 – The road not taken

April 5

NaPoWriMo : Day 5 – Imitation 

Chameleon 


Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Viral trends prove

This fact unilaterally

Pop culture trending

As bandwagon hoppers

Vie for top spot billing

Can’t be the first

Won’t be last

When will the bubble burst

Wait poised for the next

For better or worse

April 8

NaPoWriMo Day 8: A monologue from a deceased person

Elegy

What have you done to my good home
It looks afraid, and all alone
Disheveled and in disrepair

I hurts to see it in such a state
Deserving of much better fate
Did you think those actions fair?

Let it go on too long you did
The consequence forever hid
From the eyes of the dead you thought

Shame to the ones who shrugged it off
Now look what lack of action’s bought 
Sleep now into the world you wrought

April 11

NaPoWriMo: Day 11 Letter from the Cat

April 14

NaPoWriMo: Day 14 Name origins

What's in a Name?

Long ago when I was king
Sparta’s ruler with crown and ring
Sitting on my gilded throne
I could not imagine my name not known
Named for the lion, a regal beast
Devour my enemies on which I feast
A dream I had of a massive tome
Two lines I’m granted, and now this poem
No grand legacies I created, thus
I’m mentioned sparsely by Herotudus
A trivial figure I may be
But at least when people speak of me
My name rolls off the tongue with ease
Not as my father’s, Eurycratides

NaPoWriMo: Day 17 (The Moon)

Are you coincidence
Or is your presence providence
Without you
Auroras decrease
Life would cease
Seas no longer pulse against the shore
Life would exist no more
In early times a harbinger
Perfect blanket to the sun
Announcing the world was done
Never revealing your alter ego
The side of you kept hidden though
Until we broke our earthly bonds
Snuck behind and found
You were same all around
A rock in the sky
Without you
We die

April 20

NaPoWriMo: Day 20 (The Walk)

She knows and expects my arrival, excitement not masked.
Yet somewhat unreasonably reluctant. Lags behind, distracted by scent. 
Turning the corner, she suddenly takes the lead. The way home.

April 23

NaPoWriMo: Day 23 (Response to a Poem)

Midnight Son

Thank you, Mr. Service
For weaving tales
Of Arctic trails
And giving me
The childhood memory
Of my father reciting 
The Cremation of Sam McGee

NaPoWriMo : Day 26 – Parody

April 29

NaPoWriMo: Day 29 (Windows)

Looking Back

My childhood home disappears 
Behind the climbing tree
My first college dorm fades
Into the brownstone facades
My apartment with the narrow stairs
Slowly hidden by its neighbor  
The rented house seems smaller
Even though I’m not the last to leave
The waving line dwindles
While the music plays 
I must have missed the point
When the mountains yielded to the prairie
I looked away for a moment 
The ocean gone when I return my gaze
I am sometimes filled with envy that
The rear window has seen the last 
Of all my firsts

April 3

NaPoWriMo : Day 3 – Use of random words to inspire 

All in the Cards

One in fifty
I wrote all the words I thought were nifty
Words that resonate
That activate
My senses
Words that define
That I believe are mine
But not exclusive
Aromas that fling me fast
To remind me of people long, long past
Words that make me feel
Sometime seem unreal
Yet there they are
Words that trigger vision
That needed no revision
That were perfect
Words that stick in my ear
My favorite song that brings a tear
Every time
Words that make me taste
Without waste
The salt and sweet
I shuffled and cut
Placed them in front as the rain began to pour
Drew the first card
Then added one more

April 6

NaPoWriMo : Day 6 – Poem based on line from a book

Again

I missed it the first time
I found it the second time
The third time I fell asleep

But I already knew what happened

The fourth time didn’t lose its charm
The fifth time still strong
The sixth time was a long time separated
From the fifth

Some books are meant to be shared
This one goes back on my shelf
Until
The seventh time
Comes around

April 9

NaPoWriMo Day 9: A to-do list

The Runner

Need to stretch
In my memory the route I did etch
Stay warm, move to the front
What is with the need to grunt?
Get into position
Follow the pacer - my mission
Here we go, you can do this
One foot in front of the other
Take in the view
All of this is something new
No need to rush or hurry
I don’t want the experience to be blurry
Take a drink
My leg hurts - Don’t think
I will not walk
Why does he feel the need to talk
Don’t stop
Don’t stop
Feeling good, having a ball
I think I just avoided “The Wall”
Don’t stop
Don't stop
Don’t stop
Don't stop
Deep in thought, the starting gun so long ago
Where did the last four miles go?
A sharp left turn, then a curve to the right
The finish line is just in sight
Thinking that I’m almost done - until...
Why did they put in that hill?
Cross the line and look around
The friends I started with not to be found
Oh yeah, I remember as I sit to recoup
I’m the fastest of the group

April 12

NaPoWriMo: Day 12 Past and Future

Ancient and Future

Oh, snap.
The ancient tweet battle began
He had to wait till the second edition
To burn these so-called Gentlemen

The print’s too small they cried
It hurts my eyes
It’s now impossible
To define ‘Metilii’

Not intended for extended perusal
A reference of all things ancient
I suppose it was folly of me
To list that in the fine print

So, wait two hundred years, you’ll have your wish
Be forewarned you’ll waste your time
Scrolling through a myriad of
Funny animal videos online

April 15

NaPoWriMo: Day 15 Habits

Close to the Tree

My father has clothing that is older than I
I still have a hat from 1989  
Dress shirts become work shirts then into rags
That’s money well spent even if mother does nag
Fix and repair before giving up
The landfill will be the last place that we dump
I try not to spend money frivolously
Needs vs. wants weighed so carefully
My father’s face looks proudly with no ounce of fear
As I look in the mirror after each passing year
I am proud to be my father’s son
And I know that I am still his number one

April 18

NaPoWriMo: Day 18 (Chapters)

When the final chapter closes
Will the last words linger
On each question the book poses
While along the spine runs a finger
Will the book be tossed aside
Regarded as a pantomime 
Or something a bit more dignified
That will stand the test of time
Your parents write your prologue
Life gives the option to be heard
While you can’t write your epilogue 
How do you want to be remembered?

April 21

NaPoWriMo: Day 21 (Are we doomed to repeat?)

If

Where will we be in a year?
Ask me then.
Where will we be in a decade?
Ask me then.
Where will we be in a century?
Ask someone else.
Where will we be in a millennium?
Ask someone then.
 
If you can find someone.
If there is anyone.
If we made it.
If.

April 24

NaPoWriMo: Day 24 – Animals

The Cat Says “Meh”

I often wonder 
What animals think
Exercising free will
Or running on instinct

The smaller the creature 
The less it has choice
I suppose that’s the case
What would they say with their voice

I can’t see a housefly 
Trying to have fun
But the dog in the park
Enjoys fetch and run

The birds come to my balcony 
At the same time each day
If I’m late they do tell me
I guess they trained me you could say

To know their thoughts 
I could surely wish
As Adams quite elegantly put it
So long and thanks for all the fish

NaPoWriMo : Day 27 -Control

Control

Like clockwork
Until it isn’t
Routines repeat 
Until they don’t
Stay in the groove
Until you jump out
(What’s that? No, it’s not a rut. OK, it’s kinda a rut.)
Don’t change
Until you need to
Expecting the expected
Until the unexpected jars you into accepting that no matter how hard you try
You’re not in complete…

Control

April 30

NaPoWriMo: Day 30 (Destinations)

Here From There

No two people
Will arrive at the same place
Given directions and a numbered pace
We line them up
And teach the skills
Then release them with free wills
Learn the basics
So you can make the choice
Everybody has a voice
Start at Reading Road
Make sure you don’t miss Comprehension Boulevard
Turn at Writing Avenue
Left or right it’s yours to choose
You will see Math Street coming up
Spend time at the Basics block
If you miss it
You may get lost
Don’t hesitate to ask for directions
Everybody there 
Is extremely helpful
And each has a different perspective
You can try to climb the hill 
Of  You Can Be Anything You Want To Be
For some it’s better to go around, you’ll see
There is no shame to turn around
And start again a second time round
Sometimes it will be best 
To ignore the GPS
You will find your destination 
Changes as you travel the nation
But when you arrive
Take a look around
This will be the place you’ve found