April PAD 30: Imagery

IMAGERY

Sometimes poetry
written too gorgeous
and too unwanted,
strung through
an obsession
with words
sounds eloquent,
but something far deeper
leaves poets believing
they deserve torture,
in the same way
attractive people teach
children to be something
called currency, but however
bankrupt your self worth
you better believe
beauty is plenty,
and that’s when its value
starts fading away.

Prompt: Write a fade away poem
Poetic Asides Community


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I got yesterday's Palm Beach Post and used an article in the "Accent" pages to write this poem. I filled in some words so it could make sense, but it mostly comes from here:

I blocked out the words I didn't want (and some words I wanted!) and then put them together in the poem above. I will be trying more of these "found" poems in the future. It's kinda fun!

You can do it too! All you need is a newspaper article and a sharpie. Try one today!

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Today is the final day of the April Poem-A-Day/National Poetry Writing Month challenge. Although I did not write everyday, especially not on the weekends, I ended up with exactly 30 poems. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

April PAD 28: Laundry

LAUNDRY

Not often do I balance this basket
on my hip seeing only fabric
and thread, but I stand here,
bearing Tuesday on my shoulders
and undone dinner on my head,
realizing that the problem is
this cycle really never ends.
Because there’s barely a pause
pushing from week
to weak, the rough
cleanse only stops its muted
battery when pains, complaints,
and stains are gone.

Prompt: Write a problem poem

April PAD 27: I Can't Stop Dreaming

THE TROUBLE IS I CAN’T STOP DREAMING

Dreams are the units of measurement
spanning to futures unattained.
Inches of hope tend to grow
as I regain my footing,
and shrink as I remain the same.
The trouble with dreams is
they don’t care what is real.
They’re my unchained
forums of wannabe ideals
absent from limitations
my generation inherited.
You point your accusations
at my stride, as if my flaws
aren’t already exhibited.
I’ll keep inviting your riots
against my progress,
for soon your righteous pride
will lead you to a sinful fall.
The trouble is I can’t stop dreaming
and I don’t mind being in trouble at all.


Prompt: Write a poem entitled "The Trouble Is __________"
Poetic Asides Community


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Don't you just love how haters inspire you to do well?

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Catching up from the weekend-lapse!

April PAD 26: The Wolverine

THE WOLVERINE

I might be a small weasel,
but I can shred a caribou
if I feel like it.

I can be a hero
when I hold my tongue,
but only when I feel like it.

Prompt: Write an animal poem

April PAD 25: The Draft

THE DRAFT

The cameras and lights
and parties
and drinks
and threats
and bets
and hopes that are pinned
on dreams being achieved
and money
(we’re hoping)
is well spent, well deserved
and earned
and returned
to the ones who sacrificed
their own
the moms and dads at home
cheering their American sons
as they become
darlings for a moment
potential heroes of future
fifteen minutes, and maybe
someday the hall of fame
knowing their name
is not much safer
on a jersey
than it is embossed
on dog tags.
At least this draft
is (supposed to be)
the product of choice.


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Prompt: Write a poem about a sport
Poetic Asides Community


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Yay! This may have been the first time I've had an opportunity to meld two of my hobbies together: poetry and the NFL. I am looking forward to the draft in "Prime time" tomorrow evening, but I will refrain from getting too involved until my term paper for school is finished. My priorities are less crooked these days!


What is your favorite sport to watch/play?

April PAD 24: Dreaming

DREAMING

If emerging from a nightmare
begins        a dream with you
let me sleep             and reap
an eternity  where your laugh
is my air,    where your heart
is my home,   where you are,
both waking      and sleeping,
               my own.

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Prompt: Write a love poem or write an anti-love poem

Poetic Asides Community

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I got my last edition of Poets and Writers magazine and a quick browse lead me to Want, a poem by Eduardo C. Corral. I wanted to try the cool structure and this is what I ended up with. Hope you like!

April PAD 23: The Aftermath

THE AFTERMATH

I squint my eyes
at the harsh light
of eleven forty-five
on a weekday,

collect my strewn limbs
from the four corners
of the bed,

and unfurl the sheets
to the new day’s truth:
I played hard to get
but you’re easy to lose.

Once my toes smack
the carpet, I know
there’s no turning back,

curled here
in the noise of noon’s
soon approach,

I tremble, fearing the tears
that no longer flow:
I played hard to get
but you almost let me go.

The wreckage sits heavy
in these bags
under my eyes,

the morning toasted
my cold night’s sweat
to a boiling glow,

I clutch at me, the sheets,
and all there is to hold:
I played hard to get
but you almost closed the door.

The minutes of the day
tick away with regret,
and I wake,

finding more than
the muted sunshine
will show,

Last night we rowed
through storm and flood,
I played hard to get you
but you never played at all.


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Prompt: Write a morning poem
Poetic Asides Community


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I was really planning on writing this poem in "the morning" to get the whole vibe going but inspiration doesn't work on demand. This is the longest poem I have written all month and I had to kinda stop myself (because I need to go to bed) because I felt like telling a whole story. Maybe I will flesh this one out after April ends. There are some drafts written here that I would like to develop some more. Let me know your thoughts!

April PAD 22: Delicate

DELICATE

Burrow here, little one,
and rise with the sun.
Spread your roots
far and wide.

Settle here, little one,
spring has just begun.
The winds will be
on your side.

Danger there, little one,
if you forget how you’ve come
to the ground
in which you reside.

Flourish here, little one,
before your time is done.
Toward the sun
you will always strive.

Prompt: Write a poem about a plant
Napowrimo

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The prompt over at Poetic Asides was to write about judging. I did that yesterday so I challenged myself to this Earth Day themed prompt on Napowrimo.net. I hope you all enjoy!

April PAD 21: Under the Microscope

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
- King Jesus (Matthew 7:1- 2)

You smush me between glass slides
impatient for my insides to show

while

you hasten to pass judgement
measuring what you think you know, and

while

discovering your hypothesis is a theory
you want to make fact, I’ll be here, in tact

while

my life moves independently, beneath your glare.
You focus your lenses away from what’s really there.


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Prompt: Write an under the microscope poem


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Reflections on the sermon I learned from at church today.

April PAD 20: Let's Play

LET'S PLAY

Had I been gregarious,
more extroverted,
and lent myself to your
frenzy, I’d become
a rental for your whims

but because I stayed afar
by matter of circumstance
you never had the chance
to suffer the deafening
lull of having it all, then nothing

like the unheard sounds
of a tree hitting the ground
in a forest worlds away,
my invitation stands firm,
but silent: Come on,
let’s play.


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Prompt: Write a poem entitled "Let's _____"
Poetic Asides Community


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I can never write a poem on a Friday!

April PAD 19: Rite Now

RITE NOW

The invoice of my life
leaves my hand as it is served
over the front lines

of your spiral bound calendar,
the army of paper clips,
semi-automatic stapler,
and lowered HP screen.

It deserves more than a glance,
sigh, and rejection.


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Prompt: Write a life event poem.
Poetic Asides Community


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I had to draw from fiction to write this poem. The life events happening in my non-fiction right now are too hard to write about. There are some really good poems on the Poetic Asides blog that I have been skimming through. Have a look!

April PAD 18: Saltfish Fritters

SALTFISH FRITTERS

An imperfect Sunday morning:
tangled hair, wrangled sheets,
the smell of work awaiting
in the form of dirty dishes
drying in the new daylight.

Prompt: Write a poem with regional cuisine as the title.

April PAD 17: Dear Future

Dear Future,

You’ve always said “you ain’t ready”
laughing as I chase your
butterflies out of my stomach.

You’ve always said “you ain’t seen
nothin’ yet” as my eyelids
are weighed down by your promises.

But today,

yes, I have today

in my open fist.

You ain’t ready.
I’ve seen old versions of you
in my past and this time,
I’m more prepared.

You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
I dare you to mock me
with your elusiveness
chained to my tightening
fingers.

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Prompt: Write an epistolary poem — a poem in the form of a letter.
Napowrimo

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Another form prompt from Napowrimo.net! Maybe tomorrow I'll try found poetry....

April PAD 16: Mixed Up

PASSING NOTES

I listen, but your lips are dubbed against an unfamiliar track
your lyrics move me forward, your falsetto brings me back

your mixed up symphony, sung beyond its jazz
slurred past my heart with your drunken pizzazz

hand on my inappropriate hip, slow dancing to your heart robbing tune,
you wonder why I stiffen, why I’ve found the rhythm and become immune

i’ll spare your feelings, and even say you were on key
but I know you just wanted an audience, you never wanted me

you can ask me again, when the harmonies align, charm me
with the refrain when your metronome finds its time


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Prompt: Write a mixed up poem


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Sometimes I read poems that lack a discernible meter or musical quality, but they are stellar because of content, word choice, presentation (on the page), and otherwise mystical ability to evoke emotion. 


How important is rhythm and/or rhyme in your preference of poetry?

April PAD 15: Strength

STRENGTH FOR THE WEEK

You button me together on Monday morning,

slash my Tuesday debts with forgiveness,

wash the pompous mask off Wednesday’s face

and by Thursday You strap my confidence

to Your saving grace.

when the sun sets on Friday

hope is an invincible balloon

buoying me again, up to You.


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Prompt: Write a poem that includes the words: slash, button, mask, strap, and balloon.

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My relationship with God is new everyday. That is what inspired this poem. I had a particularly difficult weekend but having His strength in my weakness made me get through the rough spots. Hope is a potent healer.

April PAD 14: Doomsday

DOOMSDAY


yours comes the moment
beliefs are negotiated
to earn a dollar

implosions start
with the concession
that beauty is useless
unless sold

the exchange of dignity
for jewels or fame
or a name
reflecting all that you are not

will be forgot
when all your righteous
pretense explodes


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Prompt: Write a doomsday poem


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Still catching up. In writing this poem, I thought about the intense pressure artists feel when caught between the need to support themselves and be true to their creative voice. Is it ever alright to bend to the forces that be and "sell out"?

April PAD 13: Stay (A Ghazal)

STAY


A sharpened tool of ocean waves, rolling hills, and roads unpaved
chisels at my forlorn heart when too soon you must depart

When longings end short, when moving lets stagnant miles
pile high, I wonder at the sky, asking when soon it too will part

I seek the warmth of my alone and beg for it to bring me home
but then too soon you’re here and soon almost gone, so depart

from my dreams of slow tomorrows and smooth passing days
Say, “Maxie, I will stay” when soon you can no longer depart


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Prompt: Write a ghazal

Napowrimo

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Again, I was bitten by a crazy weekend so now I am catching up on poetry. 

You may notice that this prompt is from the Napowrimo (National Poetry Writing Month) website and not from the Poetic Asides (PA) blog. The PA prompt was to write an unlucky poem and I don't believe in luck so I couldn't come up with anything. I would love to write on both prompts each day but I struggle to crank one out so, let's leave that pipe dream for another "less busy" year.

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What the heck is a ghazal? Here are some examples:

Hip-Hop Ghazal - Patricia Smith

Ghazal - Gene Doty

April PAD 12: Something Blank

SOMETHING BLANK

Something blank
captures stares:
you’d peer beyond
smooth nothings,
drawing dreams,

penning verses,
carving worlds
from your thoughts.
you rehearse
probable futures

and sometimes
curse the page.

remember, something
blank always stares
back with limitless
possibility and potential.

Prompt: Write a poem entitled "Something ________"

Poetic Asides Community

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I used the prompt literally and wrote about a blank page. Have you thought of a blank page's potential even when it seems to be mocking your writer's block?

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I was inspired by the #usesofwhitespace conversation on the new Google+ layout. I like that it opens up the page and gives it some breathing room. Blank spaces do not always need to be filled, but it is nice thinking that they can be filled.

April PAD 11: Seasons

CONSEQUENTIAL

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
-King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 3:1

The most difficult lesson to learn
involves the truth of opposites:

knowing that valley living
deposits respect for mountains,

famines alternate with feasts,
luxury depends on destitution,

and institution breeds the free.
Sunshine alludes to the rain

while a caress defines pain,
knowing that trust requires faith

and faith depends on evidence.
The preeminence of truth comes

through the prevalence of lies
and a haughty disguise, in time

will be tempered by the humble.
To spring up, one must fall down.

Slippery snow will line once-hot ground.
The once-lost, in time, will be found.


Prompt: Pick a season and make it the title of your poem


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Obviously, I strayed from the prompt a bit and just focused on the concept of seasons. I am experimenting a bit with epithets and this Bible verse has been keeping me going this week. There's a time to plant, and a time to reap. Let's consider these poems the seeds and think of April as sowing time. Stick around for the harvest!

April PAD 10: Mama's Garden

MAMA’S GARDEN

That supple ground would stain
your fingers, yet you couldn’t resist

you bend to linger with the earth’s
perfume from the foot of a yam hill

distracted then by a row of new shoots,
new recruits craning towards the sun

you enter deeper, knowing no one
find you here before the day is done

you venture to the path snaking around
tiny plots till you arrive at the family plot

laid before the grandiose apple tree
your roots mingled with its deep anchor

intimidate your futile stance, yet you glance
at the pen and paper in hand and demand

what you came for - the refuge and solitude
from a world in which your words bear no fruit.


Prompt: Write a forest poem/write a tree poem

Poetic Asides Community

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Rushing off to a meeting! Glad to write about a childhood experience of being teased for writing all the time. I would hide behind the tombs under the apple tree in my grandmother's garden to write in my journal because my cousins and siblings were relentless, and sometimes a bit spooked.