Poem a Day Day 15

They did say to write anything. And that some would be better than others. So that’s my apology for day 15.

 

Ravens soaring over the wasteland

Screaming cacophonous woeful calls

I swore to never move again

but find now never ending falls

 

NaPoWriMo’s prompt was to write a Pantun

And now our (again — totally optional) prompt! Today, I challenge you to write a pantun. Not a pantoum — though they are related. The pantun is a traditional Malay form, a style of which was later adapted into French and then English as the pantoum. A pantun consists of rhymed quatrains (abab), with 8-12 syllables per line. The first two lines of each quatrain aren’t meant to have a formal, logical link to the second two lines, although the two halves of each quatrain are supposed to have an imaginative or imagistic connection. Here’s an example:

I planted sweet-basil in mid-field.
Grown, it swarmed with ants,
I loved but am not loved,
I am all confused and helpless.*

The associative leap from the first couplet to the second allows for a great deal of surprise and also helps give the poems are very mysterious and lyrical quality. Try your hand at just one quatrain, or a bunch of them, and see how you do!

* It’s been pointed out that the example doesn’t rhyme, and its syllable count is suspect. All I can say is that it is a translation from a poem in Malay. A transliteration of the original is below–

Tanam selasih di tengah padang,
Sudah bertangkai diurung semut,
Kita kasih orang tak sayang,
Halai-balai tempurung hanyut.

——————————-

 

Poem a Day for Day 14

I just couldn’t get into this one.   Below the prompt is a poem. At least it rhymes = kind of….

Day 14  prompt. Today’s should be fun — I hope. I challenge you to write a persona poem — that is, a poem in the voice of a particular person who isn’t you. But I’d like you to choose a very particular kind of person. How about a poem in the voice of a superhero (or a supervillain)? Comic book characters are very much like mythological characters — they tend to embody big-picture values or personality traits. Good or bad. Loyal or disloyal! (Heck — some comic book characters are mythologial characters — think of Thor). And like mythological characters, superheroes and supervillains let us tap into deep-seated cultural tropes. So go for it. Whether you identify with Batman, Robin or – gulp – the Joker, let’s hear your poems in another voice. Happy writing!

The prompt said a poem to write

A verse that doesn’t come from you

Not your voice or even like

But from another point of view

A superhero they suggest

Or a villain, someone bad

I can’t live in Joker’s vest

Batman? Robin? That’s just sad

Maybe I could crawl inside

Wonder woman’ s golden shield

Swing a lasso far and wide

Causing all the men to yield

I’m afraid that I must wait

Superman will have to hide

Day 14 is not too late

To be myself, no hero’s pride

National Poetry Month – a Poem a Day – Day 13

I am a day late.  Here is an attempt at Day 13

NaPoWriMo prompt for today (April 13)  is “simply to take a walk. Make notes — mental or otherwise — on what you see on your walk, and incorporate these notes into your poem. A bit more serene and observational than yesterday, and hopefully a nice, calming poem to begin your weekend with.”

Looking South to Half Moon Bay

I walked along the ocean cliff

Looking south to Half Moon Bay

Turquoise water laps the shores

Whispering its siren’s call

Even though behind me close

Enough to feel the wind of

Lines of cars

Moving down Highway 1

When I look forward

All is now

I breathe a breath

Of freedom

Poem a Day – Day 12

Below is my feeble attempt at the Day 12 prompt. “Write a poem consisting entirely of things you’d like to say, but never would, to a parent, lover, sibling, child, teacher, roommate, best friend, mayor, president, corporate CEO, etc.” Honesty is the best policy, after all, so get it off your chest”

——————————

YOU NEVER

You never came to wipe my tears.

You never rose to calm my fears.

You never tried to give me cheer.

You never even called me dear.

You never tried help me see

who it was that I might be

when I was young to find the key

to what I might have been.

Crazy Uses For Coca Cola

Crazy Uses for Coca Cola.

Just to list a few people say they have tried.    You can clean…  Your glasses, windshield (from bugs to ice), your sink drain, burned on food from pots and pans, tile grout, ancient coins, swimming pool water, fishy smells, gum from your hair,  and the list goes on – and on . ….

Users claim it’s good for the “trots”, colic, your skin, jelly fish stings, and even conditioning your dog’s paw.   Who knows whether there’s validity to any of the claims, but is is an interesting topic. The list is too lon

Click on the Crazy Uses… link above.

Poem a day. Day 11

NaPoWriMo says “write a tanka. This, like the “American” cinquain, is a poem based on syllables, with the pattern being 5-7-5-7-7. They work best when those final two 7-syllable lines contain a sort of turn or surprise that the first three lines might not wholly anticipate.”

Doesn’t exactly fit the rule, but I’m tired.

• 
  AOL email!
  Feel like I’ve just gone to hell.
  Where’s my address list?
  Sync it says the support rep.
  Down the sink instead I say.

Petition to try to stop Obama’s offer to reduce Social Security benefits

Sign the petition if you are against Obama’s offer to reduce Social Security benefits.

http://signon.org/sign/social-security-33.fb24?source=s.fb&r_by=7519420