Poetic Asides PAD Day 7 prompt: Write a “what if” poem.
Spring is Sprung
What if every day was like today,
with daffodils and hyacinths running riot
in every garden, dog walkers out
in full force, the tinkling sound
of wind chimes in the distance,
and preschoolers drawing their dreams
on the sidewalk with boldly colored
chalk. Would I ever get tired of the
sameness? Just try me!
Here it is already Day 19 of the Poetic Asides PAD Challenge, and I am hopelessly behind on the prompts, due to my total immersion in NaHaWriMo. But never fear, the sun is shining, and I feel the muse upon me. Think I’ll write (and post) some of the missing poetry today…
Day 6 prompt: Make the title “Don’t (blank), blank”.
Don’t Pull, Please
He tugs at his leash, impatient to be off.
There are dog scents and dandelions
to be sniffed, trails to be followed, and
new dogs to meet. As I hang on tightly
to my end of the leash, I once again
have to ask myself: who’s walking whom?
I am hopelessly behind with my Poetic Asides PAD prompts, but I decided to write to today’s prompt anyway, and move forward from here, picking up those I can, when I can. A snapshot poem:
Today
Somewhere someone is just waking
and someone is just falling asleep.
Someone is taking their first breath
and someone is breathing their last.
Someone is falling in love
for the first time
and someone is moving on.
People are walking, running, dreaming,
thinking, working, painting, talking,
or sitting in comfortable silence.
And I am writing about it.
Moving backwards, yesterday’s Poetic Asides PAD prompt was to write a profile poem. When my kids were in elementary school, they had to write a portrait poem every year, describing themselves, and I borrowed the idea.
Me
I am…
the daughter of my parents
the mother of my children
the wife of my husband
the sister of my siblings
I am…
a dreamer, a thinker,
a reader, a writer,
a student, a teacher,
a poet, a haijin
I am…
neither young nor old
but somewhere in the middle
I use words as a tool
to figure things out
Day 5 of Poetic Asides PAD: Write a goofy poem OR write a serious poem. I went for… well, you decide!
ad homonym
some things
don’t make sense
and some things
don’t have scents –
it just doesn’t compute
in dollars and cents!
Poetic Asides Day 3 prompt: Pick a type of person, and write about him or her.
People Who Don’t Signal for Lane Changes
They dart willy-nilly from lane to lane
like frogs trying to escape predators.
Do they truly not make up their minds
until the very last minute, or they simply
trying for that aura of je ne sais quoi?
In the frenzy that is National Poetry Month, I am attempting two poetry challenges (plus responding to a smattering of other prompts that appeal to me). My NaHaiWriMo is going strong, and I’ve decided (at least for now) to keep my haiku on Facebook only, thereby making them eligible to submit to Frogpond, which considers blog posts published, but is okay with FB posts. They can all be read on the NaHaiWriMo page.
As for Poetic Asides, I am plugging away at the prompts in my notebook, and am a few days behind in my efforts. I will post them as I complete them…
When I first saw the Poetic Asides prompt today, asking us to write a poem in which we imagine the world without us, I thought, no way, I’m not going there. Some of the poetry I’ve been writing lately has been pretty intense, and I had an intense morning volunteering at a Komen event where I heard many moving stories of cancer diagnoses, and loss. But then I decided to go for the light touch, and wrote this poem; I am and will always be fervently grateful to my parents for not just giving me life, but for being the best parents they could possibly be. Imagine a world without me? Impossible!
what if
if my mom
hadn’t met my dad
i’d be the child
that they never had
or if they had kids
but stopped at three
my life as i know it
simply wouldn’t be
so all in all
i just have to say
i’m glad they had me
and i’m here today
I’m holding down the fort this week. This was inspired by yesterday’s Poetic Asides PAD prompt to write a postcard poem. What a great idea! As an inveterate postcard collector, I am fascinated by all the postcards I have amassed over the years from the special people in my life, both by the images on the front side, and by the brief but pithy messages conveyed on the back. I like re-reading them from time to time. They give such a slice of life.
Postcard from Home
I am here. You are there.
Today I dispatched a spider.
At 5:30 a.m. He was as big
as a quarter. Or so I am told.
I was half asleep. Yesterday
there were three spiders. The
day before, none. It was sunny
yesterday. Then it hailed. Hard.
Then sun again. Clouds, rain,
sun. Clouds, rain, sun. I see
where this is going. I hear it
is hot and sunny where you are.
I hope you are having fun. I am
here. You are there. I could
wish it otherwise.
“tricks and deception”:
mirror tricks –
looking more like mom
every day
Prose Posies 