April Musings - 12. NaPoWriMo 2017 Week Two

Day 7

Prompt: Warning Poem - Let your poem imply a story through the narrator’s warning to another character.

Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, my dear.

Don’t let it consume you like an insidious disease.

Throw it out like the trash it is

Or, even better, burn it into oblivion.

Heed Dylan Thomas’ words and

Rage against the dying of the light.

When the circle closes and it’s your time to lie here,

Speak with pride about a life well-lived.

Run into open arms.

Write the Great American Novel – even if it’s only great to you.

Take the trip you’ve been putting off.

Tell those you love how you feel, even if those feelings aren’t returned.

It’s not too late to create your legacy, like it is for me.

Day 8

Another ‘warning’ poem. A bit lighter, this time. Dedicated to Mr. N. We tried our best… honest!

The next time you hooligans decide to

Wear your cleats while running through my yard,

I’ll turn the hose on you!

Maybe that will get the message across

Since your parents don’t care to.

It’s taken a lifetime to reach the perfect shade of green

And the right thickness—like a cushion for aching feet.

I don’t mind the extra money for the summer water bill.

The freshly-mown smell and diagonal pattern makes my

Weary heart happy.

Each chunk you rend like a predator consuming its prey

Takes a piece of my soul.

And don’t think I’m oblivious to the looks and comments, either.

I may be old, but I’m not deaf or senile.

If the hose doesn’t work, I have less pleasant ways to make my point.

So heed my words,

Damn kids.

Day 9

The prompt is to form a list of your mistakes so that it somehow becomes a poem.

List of Mistakes

1. William – We should have spent our lives together, but I was too stupid to realize it.

2. Richard – My virginity was a game that I lost.

3. Rodd – Not so much a mistake as convenient.

4. Javier – Desperation that led to heeding bad advice.

5. Peter – Life made sense for the first time, until my world shattered.

6. Being single – Either a mistake or a blessing, depending on the day.

Day 10

Prompt: Tell the story of one of your own scars or a scar on someone you love.

Wipeout

Self-propelled wheels fly over concrete,

As streaming hair tries to keep pace.

Freedom screams triumphant from within.

Concrete changes to gravel,

But legs continue to pedal

Faster and faster forward,

Then slam backward,

Causing tires to tilt

Precariously sideways,

Landing horizontally

in a spray of gravel

Now embedded in flesh.

Nurse Ratched’s vice-like grip

Is oblivious to writhing and screams

As the gravel is removed.

Day 11

Prompt: Write an Antidote poem, a lifebuoy for yourself that could work for others. A poetic antidote might be a prayer, a spell, a flood of gratitude, or a joke.

I am grateful for

Shrouded yellow eyes

And black velvet purrs.

Curled together contentedly,

You’re always within reach.

Day 12

Prompt: Write a full moon poem with a Buddhist feel — an Asian clarity, simplicity, and depth.

Lunar

Hypnagogic eye

silent sentinel

guarding a realm

where the absurd

is accepted.

Day 13

Headline poem. The exercise is to cut out headlines/words from newspapers or magazines and arrange them on paper to form a poem. I’ll also post a pic in the Gallery so you can see the visual form of my headline poem.

From behind my umbrella,

Who knows how many handsome strangers

I’ll bump into,

Fall back in love with.

Start fresh.

Adventures ahead

Will change everything.

Thank you again to Aditus and Parker Owens for their invaluable help.  My poems are so much better due to your input.  Thanks to all for reading.  I appreciate any comments or likes.  It's hard to believe that we're almost at the halfway point for NaPoWriMo!