NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 20

WRITE A POEM THAT INCORPORATES THE VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY OF A SPECIFIC SPORT OR GAME

SPEAKING OF ASPECTS




First of all
I don't know why
They would even
Bring up astrology
Speaking on it as
If they had some sort
Of experience forecasting
Strengths and weaknesses
Of planetary positions as
They orbit the zodiac
In sextile or trine aspects
Of lunar cycles and solar
Eclipses in a natal birth
Chart because believe it
Or not I have studied the
Fine art of prognostication
They have not

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 19

WRITE A POEM THAT RECOUNTS A CREATION MYTH

THE BEGINNING OF BEGINNINGS



Impending flood interrupts
Daily comforts of the
Black headed people
Of Mesopotamia
Blessings bestowed

By the Sumerian gods of
Ancient Iraq seven
Days and nights a terrible
Storm released waters
Which over ran the land

A chosen few were saved from
Extinction when the sun god
Utu appears and recreates
Life from the remnants
Of the ark
In the end was the beginning
Of beginnings

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 18

WRITE A POEM THAT INCORPORATES NEOLOGISMS OR MADE-UP WORDS.

SILLY STORY




That love at first sight
Fiasco was iffycadiculous
From the jump especially
Looking at it from a humanistical
Perspective because people
Change their nature switch
Horses in mid-stream become
So deymonished
They don't even love you
Like that anymore but you
Knew that already yet
You still fell for the noshonment
Story I don't understand some
Silliness makes no sense

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 17

WRITE A NOCTURNE; A ROMANTIC OR DREAMY MUSICAL  PIECE APPROPRIATE TO EVENING OR NIGHT. TRANSLATE THIS SENSIBILITY  INTO POETIC FORM.

SECOND CHANCE





Got a broken


Heart to mend


Taking a chance


On love again


Taking a chance


On trust again


Until true love's


My friend again

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 16

WRITE A POEM IN THE FORM OF A LETTER TO A PERSON, PLACE, OR THING, OR IN THE FORM OF A BACK-AND-FORTH CORRESPONDENCE

SUICIDE NOTE




Dearest lover by
The time you read this
My life will be over
But in case you should
Wonder why your
Sweet good thing
Would want to die I
Sat down and wrote
This suicide note.
Who would've thought
Us coming to an end
After all we've been
To each other not us
Not ever I thought the
Love we had would last
Forever and life without
You now what on earth
Would I do so I hope you
Understand my pledge
To live without your love
I'd rather be dead.

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 15

WRITE A POEM THAT REFLECTS ON THE NATURE OF BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING

MIDLIFE CRISIS


As I am now in the
Autumn of my
Years I look behind
And see vignettes of
The man I grew into
Look forward to
Smoothly transitioning
To the wheel of
Elderly life all
The  while hoping
Saying a prayer
To see my
Grandchildren grow
And maturate become
Seeds of hope for
The next generation

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 14

WRITE A "CLERIHEW"  - A FOUR LINE BIOGRAPHICAL POEM THAT SATIRIZES A FAMOUS PERSON

SCARED STRAIGHT




Stephen King of horror
How your image grows
Can you tell a starving writer
How to write hit shows

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 13

WRITE A "GHAZAL" POEM

I opted out of today's prompt and wrote the following poem instead:

THE DARK SIDE



Truth is the light
That people profess
They want to know yet
Cannot handle the
Responsibility which
Comes with  illumination
Even if it does set them free
Darkness is safer
Not to know
Is bad not to wish to know
Is worse

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 12

WRITE A POEM THAT EXPLICITLY  INCORPORATES ALLITERATION AND ASSONANCE

AT ALL TIMES



Life keeps us
Busy always going
Doing renewing at
All times yet in between
The moments never
Lose sight
Never forget neglect or
Disrespect the source
From whom all
Blessings flow

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 11

WRITE A "BOP" POEM - A COMBINATION SONNET + A SONG

FISHING GONE




Rising before the sun
Has shone the way
For day
Papa shoveled a pile
Of dark rich soil
At my feet

Oh what a day for fishing

Hordes of squirming
Worms I plucked up
With my fingers into
An empty tin can and
Out we headed into
Early dawn darkness papa
Leading the way
Deep into the woods

Oh what a day for fishing

While down at the creek
Papa fished I stood by
Catching fish he caught
Putting them in a tub
Flipping flapping slipping
Waiting for fishing to be over

Oh what a day for fishing

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 10

WRITE A POEM THAT IS A PORTRAIT OF SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU

A MOTHER'S LOVE IS FOREVER





She taught us the
Meaning of real love
This mother of mines
Heavy lines on her
Dark face the stress
Of working and living
Off welfare benefits at
The same time
Real love had her
Hiding  the
Zenith tv and princess
Telephone in the hallway
Closet from the investigator's
Eyes as she tries to keep
The case open keep the
Checks coming so we
Could live decent lives
Like every other child

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 9

WRITE A "NINE LINE" POEM

NO TIME TO SPARE





On a sunny day
Young men and women
Laugh and bask in the
Rays of their dreams
With no time to spare
Dark old voices
Laugh behind their backs
At time wasted
Dreaming idle dreams

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 8

WRITE A POEM THAT RELIES ON REPETITION

TWISTED

You ready to go

I beg you to stay

Addicted to your comely way

Addicted to your style

And grace

Addicted to your lovely face

And under the sky

Your soft brown eyes

Addicted to your twisted lies 

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 3

WRITE AN ELEGY-A poem that mourns or honors someone dead or something gone bye...

WHERE MY BOW-TIE



Kept silent deep in thought
After they buried uncle lee roy
Couldn't understand death was
Inevitable
He teased me as a child every
Sunday morning at church
Where my bow-tie really saying
You look sharp today so I
Gave him mine then stood
Waiting watching knowing he
Would give it right back

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 7

WRITE A POEM ABOUT LUCK AND FORTUITOUSNESS

AFFECTION MISPLACED




The girl of my dreams
Was not who I thought
Not worthy of worship
Not worthy of being
The queen
Lady luck whispered
Just go
Run like you stole the
Hope diamond
And never
Look back

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 6

Write a poem that looks at the same thing from various points of view.

BLOOD IS THICKER



Blood brothers
But we cousins
Friends for life
But we cousins too
First cousins one
Left home behind
For a better chance at life
Though we apart
We still blood brothers
We still cousins too who
Vowed to stay in touch as
Years passed us by as
Life caught us up
Couldn't keep still
Didn't keep track of
Days and time gone by
Friends for life
But we cousins too
Blood brothers
Even though the
Years grew us apart

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 5

          WRITE A POEM THAT IS BASED IN THE NATURAL WORLD...

GUN SHY


High above
On the branch of a tree
Redbreast nuthatches
Ignorant of me preening themselves
Without  a glance
I knew it was time to take a
Chance raising my
Rifle slowly I shot missed
By a mile believe it or not
Again and again with the same result
Birds flew away a downright insult
Knowing my rifle set off no
Alarm the way I aimed could
Do them no harm

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 4

Write a poem with a secret - in other words, a poem with a word or idea or line that it isn't expressing directly.

USED TO BE


Funny running into you
Today emily looking so
Good love what you
Did with your hair
About the party at my house
Tonight of course you're
Invited if you like
Surely reconciliation  is in
The air  if you know
What I mean

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 2

Write a poem inspired by, or in the form of a recipe...

 A LOVE LETTER FILLED WITH TEARS



Hands on time one minute
Total time two days

Serves up one broken heart

Ingredients

Two large to medium hearts
One cup brown granulated sugar
Lots of sweet softened love
Stir into a mixture

Topping

Pinch of  dark disrespect, packed
Allow to marinate
Sprinkle and smooth over evenly

Cook for a few tumultuous moments
Until the tears flow down and
Drip beneath the chin

NAPOWRIMO 2017 DAY 1

Write a (Kay-Ryan-esque) poem...


PRESERVATION


Stuck
On the ground
Left to be found
In front of a
Twisted old tree
The crispy crinkly
Shell of a snake or
Whatever it used
To be now moving
On to a different state
Of mind leaving the
Fossilzation of it's
Previous existence
Far far behind.

SIMILE and METAPHOR in a POEM

A SIMILE is a METHOD of COMPARISON  using the words "LIKE" or "AS".

When, in a POEM, something is said to be "LIKE" another thing, it means that the POET is using SIMILE to convey his/her feelings  about what he/she is describing.


For example: In the statement "Her laughter was like a babbling brook,"  the POET is comparing the laughter of the girl to the sound made by a babbling brook.


A  METAPHOR is a METHOD of COMPARISON where the words "LIKE" and "AS" are not used.

To modify the earlier example, if the statement had been "Her laughter, a babbling brook," then it would be the use of METAPHOR.

TONE, THEME, and SYMBOLISM in a POEM

The TONE of a poem is roughly equivalent to the MOOD it creates in the reader. Much depends, however, on interpretation. A POEM gives it's readers clues about how to feel about it.

The TONE may be based on a number of other conventions that the POEM uses, such as REPETITION.

TONE is not in any way divorced from the other elements of POETRY.  TONE is directly dependent on them.

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THEME is what the poem is all about.

The THEME of the poem is the central idea that the POET wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or a description of something or someone.

The THEME is anything which the POEM is all about.

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POEMS will often convey IDEAS and THOUGHTS using SYMBOLS.

A SYMBOL can stand for many things at one time and leads the reader out of a systematic and structured method of looking at things.


Often a SYMBOL used in the POEM will be used to create such an effect.

A POEM 4 TODAY

LOOKING INWARD



Always been a recluse
More like introvert
Searching through the
Real final frontier my
Inner being where a
Secret world inside has
My full attention

ALLITERATION in a POEM

ALLITERATION, like RHYME,  is also used in a poem for sound effect. Several words in the sentence may begin with the same letter of the alphabet  or syllable sound.


FOR EXAMPLE: In the sentence, "MANY MINUTE MINIATURE MOMENTS," the sound of the alphabet "M" is repeated in all the four words continuously. When you say these words aloud, the sound effect generated is called ALLITERATION.


ALLITERATION occurs when initial vowel sounds are repeated through several words.

the RHYME in a POEM...

- A POEM may or may not have a RHYME.

- RHYME occurs when the final accented syllables of words sound alike. They usually occur at the end of a poetic line.

- A POEM that has RHYME means that the last words of the lines match with each other in some form. Either the last words of the first and second lines would RHYME with each other or the first and 3rd, second and the fourth and so on...

- RHYME is basically similar sounding words like 'cat ' and 'hat', 'close' and 'shows', 'house' and 'mouse,' etc.

                     FREE VERSE POETRY, THOUGH, DOES NOT FOLLOW THIS SYSTEM.


A regular RHYME scheme may make the poem's lines more predictable or easy to memorize.

the RHYTHM in a POEM

RHYTHM is the MUSIC made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in the lines.

- The methods for creating poetic rhythm vary across languages and between poetic traditions.

- RHYTHM can be created out of METER, the regular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a poetic line, and PACE, the relative speed suggested by the lines.

- The best method of understanding this is to read the poem aloud.

- Languages are often described as having timing set primarily by ACCENTS, SYLLABLES, or MORAS. Depending on how rhythm is established, a language can be influenced by multiple approaches:

Japanese is a mora-timed language

Latin, French and Spanish are syllable-timed languages


English, Russian and generally German are stressed-timed

Chinese, Vietnamese and most Sub-Saharan languages are Tonal languages

the SITUATION, SYNTAX, and SOUND in a POEM

SITUATION - The context in which the speaker finds him- or herself in the poem. This is roughly equivalent to SETTING and PLOT in fiction.

SYNTAX - The structure of language in a poem. A poem's lines may be long or short, simple or complex. Generally we look to the line length or the shape of the lines and stanzas as being related somehow to the poem's theme.

SOUND - The SOUND in poems is extremely important. Poems can be analyzed by rhythm or the internal sounds of words or phrases.

the SPEAKER in a POEM

One of the most difficult concepts in the STUDY OF POETRY is that of SPEAKER.

The SPEAKER is roughly equivalent to the NARRATOR of fictional works.


The SPEAKER is a character or a psychological persona that the POET constructs to deliver the words of the POEM.

A POEM FOR TODAY

Creeping Cross My Path


This slow-moving bug
On a wet blade of grass
Wriggled cross my feet
Early this morning
Looking like a black

Fuller brush with green
Roots.
As this is Friday the 13th
Is this black caterpillar crossing
My path bad luck?
Are black caterpillars in any way related to
Black cats?