This prompt was to write about something I’m haunted by or haunts me, then change “haunt” to ‘hunt.” I spend most of the year at work writing about scary things, so very little scares me at this point. What I chose isn’t something I contemplate often, but it’s certainly a horrifying prospect
Very Little Hunts Me
I'm not hunted by spiders. They're free pest control. I'm not hunted by snakes. Their scales are soft and shiny.
I'm not hunted by heights, though my balance is questionable. I'm not hunted by flying, though I find it tedious.
I'm not hunted by thunderstorms. Lightning is mesmerizing. I'm not hunted by the dark; I dream in the darkness.
I'm hunted by the thought of being trapped inside my own body my mind completely intact.
I’m continuing to play catch-up. This prompt is to write a poem where the speaker wishes to be someone or something else and expresses why.
Winged
I wish that I could soar through the sky without a plane, like those dreams half-remembered where you can fly and don't remember why you never had before. Travel would be as easy as the winds are breezy.
Today in the better-late-than-never department, here is a poem inspired by a song, using said song as a title. I went to see a big band concert yesterday and an opera today, so I have plenty of material to draw from. I think this is a fitting choice because I love Gershwin, and “rhapsody” in music has its origins in Ancient Greek epic poetry. Weirdly, this is the second poem I’ve written around the color blue. The first is here, written during my first ever NaPoWriMo: https://mizwriter.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/shady/
Rhapsody in Blue
The ancient Greeks wouldn't know what to do with a Rhapsody in blue.
Their culture was the peaks, but they hadn't a word for blue---how absurd!
They gave us the word "cyan," like a Santorini roof, but that's no proof.
I'm not exactly buying Homer's wine-dark sea; it sounds more purple-y.
Unsaid doesn't equal unseen. We can only guess what they mean.
I had evening plans after work the past few nights and decided to prioritize sleep over writing poems. Now I’m playing catch-up. This day’s prompt was to write a poem describing an object or place in detail and then end with an abstract line that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the object/place yet it actually does.
Age Before Beauty
The young ones are flushed rosy. Their blossoms flurry on a breath of wind.
The old one are knobby and bowed, pink petals gleaming atop the gouged bark.
Today marks the halfway point in NaPoWriMo and Tax Day if you’re an American. The prompt is write a poem inspired by postage stamps found here: https://twitter.com/StampsBot
One Day
One day, I'll pick wild strawberries in Mexico. I'll lie in the wildflowers of Kuwait. and frolic with rabbits in the Latvian snows.
Today’s prompt is to come up 1-2-syllable words: five based on each of the five senses, three concrete nouns and two verbs, then find rhymes for each. Then use some kind of mix of those words to form a poem. I can already tell this is going to be silly but fun. I also just realized this is the second poem I’ve written about this particular fairy tale for NaPoWriMo. The previous one can be found here: https://mizwriter.wordpress.com/2018/04/15/unhappy-ever-after/
White As Snow, Red as Blood, Black as Ebony
1 Her skin was milky her voice was silky. Every bird hung on her every word.
She grew up pampered yet into the forest she scampered.She knew she must fly or she'd soon die.
2 The queen goggled at her heart yet was boggled by the hunter.
And when she learned she'd been burned, she grew more sour by the hour.
3 The glass was luminous her hair voluminous. The prince had no inkling of her tinkling laugh.
He knelt on the grass and lifted the glass. She awoke with a start. He captured her heart.
4 At their wedding all aflower they killed the queen the same hour. Her screams replaced with laughter, they lived happily ever after.
Yesterday, I went straight from work to dinner and a show, and I decided it was more important for me to go to sleep than to write. So, yesterday’s prompt was to write a poem that’s a tall tale, whether from folklore, mythology or embellished real life. That always makes me think of an elementary school project, where I had to write a tall tale that was both literally and figuratively tall. Mine was about my height at the time. I can’t remember anything about it, except it naturally involved an orange cat.
Cat Tales
Cats can fling a small mountain across the Grand Canyon with a single swipe of their paws. Their claw marks are big enough for twelve people to walk through side by side. They shed enough fur in a year to cover Antarctica three times over.
I’m so excited and grateful that the poem I wrote yesterday was featured on https://www.napowrimo.net/day-eleven-12/, a first in eleven years of participating in NaPoWriMo!! I found out about 1am while I was on an overnight commercial shoot at work (I write the scripts, among other things). Given that I didn’t get to sleep until 3am, I’m thankful today’s prompt is to write a monostitch (a one-line poem) or a poem made up of one-liners. Writing headlines and taglines is also part of my job, so I’m used to keeping things concise.
Late Night Brine
My brain is fermenting into incoherence. The juices will not flow.
Today’s prompt is to write a poem based on one of the headlines, cartoons or other news items from here: https://yesterdaysprint.tumblr.com/. These are so hysterical, I decided to pick a few. Animal Mayhem
The parrot causes a riot it takes 80 men to quell. The duck collects old shoes. Its web feet wear them well.
The cat graduates with honors, degree from Bowdoin College. The dog steals lots of diamonds and frolics with its haulage.
The snakes play popular tunes, though won’t take a request. The turtle listens to radio and likes the waltz the best.
The gators drive a plow. The lines aren’t very straight. The chicken burns a haystack because its feed was late.
Here are the headlines that inspired my poem. The one that had pictures are included above.
“Escaped Parrot Causes a Riot. It Takes 80 Men to Quell.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri, June 5, 1910
“Collects Old Shoes. Strange Freak of an Ordinary Duck,” The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Kansas, January 23, 1897 “Cat Went to College. Graduated From Bowdoin With All Honors and Great Dignity,” Kansas Farmer, Topeka, Kansas, February 6, 1896
“Dog Steals Diamonds. Frolics on Lawn with $14,000* Worth of Gems. ‘Deep Mystery’ is Solved.” The Washington Post, Washington DC, September 26, 1911 (*About $450,000 today!)
“Snakes Played Tunes. Old Colorado Plainsmen Heard a Reptile Family Rattling Off Popular Airs.” The Washington Bee, Washington DC, September 20, 1902
“Pet Turtles Like Music. They Flip Their Legs and Waltz to the Tempo.” Des Moines Tribune, Iowa, January 19, 1932
“Farmer Stobbins and His Team of Trained Alligators,” The Times, Philadelphia, September 27, 1898
“Chickens Burn a Haystack. Farmer Believes They Carried Matches and Pecked at Them.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri, April 11, 1909
The Cynical Optimist 