GloPoWriMo, Day 5 – Flowers

Hey, bubs and grubs! Two poems today! (What luck!) Today’s prompt came in the form of heritage seeds and a couple of websites. Because flowers apparently inspire me to poetry, I have a haiku for you all, and, because part of this month is about experimenting with different forms, a fun form called ‘The Blitz’.

Confused? Scared? Wondering what GloPoWriMo/NaPoWriMo is? You should be.

 

Unheard sound

Bells of Ireland

Sway and, in the garden, make

Music for the birds.

 

Now or Later

Take these flowers

Take them now

Now to hold

Now to give

Give these flowers

Give them away

Away for love

Away for money

Money to spend

Money to hold

Hold me fast

Hold me close

Close to your heart

Close me in

In your arms

In your mind

Mind my heart

Mind full of love

Love for you

Love of gifts

Gifts bring sweetness

Gifts of compassion

Compassion of thought

Compassion loves

Loves me

Loves you

You do not care

You smile

Smile for love

Smile for friendship

Friendship will fade

Friendship will sour

Sour as a lemon

Sour of heart

Heart, mind, body and soul

Heart of ice

Ice in your veins

Ice will freeze

Freeze the flowers

Freeze and stop

Stop this pain

Stop up your words

Words can pierce

Words can tear

Tear up my flowers

Tears come later

Later for me

Later for love

Love…

Me…

Day 4 of GloPoWriMo

Hey, nunchucks & chipmunks! Today’s day 4 of GloPoWriMo/NaPoWriMo (Global/National Poetry Writing Month). Curious? You should be.

Today’s prompt is taken from T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland”, where he declares that “April is the cruellest month”. But is it really? I’m an Australian, with Queensland as my stamping ground, so if this poem seems a little topsy-turvy, just take it in stride.

 

November

You suck, November. Tell it straight,

You sweaty, unformed thing.

They lie and say you’re awesome

With all the warmth you bring.

 

You suck November! Tell it straight,

You wish-wash of a month.

You can’t decide on anything true!

You’re windy, cold, wet, dry and hot!

 

You suck, November. Tell it straight.

You bring the worst in life!

Why do you insist on the worst gifts of all,

Like exams and colds and strife?!

 

Arghhh, November! Go back home!

No one likes you here!

Be hot or be cold, be windy or still!

Decide or disappear!

 

Day 3 of GloPoWriMo – The Fun Continues!

Hi, all! Day 3 of GloPoWriMo/NaPoWriMo (Global/National Poetry Writing Month). Curious? You should be.

Today’s prompt is a fan letter to a celebrity. Now, that’s not really my jam, so I’m going off-script for the day, with this free-structured ditty. =) Enjoy!

 

Ode to Sloth

Midday and I have not yet changed,

Barely awake and heavy of limb, I lie

Vaguely dormant ‘neath cotton sheets

And run through checklists in my head.

 

Both my brain and I know

These checklists will stay unchecked.

The longer you lie, the sleepier you get

And I intend to lie a while.

 

Midday and I have not yet changed,

Barely awake and heavy of limb, I lie

Vaguely dormant ‘neath cotton sheets

And I will lie all day.

GloPoWriMo, day 2

This is part of the GloPoWriMo (Global Poetry Writing Month, also known as NaPoWriMo – National Poetry Writing Month) challenge. Curious? You should be.

Today’s prompt for GloPoWriMo is ‘Family Portrait’. Since my husband and I have a lot of Welsh heritage, I thought I’d try my hand at a Gwawdodyn, which is a lot more poetic than it looks.

 

Keeping Up

There’s Alex, with his cigarettes barely hidden

In his shirt’s front pocket, which hangs down, bedridden

By its cancerous cargo. His face is aglow,

Since Mum told him to quit and he didn’t.

 

And there’s Ed, at his side, with a mischievous grin

Up to no good, but still bound to win.

That sly, quiet joker, with his arms crossed over,

If there’s mischief afoot, he’ll join in.

 

Ah! There’s Jasper. I thought he’d be in this one!

There, hiding behind Annika, with her hair all undone.

Close as twin shoots with entangled roots,

Her scribe and best friend, bar none.

 

I like Mum and Dad in this photo together,

Their hands held tight, two birds of a feather,

Leaning into each other, their family gathered

Around them, no matter the weather.

 

And there I am, sitting front and centre,

With Maevy, wrapped up in a scarf that I’d lent her.

She looks happy and cosy, her cheeks pink and rosy,

Like that cute panda toy that I sent her.

 

The whole family sits and laughs on the page

The same  funny faces that just never age.

Even when we’re all fighting and whinging and biting,

There’s a base of love there, without gauge.

NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo

So, in keeping with our header, I thought I’d sign up for National Poetry Writing Month (or for me, Global Poetry Writing Month), a little participation event which sees its participants write a poem per day for all of April. Starting technically yesterday for me (as you might have guessed, I’m actually not part of the nation that actually does this, so…), I’ll be writing a poem per day until May comes around to stop me.

Think of it as a month-long bad poetry jam.

In due reverence to yesterday’s missing post, behold – a wild poem appears.

 

A Lune to Gilded Paper

This sheet of paper

Tells me that

I have more meaning.

 

How strange this ideal.

Is it false?

Or in verity?

 

Is it avarice,

In knowledge,

That led to this ‘truth’?

 

Or love of money

That lends this

Gilded paper truth?