NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 30

Here is it, the final day of National Poetry Writing Month.  The prompt today is to write a minimalist poem.  Well, a haiku is certainly minimalist, so here is a companion piece to my poem of the other day, "Sonnet Envy."

Haiku Envy

There was a sonnet

who wished to be a haiku.

He dumped his baggage. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 29

The prompt today is to write a poem " that meditates, from a position of tranquility, on an emotion you have felt powerfully."

Haiku

Easter afternoon.

Your body caught up with you

on your journey home. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 28

The prompt today is to write a meta-poem -- a poem about poetry.  Here is a silly one I came up with.

Sonnet Envy

There was a haiku who wished to be a sonnet.

He wanted to have more syllables and lines.

He became quite depressed when he dwelled on it,

and wished he at least had a few rhymes.

He thought about how wonderful it would be

if he were written in iambic pentameter,

and had fourteen lines instead of just three.

Yes, he would have liked that a lot better.

Being a haiku, he always felt like a shrimp

among all the sonnets and villanelles.

He wanted to be epic but he felt like a wimp.

He could only whisper when he wanted to yell.

Your size does not matter as much as what you say

Little haiku, I hope you will understand that someday. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 27

Today's prompt is to "remix" a Shakespearean sonnet.  Well, I went to "Sonnet XII" and stole the first line, then took it in my own direction.

Morning Sonnet

(With apologies to William Shakespeare)

When I count the clock that tells the time

and see the garish day replace the holy night,

I so dread the alarm clock's chime

and the bedroom flooded in morning light.

When the cats jump on the bed

and run like tigers through the house,

most insistent that they be fed,

we must arise though we may grouse.

Though we may dread another day of work,

we take some comfort at the sound of the beep

that tells us the coffee is starting to perk,

and the caffeine will ease us from our sleep.

We hope the day will speed by so that then

we can come home and start the cycle again. - Jeff Barnes

If you're curious and have not read it, here is the original by Shakespeare:

Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time

By William Shakespeare

When I do count the clock that tells the time, 

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; 

When I behold the violet past prime, 

And sable curls all silver’d o’er with white;

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves 

Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves 

Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, 

Then of thy beauty do I question make, 

That thou among the wastes of time must go,

Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake

And die as fast as they see others grow; 

   And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defence

   Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. 

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 26

Today's prompt is to write a poem that makes use of the repetition of words.  So, this is what I came up with, repeating "Some folks" throughout. It's the sort of idea I get first thing in the morning.

Smorgasbord

Some folks like soy sauce on vanilla ice cream.

while others like it in their coffee.

Some folks like hot and sour soup

liberally sprinkled with toffee.

Some folks like Hostess Ding Dongs

smothered in extra hot taco sauce.

Some folks make salads of gumdrops

and anchovies in Spanish moss.

Some folks sprinkle olive oil

over a slice of blueberry pie.

Some folks like to spread peanut butter

onto a Reuben sandwich on rye.

Some folks eat their raisin bran

soaked in orange soda pop.

Some folks like a bowl of cheese dip

in which to dunk a lollipop.

Some folks like fish and chips

smothered in chocolate mousse.

Some folks like to stir cinnamon and salt

into a glass of cranberry juice.

Some folk mix marshmallow cream with deviled eggs.

That's their idea of an hors d'oeuvre.

Be careful of whose dinner invitation you accept.

You never know what they will serve. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 25

Today's prompt is to write a poem that relate to one season, engages all five senses, and asks a rhetorical question.  I came up with this haiku sequence.

Spring Haiku Sequence

Basho's frog goes splash!

Birds and lawnmowers all day.

Spring peepers at dusk.

Ahh, inhale deeply!

Grass, new flowers, rain washed air,

and... eww! Manure!

Juicy tomatoes,

fresh blueberries from the field,

and Marshmallow Peeps!

Newly empowered

dandelions push their way

up through the sidewalk.

Will it be warm? Cold?

In April, who can be sure?

Who knows how to dress? - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 24

Today's prompt is to write a poem inspired by a reference book, such as an encyclopedia, a dictionary, or a thesaurus.  I had fun looking up words and names and finding rhymes, even though this is goofy and doesn't make a lot of sense.

Poetry Potpourri

Tallulah

made lots of moolah

dancing the hula

to the beat of a boula

played by Petula

while her friend Beulah

passed the hat.

The Laughing Buddha

placed a houdah

on a great barracuda

and rode from Barbuda

to Bermuda

while sharing some gouda

with his pet rat.

A jackal

began to cackle

at a grackle

who used a block and tackle

to hoist a tabernacle

onto the roof of a ramshackle

shack.

She looked quite cute

while tooting her flute

in her birthday suit.

Her pet malamute

remained  still and mute

as did her newt,

but her owl began to hoot

while perched upon a yak.

Queen Neffertiti

went to Tahiti

with her sweetie,

whose name was Petey.

The weather was sleety,

so they stayed in and ate Wheaties

while writing graffiti

on their hotel wall.

He was born in Rhodesia

but moved to Tunisia,

where he developed amnesia,

then moved to Polynesia

by way of Indonesia,

where he contracted synaesthesia

while under general anesthesia,

so he drank milk of magnesia

which helped not at all. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 23

Today's prompt is to write a poem about an animal.

Haiku

Welcome distraction

from maddening city noise --

the honking of geese. -  Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 22

The prompt today is to write a poem that engages another form of art (painting, music, etc.).  This haiku is based on the 1895 painting The Death of the Grave Digger by Carlos Schwabe.

The Death of the Grave Digger

Lay your shovel down.

Let the soft snow cover you.

It's your turn to rest. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 21

Today's prompt is to write a poem that used surreal imagery and dream logic.  I don't know how successful this is, but here it what I came up with.

Cold Easter

In the last days of winter

you emerged from your coma

for an instant,

opened one eye,

looked at our mother,

and stopped breathing.

Snowflakes spotted

the priest's black coat

as he stood by your grave

and said final prayers

before a crow

carried your spirit

away.

We had a cold Easter that year.

Mother lies in bed,

face buried in her hands.

The world around her

does not exist.

Her hair and skin

are as white as

the corridors of death.

I am mindful

of the birds 

coming and going

outside the window.

I have not seen a crow yet

but today is Easter

and it is cold. - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 20

Today's prompt is to write a poem that speaks.  Here's a haiku of me speaking to last night's full moon.

Haiku

In and out of clouds,

April moon, you drift all night.

You can't sleep, either? - Jeff Barnes

NaPoWriMo 2019, Day 19

The prompt today is to write an abecedarian poem, in which the word choice -- either the worse sequence, the first word of each line, etc. -- follows the letters of the alphabet.  I went with the first word of each line and got goofy, because what else can you do with a prompt like this?

An Unexceptional Tuesday in April

An angel danced upon a rooftop

before she flew away.

Camels wearing swimsuits went

down to frolic in the bay.

Every day weird things happen

from morning until night.

Giraffes wearing sunglasses

helped  a little boy fly his kite.

I surely can't explain it.

Just look at the stuff that goes on.

Kings and queens wearing hightop sneakers

leapt  over a troupe of  purple prawns.

Monkeys wearing zoot suits

nestled with tigers in trees.

Ostriches wearing pink tutus

pirouetted in the morning breeze.

Quietly the clouds drifted in and

rained soda pop  onto the town,

soaking all the aristocrats, ruining their

tuxedos and silken gowns.

Umbrellas rose into the sky

voyaging to who knows where?

While a band of floating balloon animals played

xylophones in mid-air.

You may not believe me but it is no mendacity.

Zero normal things ever happen in our fair city. - Jeff Barnes