#391: Poem on April 18, 2021

Today’s suggestion from Napowrimo is to write a poem based on or inspired by a chapter title from a book called Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life With Words by Susan G. Wooldridge. The Look Inside feature from Amazon gives us a peek on to the contents page and it contains a surprising and evocative list ofContinue reading “#391: Poem on April 18, 2021”

#390: Poem on April 17, 2021

Poem on April 17 “Daddy always looked to the moon. He claimed it as his own.” I wrote those lyrics 20 years ago for a song we recorded,only loosely about my dadabout 10 years before he died. Those two lines, though, we’re an accurate portrayal;Not that my father reallybelieved the moon was his, but somewhereContinue reading “#390: Poem on April 17, 2021”

#389: Poem on April 16, 2021

Poem on April 16 Our task today is to write a Skeltonicbut I don’t mean, when I say, to be ironicthat I’m glad our plague wasn’t bubonic;it was bad enough, our case was chronicand I think I’m supposed to keep up this sonicrhyme scheme until I run out, subatomic,of words that sound like a mixer,Continue reading “#389: Poem on April 16, 2021”

#388: Poem on April 15, 2021

Poem on April 15 My mother talked to herself. I remember listening in from the hallway as she’d go on and on as she was doing some chore or another in her bedroom, putting clothes away, tidying up, dusting, cleaning the bathroom. I rarely could make out what she was saying, but mostly I couldContinue reading “#388: Poem on April 15, 2021”

#388: Poem on April 14, 2021

Poem on April 14 I try to imagine how it will go. Let’s say I’ve got 15 or 20 studentsin the classroom with me. Let’s say I have another 5 to 10students who are still at homebut who would like to partakein the classroom happenings. They call this a simulcast. What it really means, IContinue reading “#388: Poem on April 14, 2021”

#387: Poem on April 13, 2021

Some new habits have already fallen away. For example, I think I went three days in a row without a preamble. Either I found it unnecessary (as it actually should be with poetry), or I just ran out of time or energy or both. But I continue with the continuity of titles or the lackContinue reading “#387: Poem on April 13, 2021”

#386: Poem on April 12, 2021

Poem on April 12 In my deck of Greek philosopher trading cards is the rare Tomarchus, disciple of Socrates, a rhetorician, accused of licentiousness by Aeschines, some other Greek philosopher so obscure he doesn’t have his own card. In my deck of science fiction terminology trading cards is the word areography, the study of and/orContinue reading “#386: Poem on April 12, 2021”

#385: Poem on April 11, 2021

Poem on April 11 Note to Self: Hey self. Why so crabby lately? You might need to exercise or meditate. Why so resistant to exercise and meditation? Do you feel that, since you have deprived yourself of a single bad habit that you must also even the scales with the deprivation of a couple ofContinue reading “#385: Poem on April 11, 2021”

#384: Poem on April 10, 2021

I’ve developed a couple of new habits this April for National Poetry Writing Month. Mostly, with only one exception, I’ve been writing little preambles, you know, introductory remarks, before each day’s poem. I’m introducing the prompt I followed, or explaining why I ignored the prompt, or how I manipulated the prompt toward my own devices.Continue reading “#384: Poem on April 10, 2021”

#383: Poem on April 9, 2021

Poem on April 9 Things to do: Shovel shit out of the back yard. Empty the poop bucket. Mow the lawn again. Avoid dying. Attempt three moredays without alcohol. Decide. Finish teachingthe school yearin still another modethat’s never beforebeen attemptedin the history of yourschool. Be best. Decide again.Find a way to removethat stain. Purge.Acquire newContinue reading “#383: Poem on April 9, 2021”