Poems for years 4 and 5 of the Promptly Poetry Challenge. |
A year's worth of poems, every week for 52 weeks, spanning 2023 and 2024, plus the year following, from August 2024 to August 2025.(provided I live that long, of course). |
A Poem From Nowhere A good morning to the empty pristine page, awaiting its breakfast of magical words, and thoughts are aligning all eager and sage. But jumbled they are, all so dumb and absurd, the brain it’s not working, “Vacation!” it cries, I hunt for a subject but ev’rything’s blurred. the teevee is shouting and telling its lies, the coffee is weak and not up to its task, the hope I had early just dwindles and dies. I think I am beaten, I may have to pass - but wait, it seems I have succeeded at last. Line count: 11 Form: Terza Rima - Rhymed aba bcb cdc dd, 11 syllables per line For Promptly Poetry Challenge, Week 12 Prompt: Write a Terza Rima. |
Halloween At Last Poor little Johnny, who died only last week, he didn’t mind - he was ever so meek; but what really hurt him and made him feel sad, he missed Halloween and the chance to be bad. He haunted each night in the same old streets, wailing and moaning and dressed up in sheets. The other ghosts listened and they understood - poor Johnny was only expressing his mood. They came to him then with a clever idea, “You need a friend to possess and be here,” and Johnny latched on to his little dog Stan, who knew him at once and accepted his plan. Now each Halloween they go forth as one amongst trick or treaters and all having fun, from house to house and fast on their feet, go Johnny and Stan collecting their treats! Line count: 16 Rhymed aabb For Promptly Poetry Challenge, Week 11 2024 Prompt: Picture of a dog trick or treating in a sheet. |
Oh, Do Not Ask, “What is it?” Some things are so special, moments of bright sunbursts of awareness, scattered as mountain peaks in the foothills of life, high experiences that shine their crystal clarity and illumine the dark corners forever. To speak of them in hope of understanding is to demean the mystery, to drain the nearness of the divine with earthly care, the perfect light of that instant sullied with inspection and force feeding the replete. ‘Tis enough to say God spoke. Line count: 17 Free verse For Promptly Poetry Challenge, Week 10 2024 Prompt: Write a poem about a moment when you felt overwhelmingly joyful. Note: The title is a quote from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. |
Posh Nosh King Henry, the eighth of that handle, said that nought could hold a candle to the steak bought with many a coin and he dubbed it right there as Sir Loin. And the Terrible Ivan, he swore that the food that delighted his jaw was not from the usual abattoir but the fish eggs he called caviar. Declared Emperor of China, the Ming, that the thing that made his bell ring was to bury the eggs for his lunch to give them that delicate crunch. But the king of the gods that was Zeus declared himself absolutely no use if his breakfast excluded the spectre of a walloping goblet of nectar. Now I’ve tried all these types of food and admit that I found them quite good (‘cept the eggs - they were too old and smelly), it’s bangers and mash that’ll do me. Line count: 20 Rhyming couplets For Promptly Poetry Challenge 5, Week 9 Prompt: Write a poem about your favourite food. Notes: Bangers and mash is, of course, the famous English dish of sausages and mashed potato (that also requires peas and gravy). And, this being a very English poem, I should advise that the word “nosh” is British slang for food. I take it that “posh” is well enough known universally for it not to need explanation. |