Category: playful fun

2022 NaPoWriMo DAY TWENTY-TWO22 April 2022 Rapt Race


Rapt Race

RaRaRa!
Raw sorrow or
sounds of radical cheers?
Ra the Egyptian sun god,
rare divinity,
falcon, rara aves, its symbol,
a rarity,
on the rapidly extinguished list,
raw sorrow,
tough to ratify, depending on ratio
of ratings, rapaciousness,
ramshackle rattling the heart.
Babies receive rattles,
rapidly learn to ramble, rant,
ram into rarified conversations,
realize
rams race across rapids and rainbows, ravenous, rapt,
in search of rare tender buds, but
is the age of the Ram upon us?
A far-ranging proposition.
Meanwhile Rapunzel,
old, rabid rabble-rouser,
irate, enraged,
dances with his razor-sharp shadow,
raven on his raving-mad right shoulder,
rat on his rambunctious left,
he’s on a rampage, while
princess, radically radiant,
from the ramparts arranges for rain,
and enraptured, raves,
ready to erase every trace of the rancorous race.
No ransom,
no more raw sorrow,
RaRaRa!


Prompt: Repetition

2022 NaPoWriMo DAY ELEVEN11 April 2022 The Cosmos


The Cosmos (a draft)

Huge, unimaginably immense,
beyond the grasp of any sense
the Cosmos floats,
a giant bubble, on board all mystery,
mirages, visions, dreams of the ages,
touchable present reality, too,
me, you, skyscrapers, jungle,
bridges, valleys, mountain tops,
boats plying streams,
symphonies playing in concert halls,
snowflakes and raindrops,
fingertips clicking on keyboards
in search of a verse,
successes, flops, waterfalls,
poets on all sorts of planets,
lizards and foxes, hummingbirds, elephants in the wild,
butterflies, snails, artists, nerds,
zebras in zoos, books in libraries,
walls, windows, open doors,
shores, embankments, a world’s willingness and concern,
other planets, zillions of galaxies, countless constellations
swirl in stern order, don’t collide,
Cosmos, humongous, humorous,
will abide and forever delight
in endless variations
of life’s darkness and light,
and beyond.


Praise the biggest thing you can imagine

2022 NaPoWriMo DAY TEN 10 April 2022Life, woven from love?


Life, woven from love?

Look around, see nature woo,
squirrels chase from elm to fir,
wood pigeons coo,
buds break open, leaves renew,
bristly hedgehogs stir,
so, too, the human zoo.

Bus driver beams welcome
to arriving crew,
bearded face beneath blue
hood, limping old lady,
misunderstood,
shy newly-weds, tourist
lost in morning mist,
of local language not a gist,
mom, bundled-up baby,
bright-helmeted cyclist –

driver alive to toing and froing,
smiles farewell to all on going,
openhearted benevolence,
no mere surface happenstance,
greetings instants of luminous trove:

life unceasingly weaving love.


NaPoWriMo: write a love poem.

2022 NaPoWriMo DAY NINE 9 April Nonet on Gratitude


9 April 2022

And now for our (optional) daily prompt! Because it’s a Saturday, I thought I’d try a prompt that asks you to write in a specific form – the nonet! A nonet has nine lines. The first line has nine syllables, the second has eight, and so on until you get to the last line, which has just one syllable.

Happy writing!

Nonet on Gratitude

Gratitude like a blond squirrel
delights in crunchy beechnuts
like an autumn leaf swirls
in a gentle wind
loves to expect
forever
great good
now

2022 NaPoWriMo DAY FIVE Gargoyle to Cashier


And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem about a mythical person or creature doing something unusual – or at least something that seems unusual in relation to that person/creature. For example, what does Hercules do when he loses a sock in the dryer? If a mermaid wants to pick up rock-climbing as a hobby, how does she do that? What happens when a mountain troll makes pancakes?

Happy writing!

Gargoyle to Cashier 5 April 2022

High up on sheer stone cliff of
a Gothic cathedral wall
Gargoyle surveyed the world below,
his task, centuries-old: repel,
terrify humans, let fear
propel them toward the good.

Gargoyle toiled yet failed,
sadly, bleak, evil ways prevailed.
Decided to shapeshift, seek
chance to influence finance,
the clanking of coins,
their curious power to entrance.

Switched gender, was assigned
supermarket cashier, a woman’s
voice. Flesh and bones,
quick choice, a pleasing face,
new name: Gabrielle or G.

Job fast-paced, rat-race:
concentrate, pay attention,
stressed, in a hurry. Instill the good
the blurry intention.

G’ enters uncharted terrain
tests unfamiliar feelings,
first shy, aloof, then friendly, warm,
tries charm, lets smiles shine,
upgrades to open-minded, kind,
sees it work wonders, before long
dares jokes, mines helpful, happy, launches laughter, song.

Takes to the role, makes friends,
serves them, endures,
excels in humour, then compassion,
suffers heart failure in the end.

Before checking out, G’s heartfelt concern: return for another round.
Last message, found posted: tall thumbs-up to all.

NaPoWriMo DAY FOUR 4 April 2022


A tongue unraveled

Amble through the jungle,
find an orchid in bloom, guest of a luxuriant tree,
inhale its aroma of words,
the scent of its honey dew heart,
rest and wonder:
are words edible art?
Like a hummingbird hover,
home in on orchid’s flower-star,
a lover, see its chalice shimmer pearly bright,
alight, your bill ajar
unfurl your tongue,
sip, savor the sweet nectar of words.
When you’ve had your fill
retract your tongue,
bill closed, coil tongue inside,
don’t frown,
fold your wings, go to bed.
Night before long
will unravel your tongue,
braid a poem’s lines around your head
like a laurel crown.

2022 NaPoWriMo Day 1 1st April Poolside

Two women, languorously by the hotel pool. Bored. One leafing thru a magazine, the other sipping from a tall glass that’s suddenly set down with a clink.
Did you see that?
What? without looking up.
The guy, over there.

A man in a swimsuit stands at the rim of the pool.
Oh, yes! Magazine slips from hands. Wow. I say.
Ready to dive in.
Looks like a panther.
Lithe, muscled.
Panthers don’t swim.
You sure? Sea lion then.

Standing tall, arms forward, man jumps in, slices the water. Moves forcefully, at ease.
Look how he parts the water. Like he owns it, knows it.
In his element.
A dolphin!
A shark.
See him lunge?
Mesmerizing.
Such powerful strokes.
What if this shimmering rectangle of water were instead a smooth satin sheet, spread across the rectangle of a bed ?
What if the edge of the pool were the rim of the bed …
…With him, standing at the foot of the bed, ready to dive in…
Lunge…

Look, he’s getting out!
Water glistens on sculpted chest, spread out arms, as the unknown swimmer towels himself off…
See those powerful, tanned thighs…
Man who unknowingly cast a spell puts on a hotel robe, leaves the poolside, disappears.

Gone!
Should have jumped in, too!
I was so transfixed I didn’t even think of it.
Hey, maybe we catch him at the bar!
A complete stranger! Totally unknown!
But what a presence. A body with such knowing in every movement…
Could be a shark, like you said.
I guess I’m willing to find out.

Crazy. Improper. Anyway, don’t count on me. Good night! See you in the morning! By the way haha! First find him!

THE GIFT IN WHAT REPELS YOU

26 March 2022

Hi dear friend,
After listening to TONY ROBBINS last night – whose voice so REPELS you, this morning I feel curiously at peace and joyous.

Discovered something huge:
that I can do chores that I normally do inwardly dragging my feet, tempted to let myself slip into “justified, RIGHTEOUS OVERWHELM”,
surprise:

I can do, and did, those “unwanted”, “draining” things with slow, delighted gentleness and loving fingertip care. And a big smile at the wonder of life.

And I woke up with another revelation, this one about YOU, dear friend (based on a psycho law you know well). Here it is:

If you zoom in on what you most dislike in Tony’s voice, you’ll discover, hidden behind it, the one thing that is HOLDING YOU BACK from the BIG success with your poetry, music and artwork. Guaranteed.

Let me know!! Have fun.
Nothing is more exciting and rewarding than sleuth work on oneself.
Spills right over into a freer world outside.