Fluttering Leaf

I am a week behind in writing my NaPoWriMo poems, so today I'll be catching up. For Day 14 of NaPoWriMo, I wrote a haiku.

Fluttering Leaf

Blown by a soft breeze,

a leaf fluttered through the grass

like a butterfly.

Fortune Cookie Madness

For NaPoWriMo Day 13, I followed the prompt and wrote a poem inspired by fortune cookies. I used the website http://www.myfortunecookie.co.uk/ to randomly generate fortunes since I don't have any fortune cookies at home. I just kept clicking and collecting fortunes until I finally came up with today's poem.

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Fortune Cookie Madness

"Expand your horizons,"
my fortune cookie said.

"Where should I go?" I joked,
"I guess not back to my bed."

"This is the time for caution,
but not for fear," another fortune read.

Perhaps I need to change myself,
my thoughts filled with dread.

"Conquer your fears, or they will
conquer you," yet another fortune replied.

"Can you read my mind?" I asked.
I resisted opening another; I really tried.

"Don't let your mind wander - it's too little
to be out alone" were the written words.

Did it just make fun of me?
I huffed, ready to cross swords.

"Your greatest fortune is the friends
and family you have" is all it said to me.

"True, but don't change the subject!"
I yelled as I broke open another cookie.

"Every solution breeds new problems,"
retorted another piece of paper.

"What does that mean?" I asked,
ready to crush the fortune into vapor.

"A lifetime isn't nearly long enough
to figure out what it's all about," it replied.

Did it just say I'm stupid?
This insult I would not brush aside.

My cheeks red and eyes flashing,
I ripped open the last fortune cookie,

"Take a rest; you deserve it,"
the only words I could see.

I sat back in my chair and stared
at the pile of broken cookies
and little papers strewn everywhere.
Maybe I'm going crazy, I thought,
then followed its advice and lay down my head.

Too Drunk to Get a Shower

For Day 12 of NaPoWriMo I wrote an index poem. I let my husband choose the book I'd use to write a poem based on words from its index. He chose the book How to Brew: Everything you need to know to brew beer right the first time by John J. Palmer. I think I groaned out loud when he gave me that book, but I was determined to meet his challenge. I went through the index and picked out lines here and there, then formed a poem from those words. I did change some punctuation at the end of the lines to fit my poem better. I have to say that I enjoyed this prompt even if I don't enjoy beer.

~ ~ ~

Too Drunk to Get a Shower

mold,

odors,

yeasty,

skunky,

sweaty/goaty

body, increasing

flavor, changing

from bacteria,

lack of

water,

sterilizing,

sanitization and sanitizing,

wild

by-products of

Three Weisse Guys

drinking beer

Walking Home

This is my poem for NaPoWriMo Day 11. You can read the prompt here. 

~ ~ ~

Walking Home

The pigeons coo high above me in their trees

As the tweets of other birds sing along joyfully.

A car engine purrs in the street to my left

As I walk with my baby on the sidewalk.

The stroller wheels creak against the ground,

And my boots slide along the warm pavement.

The sun shines warmly on my skin and in my eyes,

Though my sunglasses shade me from the harsh glare.

I see my house around the curve of the road.

I'm almost home, but I want to stay outside

Because, in this moment, I am at peace.

Pebble in the Sky

I had a lot of fun with the prompt for Day 10 of NaPoWriMo: writing a "book spine" poem. I looked at my bookshelves and chose books with titles I thought would go well together. I then rearranged them to tell a story in my poem.

Pebble in the Sky

I am more than a carpenter.

I used to be the Once and Future King,

and I had many interesting times,

but my pride and prejudice got in the way,

and now I live in a city of bones.

The girl from the well brought nightmares

and a bag of bones to my city.

She was the girl who loved Tom Gordon.

But it was all just smoke and mirrors.

With the hammer of God, Prince Lestat took over,

And now I'm just a stranger in a strange land,

Merely a pebble in the sky.

My Fears

For Day 9 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt challenged us to include a line in our poem that we were afraid to write. It turns out I wrote more than one line I've been afraid to write and admit out loud.

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My Fears

I am lost.

In a world full of people going places,

I am standing still.

In a place where everyone
seems to know what they want,

I am blank.

When it appears other moms
have time to take care of their kids
and take care of themselves too,

I am a mess.

When it looks like all the people
around me have close friends
they can really talk to,

I am alone.

And I am afraid.

I'm afraid to be alone without friends to support me.
I'm afraid to lose myself in my children
and that I'm not raising them well enough.
I'm afraid I won't find my calling, my passion,
and that I won't feel fulfilled outside of the home.
I'm afraid that I'll be lost in the dark forever,
stumbling, never finding solid ground.

Rose

Day 8 of NaPoWriMo prompts us to write about flowers. 

Rose

Soft red petals that crinkle like paper,

Green leaves that will never fade,

Sharp thorns that will never draw blood,

A long green stem made of hard plastic:

My rose will last forever

Like the love I have for my daughter

Who gave me such a beautiful gift.