OctPoWriMo 17 - Protect My Family

Prompt: Family
Form: Kyrielle

Protect My Family

When I hear the news I weep;

I don’t know how some people sleep.

I wish that all were safe and free;

God, protect my family.

It seems as if the world’s gone mad:

What’s bad is good; what’s good is bad,

And selfish people gloat with glee.

God, protect my family.

I thought He died for everyone;

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done:

Wasn’t that the guarantee?

God, protect my family.

OctPoWriMo 17 - Anything for You

I may be a fool for you,
Yet, there are things I wouldn’t do.
I’m sorry, but you know it’s true:
I won’t do anything for you.

It sounds romantic to eschew
All sense and logic, go askew,
To find the cracks, and to fall through,
But I won’t do anything for you.

Let me be clear: I still will do
Almost anything for you.
I’d give my life and my soul too,
But I won’t do anything for you.

I Will Fall Again

I stand, I fall, I stand again,
Knowing I will fall again;
And yet, though failure is ahead,
I’ll stop trying when I’m dead.

It’s how we learn: we try and fail,
And try again, ‘til we prevail.
We want to quit—we strive instead;
I’ll stop trying when I’m dead.

Life is hard, and yet we know
Difficulties help us grow.
Mistakes are nothing we should dread.
I’ll stop trying when I’m dead.

OctPoWriMo 30 - What We Can't Have

Today's prompt is forbidden, and one of the suggested forms is the kyrielle.

What We Can't Have

Enticing me with “Do not touch”;
I yearn to get my hands on it.
When given leave, I don’t care much.
Why do we want what we can’t have?

He does his best to earn the love
From those who should give it freely.
He kneels and cries out to above,
“Why do we want what we can’t have?”

A house, a car, a vacation
Somewhere warm and interesting;
Money, please be my salvation.
Why do we want what we can’t have?

OctPoWriMo 30 - Where We Were

Tomorrow is the last day of OctPoWriMo, and I can hardly believe another one is almost over. Today's prompt is simplicity, and I chose to write a kyrielle about something that has been on my heart and soul a lot lately, especially in light of the current US election and the people who call themselves Christians who think Jesus wants them to hate members of the LGBTQ+ community and deny asylum to refugees. My Jesus is not that Jesus. As a church, we need to go back to the start, to the basic simplicity of "love one another."

Where We Were

Jesus said, “Love one another”;
Everyone sisters and brothers.
We’ve strayed so far, this now my prayer:
Let’s return to where we were.


We’ve complicated everything,
Drifted far from our Wellspring,
Contaminated what was pure.
Let’s return to where we were.


Our fundamental, simple base
Is merely love and joy and faith.
In light of this, now hear me roar,
“Let’s return to where we were.”


Widows, orphans, refugees
Are everyone the “least of these.”
Their troubles should compassion stir.
Let’s return to where we were.


Our Father loves us all the same
No matter if we change our names,
Or who we love, or who we are.
Let’s return to where we were.

OctPoWriMo 4 - Embrace the Darkness

Today's prompt is magic. With such a broad, open-ended field to play in, I decided to limit myself with a strict form. I settled on the Kyrielle Sonnet because I love sonnets.

Embrace the Darkness

Welcome to the time of year when
Spirits wander in broad daylight,
We all embrace the darkness, and
Magic thrills us all day and night.

The sun is losing all his hold;
He no longer has any right
To prevail o’er all as of old.
Magic thrills us all day and night.

We glory in macabre and grim,
In spooky and weird we delight.
Cobwebs, spiders—ghoulish is “in.”
Magic thrills us all day and night.

Welcome to the time of year when
Magic thrills us all day and night.

OctPoWriMo 30 - You Were Mine

For today's prompt, we were asked to write about loss. I created the following Kyrielle about a friend.

You Were Mine

For Oliver.

When I first saw you, I was caught
By your blue eyes and hair so fine.
I fell in love upon the spot,
And for a short time, you were mine.

Together we would laugh and play;
Each night, together we would dine.
You’d watch for me at end of day,
And for a short time, you were mine.

You never should have died so young:
The number of your lives was nine.
I wept as to your paw I clung,
And for a short time, you were mine.