OctPoWriMo 9 - Don't Want to Fight

I've already written a Cascade this month, but I love the form. I decided to make it a bit more challenging today, so I added rhyme. The prompt 'spiral' is cool, and I would have done it if not for something weighing on my mind. We hosted Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and a family member made a homophobic comment that really bothered me. I'm not going to get into the details, but I had to write about it.

Don't Want to Fight

Her words are ignorant and rude
I bite my tongue and look away
I don’t want to fight today

She would think I’d gone astray
If I told her with “attitude”
Her words are ignorant and rude

And so, I focus on my food
No matter what I want to say
I bite my tongue and look away

Perhaps I’m lacking fortitude
My heart betrayed, full of dismay
But I don’t want to fight today

OctPoWriMo 8 - Be Brave

Today's prompt is porous. On the prompt page it says we don't have to use the word in our poem, but "it's about where the word takes you." Then they give the dictionary definition, which includes "permeable to outside influences." This got me thinking about being influenced by others, standing strong in who I am, being brave. This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. In my real life, there are only two people who really and truly know me: my husband and my sister. They know everything about me, while my other friends and family know different levels of who I am, but not the whole picture. I don't know if this will ever change, or if it should change. But sometimes I kind of wish I could be brave and just show the world who I really am.

I used the suggested form today: the Rispetto. It was a lot of fun to write and what I wanted to say fit perfectly into the rhyme and metre.

Be Brave

“Be yourself! Be real! Be true!
Stand up tall! Be brave! Be strong!
Let me see the honest you
Singing, shouting out your song.”

I smile and nod, and yet, I hide
I don’t (yet?) have enough pride.
I’m afraid to let you see
Everything inside of me.

OctPoWriMo 7 - See the Voice

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:8

Today's prompt is taste and the suggested form is the Rondel. The above verse has always been one of my favourites and it was the first thing that came to mind. I have always loved the idea of tasting to see something. I am not synesthetic, but as a poet, I like to imagine how a colour might sound or a sunset might taste. And the idea of tasting God is a fascinating one. I would almost call it irreverent if it wasn't right there in the Bible.

See the Voice

Oh, taste and see the voice you feel
Singing softly in your soul
Sweetly, gently, He cajoles
All you have to do is kneel

Bring your hurts to Him to heal
He will mend and make you whole
Oh, taste and see the voice you feel
Singing softly in your soul

Hear the singing, ringing peal
Read the words upon the scroll
Surrender to His kind control
Sit back and let Him take the wheel
Oh, taste and see the voice you feel

OctPoWriMo 6 - Taste Your Lips

Today's prompt is tantalizing and the suggested form is Loop poetry. I can't remember if I've tried this form before, but I like it. It's fun.

I have been married 7 years last month, and I still think of my husband first when I see prompts like this. I crave his touch, and I believe that I always will.

Aren't we cute?

Taste Your Lips

Let me taste your lips
Lips that smile so sweet
Sweet and soft and warm
Warm me with your heat

Hands and fingers tangle
Tangle me with you
You and I together
Together rendezvous

I am yours forever
Forever we are one
One flesh, one heart, one love
Love me—I’m undone

OctPoWriMo 5 - Sharp

Today's prompt is sharp. Also today, we had our first snowfall here (it didn't stick around much, but it's wet and chilly and windy). The chill in the air made me think of sharp, biting wind. However, sharp is also an antonym for dull or flat, which are not good things. I don't want my life to be dull and/or flat. Sharps are the highs in the peaks and valleys of life and, while they aren't always good, they are necessary to keep life interesting.

Sharp

My front steps today

The bite of October’s first snow
The feeling when you have to go
A half-step above
The loss of first love
A cry in a dark, quiet night
A sudden, surprising fright
Something that smarts
A lemon is tart
A man in a suit and top hat
Nothing at all dull or flat

OctPoWriMo 4 - Monsters and Magic

Today's prompt is purple, and the suggested form is the Cascade. I thought about it for hours before my sister suggested (mostly joking) that I write about Hawkeye (Clint Barton) because, in the comics at least, he wears purple. I decided to write about Clint and Natasha (Black Widow) because their role as the humans among gods and superheroes fascinates me. If you've watched the Avengers movie, this poem will probably make more sense than if you haven't, though you might be able to follow along anyway. I'm not sure.

Monsters and Magic

I’ve got red in my ledger.
Monsters and magic—
Nothing we were ever trained for.

Nat goes to the villain,
Conjures some tears:
“I’ve got red in my ledger.”

Clint wakes from the nightmare again and again
Where he served the
Monsters and magic.

We stand shoulder to shoulder with gods and heroes—
Only our wits and skills to face
Nothing we were ever trained for.

OctPoWriMo 3 - Star Shine

Today's prompt is sparkle. I decided to try a form I haven't tried before: the Essence. It's a very short form of only 12 syllables in 2 lines, so I doubled it to make 4 lines. The short, quick lines, and the internal rhyme in this form make me think of sparkling bubbles in champagne or ginger ale. I think it's a very appropriate form for the prompt.


Star Shine

She sings, stars shine o’erhead,
And wings are ever spread.

She smiles, and all is right.
The trials end. There is light.