This is for Waiting on Words’ prompt for today, day 29 of NaPoWriMo.
The two least lonely words:
Me too.
They show you’re not alone,
It’s true.
Let us stand by each other when
In need,
That all may from their shame
Be freed.
It seems like I’ve written a lot about silence recently, which is rather ironic. Here is another poem, for NaPoWriMo day 13, inspired by the prompt word, silent, from Waiting On Words.
Once again I write of silence.
So many people,
Prompting poets to silence!
Why write
So much about silence?
Because silence, fascinating,
Is such an anomaly —
And I, for one,
Know not how to stop
This pen from writing.
I met two prompts at once this time. First, it is for Ronovan Writes’s “shy and sweet”challenge (except I wrote a tanks instead of a haiku). Also, it is for a prompt on Real Toads about a poem by Maya Angelou which mentions long-ago rooms.
In long-ago rooms,
Porcelain dolls gaze out shyly,
And pink walls look sweet.
These were times of innocence,
Memories still dear to me.
This is for Frank J. Tassone’s haikai challenge for this week, which is about white lilies or azaleas. I loved this prompt and wrote many haiku but not one that I wanted to share, so here, finally, is a tanka. Frank describes the meaning of these flowers in his blog post, and part of what gave me inspiration was this: “Gifting white lilies to someone during this time indicates that you are very happy to be acquainted with the recipient.”
You are pure beauty
And you were made perfectly,
White-lily woman.
You hid your petals before.
I am pleased to meet you now.
The space between
The snowfall and the first thaw:
Hidden yet real.
From barrenness there will be
Sweetness, sunshine — happiness.
Not silent spring yet:
I hear sparrows chirping, yet
Let us protect this.
Two poetic offerings, a tanka and a haiku, for Frank J. Tassone’s haikai challenge this week, spring equinox.
For Poetics Tuesday, we are writing about superheroes. I am not really interested in superhero movies or comics, so this was a challenge, but I thought of a good hero. This poem is also a quadrille.
What never stops working
And is always beating,
Making pathways possible
For blood full of oxygen?
What will tirelessly provide
For years and years of life,
And does not mind
To break and mend and break again?
The human heart: hero without a cape.
Update: I just missed the link up for DVerse but am still happy to have written and shared this. Also linked to Forgiving Fridays, since I think there’s nothing more forgiving than your own heart, always trying to keep you alive, no matter what you have done. This poem also refers to healing from a broken heart and forgiving the hurt and having courage to love again.
It’s time for another haikai challenge again, and Frank has us writing about snow this week! Living in a place where it never snows, I draw a lot on my memories of Christmases at my grandparents’ house when writing about snow. I have 2 tanka poems on the topic so far. They are similar, but I was not sure which one I liked better
Snow falling softly
On barren ground, whispering
Lullabies of peace:
Singing, you may sleep sweetly,
I am your blanket in grief.
Snow falling softly
On barren ground, blanketing,
Cold yet comforting:
Whispering, “I will hold you
‘Til springtime brightens your eyes.
“
