Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Day 18 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day


Three times six days done, two times six to go. Three-fifths of the way through National Poetry Month. Life is good.

Today Maureen Thorson suggests "writing a lullaby." Andrea Boltwood proposes an alphabet poem. And Robert Lee Brewer says, "think of a favorite regional cuisine" as a title and topic, "although the poem doesn’t exactly have to be about food."

Okay, mashing up all three again. My "cuisine" (á là Brewer) is not really a cuisine per se, just a food. A baby food: milk. I admit, it's a stretch. But I do work Maureen's and Andrea's prompts pretty solidly. And also work the hay(na)ku form.

Milk Dreams: Dad Fast-Forwards
Through Baby X's Life and Future

— a hay(na)ku abecedarian lullaby
Alright,
Baby, don't
Cry any more.

Drink
Every milkdrop
For your dad.

Good,
Huh? Milk
Is the lollapalooza!

Just
Keep sipping,
Like it's from

Mom.
Not 2%
Off the shelf.

Pretty
Quick, you'll
Roll through grade

School,
Then grow
Up, leave home,

Venture,
Work, retire.
Xavier, for now

Yabadabadoo your best
Zzzz's. Sleep. Dream.

—Draft by Vince Gotera     [do not copy or quote ... thanks]

Okay, not the best poem I've ever written. But it does fulfill the requirements of alphabetical order and the hay(na)ku. And it even makes sense! Good enough for me today.

Oh, also, since the number of letters in the English alphabet doesn't divide by three, I've used a three-word-per-line couplet as the last stanza, as in the hay(na)ku sonnet. Though, as written, the last stanza could rendered as a regular hay(na)ku:
Yabadaboo
Your best
Zzzz's. Sleep. Dream.
In other words, have two lines that begin with Y. This grouping did seem clunky to me, finally. So couplet it is, but the ghost of a hay(na)ku is certainly there. More than just there.

Catherine's poem today again plumbs memory: childhood actions and how they impact our lives in the present.

Tattooed

At nineteen, I chose a symbol to be needled into my left hip
giving it no more thought than what I had for breakfast.
Daunted by the menu of skulls, pinup girls, flags, and eagles
spread in front of me, I picked a Lily, just enough pink and purple
ink to shock my mother, antagonize a jealous ex, separate me
from the girls still sitting in the choir loft back home.

Today (almost 39) I read that lily tattoos have many meanings:
white petals mean innocence and purity, orange ones, passion.
My bright blossom—sensuality. Its shape indicates carnal love,
or a symbol of devotion to dogmatic faith. How could I have known
when I stood on a sailboat’s bow, tangerine bikini highlighting my bloom
that I was branded with all I had abandoned, everything that I would find.

—Draft by Catherine Pritchard Childress     [do not copy or quote ... thanks]

Such a strong closing line: "branded with all I had abandoned, everything that I would find." Would that we each had known that when we were nineteen. Hmm. But then we wouldn't be who we are now.

I'd very much like to recognize De Jackson for her shout-out to me in Whimsy Gizmo. Many thanks, De. Loving your blog.

Our featured poem-a-day blog today is Garage Poet where Carrie Moniz has been posting lovely poems. Look particularly at her beautiful haiku for Day 12. Carrie's a few day behind the NaPoWriMo schedule but she tells me she'll be working on catching up after the weekend.


That's it for 3x6. Hanging in for 3x4 more. Won't you leave a comment below, please? Thanks so much. Ingat.


POEM-A-DAY 2012 • Pick a day in April: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha, great A-Z and what a marvelous word abecedarian! Venture, work, retire - it almost feels that fast. Tattooed brought forth those early adulthood memories with beautiful storytelling. I got a little teary at Carrie's two haiku as our dog recently passed. Thanks for bringing us this celebration of National Poetry Month, I hope it has been fulfilling.

Anonymous said...

Haven't come across hay(na)ku before! must look them up. Clever A-Z poem, still retaining sense and adhering to the theme. Nice.

aprille said...

love the abcdarian. yabadabadoo indeed :-)
And Catherine's tatoo story is so appealing.
What do we know of life at 19?

Vince Gotera said...

Anna, thank you! Yes, fulfilling indeed.

Vince Gotera said...

There has actually already been a book anthology of hay(na)ku. Just google and you'll find lots. And thanks for your generous comment on my A-Z poem.

Vince Gotera said...

Aprille, I loved being able to use yabadabadoo ... it just showed up! ;-)

By the way, I forgot to thank you earlier for introducing me to Chromapoesy. I did feature Anna after that. And as you se from the first comment above, she's here too!

Vince Gotera said...

Oh, and yes ... it does seem almost that fast. And getting faster all the time. :-)

Circletheblock said...

I've got to give a bow to yabadabadoo too! And to the wonderfully rich skeleton-y poem - it is beautiful how you can do so much with so few words Vince AND keep it within the narrowness of the prompts. Truly wonderful!

Vince Gotera said...

Well, thanks, Andrea. Day 20's poem is also made up of hay(na)ku.




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