Sunday, April 8, 2012

Day Eight ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day


Day Eight ... start of a new NaPoWriMo week. And also Easter week. Happy Easter to everyone for whom this day is special!

Today, Maureen Thorson prompts us to "Go outside. That's about it. Take a walk, on this lovely Sunday. Or a drive. (Or if it's not lovely where you are at all, maybe just remember your last good walk or drive)." Catherine's poem for Day Eight follows Maureen's lead.

You Being the Moon and I Being a Poet

Shining through the bamboo shade covering my bedroom window,
you are stark and sure of your place, full in the April sky,
asserting yourself onto the wall beside my desk as if to remind me
I should be inspired to write about you.    
But I am only reminded
of a night you weren’t so bright and crisp, when I crossed blurred lines,
slowly making my way to the car, so distracted by sibilant confession,
I was driving before I noticed you hanging above me like a peach,
fuzzy edges glowing pink and yellow, the colors of promise and love.

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

Robert Lee Brewer suggests we "write a rejected poem. [One] that work[s] the idea of rejection into the poem somehow. This could take the form of a poet lamenting rejection, though also a rejected friend or student or whatever." My poem for Day Eight responds to this prompt.

Sorting Through Discards Behind Goodwill

Plastic picture of Jesus with eyes that follow you,
a tear painted below the outside corner of each eye,
gang tattoo-style, with Wite-Out.

Cracked mirror, with a fancy beveled edge, chipped.

Thick sweater with black and white moose outlines.

Pair of pointy, 1960s Beatle boots, black — the left
with its Cuban heel broken off.

Yellow-stained baby crib mattress.

Princess phone in pink, rotary-dial, with no earpiece.

Electric blue Schwinn 5-speed bike from the 1950s,
no brakes, twisted back wheel.

Small 1970s tabletop TV in wood veneer, no knobs,
broken antenna.

Plastic kids' toy guitar, emblazoned with Roy Rogers
and Dale Evans's smiling faces, only the G string left.

Large He-Man action figure — the left lower leg
removed, its knee replaced with a Skeletor head.

Empty shell of a 1980s Mac computer — watermark
across the screen plus a faint fishy smell.

Stack of thirteen 8-track tapes in red, black and blue:
Carole King, Elvis, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

Barry Manilow CD case, the CD inside badly scratched.

Cardboard-backed print of Manet's painting Luncheon
on the Grass
— on the back someone had written in red
"From the first Salon des Refusés."

Tarnished copper PlanetX token — on the back side:
A PLACE THIS MUCH FUN DESERVES ITS OWN PLANET.

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

I'm glad of the opportunity here to present a list poem. I've been suggesting to my poetry students at the University of Northern Iowa that they try a list poem, but I haven't been able to find suitable examples online. I hope this poem will inspire my students to try the form.

Okay, eight days, eight poems apiece. All is well. Hope you're cruising around the blogosphere taking in the sights: the Poem-a-Day work all over the place.

Starting a new thing . . . I'll feature a NaPoWriMo website or blog each day from here on out. For my first shout-out, check out J. I. Kleinberg's NaPoWriMo work in chocolate is a verb. Wonderful visual found poems. Take a look around the blog also, beyond the NaPoWriMo stuff, the various categories: colors, flavors, frolics, and so on. Such fun!


Have a wonderful week, all. Please leave us a comment below — we would love to hear what you think about our poems, today and so far. See you around here on Day Nine? 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


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shout out, Vince!
I thought maybe that was you
out there behind the Goodwill
that day I was looking for my
given-away-too-soon wedding dress
... jik

Vince Gotera said...

jik, I did pick up that wedding dress. You never know when you'll need one. Want it back? ;-D

Vince Gotera said...

jik, I did pick up that wedding dress. You never know when you'll need one. Want it back? ;-D

Vince Gotera said...

Anything worth saying is worth saying twice, I always say. :-)

Buddah Moskowitz said...

HI Vince - I like your site - cool idea. Sure, you're welcome to feature my work. Thanks.

Really liked your "Sorting Through Discards Behind Goodwill" -- details all rang true.

Will add this site to my faves! -
Good job, Vince,
el Moskowitz

Circletheblock said...

I also really enjoyed your list poem, especially the closing with the PlanetX quote! Great spin on Robert's prompt.

Thank you for the request to feature my blog. I would be honored. It's written with kids in mind, mostly my Jr. High/High School student, so it can get a bit silly. ;)

Thanks!
Andrea

Circletheblock said...

*students. LOL I have more than one. ;)

Vince Gotera said...

Thanks a lot, Mosk -- may I call you that? I saw that nickname in comments on your blog. The feature of your blog is scheduled for Wednesday.

And thanks too for the comment on the Goodwill poem. It was fun spinning all those details.

Vince Gotera said...

Thank you very much, Andrea. The feature of your blog is scheduled for Thursday. You've got a great crew of young poets there.

About "students" vs. "student" ... wouldn't it be great to have fewer students but be paid the same?

Vince Gotera said...

Mosk, I mistakenly scheduled two blogs for today, so I have to push everyone back a day. So I hope you won't mind too much I feature your blog on Thursday instead of Wednesday. So sorry!

Vince Gotera said...

Andrea, I mistakenly scheduled two blogs for today, so I have to push everyone back a day. So I hope you won't mind too much I feature your blog on Friday instead of Thursday. So sorry!

Circletheblock said...

LOL! Yes, it would be great to have fewer students! :) Thanks so much for the Friday post! I have really enjoyed reading your poetry! :)

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