Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Day 15 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2020


Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “write a dream poem. The poem can be a remembered dream. Or it could be a dream about the future (like getting out and about without worry again). Of course, some dreams are good, but there are nightmares too. So let’s get dreamy with our poems today. After all, Blondie said it best: ‘Dreaming is free.’”

Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “write a poem inspired by your favorite kind of music. Try to recreate the sounds and timing of a pop ballad, a jazz improvisation, or a Bach fugue. That could mean incorporating refrains, neologisms and flights of whimsy, or repeating/inverting lines or ideas — whatever your chosen musical form would seem to require! Perhaps a good way to start is to listen to your favorite piece of music and ‘free-write’ for the duration of the piece, and then use what you’ve written as the building blocks for your poem.”
Alan's poem today is an interesting mix of song lyrics in pantoum form. Great play with syntax! Friends, can you identify the lyrics and who sang them?

And That’s What Tortures Me

He turned the water into wine,
and flesh and blood need flesh and blood.
“Because you’re mine, I walk the line,”
I pray, but hang my head and cry.

And flesh and blood need flesh and blood;
I miss when all the love was there.
I pray, but hang my head and cry—
you live to see the lights uptown.

I miss when all the love was there,
’cause I smell frost on cotton leaves.
You live to see the lights uptown.
That’s why I always dress in black,

’cause I smell frost on cotton leaves.
“How do you do?” You’re gonna die.
That’s why I always dress in black.
Into a burning ring of fire,

how do you do? You’re gonna die
because you’re mine. I walk the line
into a burning ring of fire.
He turned the water into wine.

—Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.]

I wrote my poem after receiving Alan's poem today, and I was influenced by his use of lyrics and also the word “tortures” in his title. Thanks, Alan!

House of the Rising Covid
—to be sung to the tune of
   “House of the Rising Sun”

There is a dream that’s haunting me.
It’s of the world outside.
I’m trapped inside my “living” room
And now my brain is fried.

With one foot on the threshold
of my ajar front door,
I fantasize a quick escape
but fear the covid more.

And so, I guess I’ll just stay here
and Zoom with all my friends.
I’ll play guitar and sing off-key
until this quarantine ends.


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

Thanks for reading, everyone. I hope you're doing okay staying home. And if you're not staying home, may God have mercy on you.


Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. To comment, look for a red line below that starts Posted by, then click once on the word comments in that line. If you don’t find the word “comments” in that line, then look for a blue link below that says Post a comment and click it once. Thanks!

Ingat, everyone.   


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3 comments:

Caryn said...

I like this revised version---well done!

Caryn said...

I liked Alan's use of lyrics--reminded me of Johnny Cash! :)

Vince Gotera said...

Thanks, Caryn! It's not revised from the version I posted in facebook. Interesting if it feels different here!




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