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

Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “For today’s prompt, take the phrase ‘The (blank) Who (blank),’ replace the blanks with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: ‘The Runner Who Walked,’ ‘The Scientist Who Decided to Make a Monster,’ ‘The Poet Who Loved Me,’ and/or ‘The Teacher Who Couldn’t Learn.’ If you’d prefer to write about a thing instead of a person, feel free to replace the word ‘who’ with the word ‘that.’” I'm honored that today Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt mentions me: “Today’s prompt (optional, as always) is another one from the archives, first suggested to us by long-time Na/GloPoWriMo participant Vince Gotera. It’s the hay(na)ku. Created by the poet Eileen Tabios and named by Vince, the hay(na)ku is a variant on the haiku. A hay(na)ku consists of a three-line stanza, where the first line has one word, the second line has two words, and the third line has three words. You can write just one, or chain several together into a longer poem. For example, you could write a hay(na)ku sonnet, like the one that Vince himself wrote back during NaPoWriMo 2012!” I played with Robert's title prompt by removing the blanks! And, of course, since the NaPoWriMo prompt talks about me and the hay(na)ku sonnet, which I invented as a refinement of Eileen Tabios's basic hay(na)ku, I've written a hay(na)ku sonnet for Day 10. The Who scruffy Pete Townshend power chord windmill crazy Keith Moon machine gun drummer tasselled Roger Daltrey spinning microphone mandala granite John Entwistle bold bass bedrock pinball wizard quartet rock's almighty hurricane —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Alan's hay(na)ku today is a necessary satire for our times. The Man Who Ran His bonespur diagnosis kept him home. His father’s money started his business. His reality show made him electable, “Leaning[-] together headpiece filled with straw,” his secret obligations make us vulnerable; his public declarations make us vulnerable. —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Brilliant poem, Alan. The use of "his" as a repeated refrain in the one-word line is a testament to you-know-who's narcissism. Everything is "his" and everything is about him. Finally, I'd like to give a shout-out here to my friend Bruce Neidt, who wrote a hay(na)ku sonnet today on our current moment, titled "The Man Who Went to the Supermarket During a Slow Apocalypse." Click here to read it. Serious and fun poem. 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.  ヅ

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