Day 23 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2023

Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “write a fear poem. The poem could be about a fear you have or a fear of someone else. Maybe you feel the fear; maybe you cause someone else to have the fear. And there are different levels of fears, like the fear of missing out on the last piece of piece or the fear of dying.” Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “try to write a poem of your own that has multiple numbered sections. Attempt to have each section be in dialogue with the others, like a song where a different person sings each verse, giving a different point of view. Set the poem in a specific place that you used to spend a lot of time in, but don’t spend time in anymore.” I haven't written any hay(na)ku yet this month, so here's a rhymed reverse hay(na)ku sonnet in numbered sections. Both prompts again. FOMO 1 Worried I missed a delayed announcement. 2 Afraid my friends went somewhere grand. 3 Right now something unbelievable is happening. 4 UFO landing while I’m not looking. 5 Blink your eyes and you'll miss . . . —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] In case you're not familiar with the hay(na)ku, it's a poetic form that was invented by the poet Eileen Tabios in 2003. The basic form is a three-line stanza (a tercet) in which line 1 is one word, line 2 is two words, and line 3 is two words. I happen to have given the form its name (a pun on the Filipino expression "ay naku," a rough translation of which might be "oh my gosh"). In 2012, I invented the hay(na)ku sonnet, which is made up of 5 hay(na)ku stanzas, where the last one is condensed to two lines of three words (in order to get 14 lines overall, the typical sonnet length). The poet Bruce Niedt in 2020 devised a rhyming pattern for the hay(na)ku sonnet, echoing the last word in the first two stanzas, and then the last word in the next two stanzas, and finally the two ending words in the closing couplet's lines. In my poem above, I am using reverse hay(na)ku: 3-2-1 words. Alan also worked with both prompts today. He said about this poem, "Mainly to the tune of different songs from Sgt Pepper." See if you can figure out what songs. Have fun singing! Fear of Father 1. One day when they see that name they’ll think of me, His legacy is a joke to them now. Only I can save our name and our image. I can imagine just how Riding a yacht that’s the size of New Hampshire, Snorting a pile of cocaine, Seat leaning back and my sandaled feet crossed on my desk: Junior flies when senior’s diving Junior flies when senior’s diving Junior flies when senior’s diving Ah! 2. Saturday night they have me eating my tie again— Like a five-year-old with uncertainty, They make their jokes about me I’m (he’s getting short-shrift again) am really (he’s following smart drift again) smart (he’s understanding his role in his life). He’s really smart and he’s playing the part of a faithful son. He’s really smart, all right. 3. I’m the one who’ll stay on top. I have the self-awareness, and I could not care less what people say. My husband deals with royal assassins, but real estate is his real passion— no one knows that better than little ol’ me. I’m my father’s public favorite but I have no way to savor it as long as he can lay his little finger on me. I’m the one who’ll stay on top, the only brains in this outfit unless a reporter comes to outwit me. I’m the one who’ll stay on top— 4. When I get older, move out or here, leave my mom behind, Mar-a-lago will fade from my memory. That is perfectly fine with me! I’ll go to college, I’ll find a girl, I’ll get a perfect score— I’ll live my name down, earn my own renown, when I’m out this door. I’ll go to law school, get a J.D. then I’ll join a firm slap a bunch of lawsuits down to win my case, make those plaintiffs suffer and squirm, run for the Senate, be the nominee for 2044— will his domination wreck my nomination when I’m out this door? —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

NaPoWriMo / PAD 2023 • Pick a day: 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