Day 5 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2025 // Stafford 79

Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “[T]ake the phrase 'After (blank),' replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: 'After Hours,' 'After a Good Movie,' 'After a Quick One,' 'After the Encore,' and/or 'After a While.'” Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo “prompt is inspired by musical notation, and particularly those little italicized – and often Italian – instructions you’ll find over the staves in sheet music, like con allegro or andante.” The directions continue with three columns of words and phrases where one must follow detailed activities that you'll have to go there to follow (complicated!) Well, let me at least describe the proposed process: Maureen has given three columns. In the first, there are made up musical instructions, like “with a hint of frenzy” or “crazy eyes here.” The second column has musical styles, like "yacht rock" or "muzak." The third column has words like, "butterflies" or "centaur." Now pick one word from each column and "write a poem that takes inspiration from your musical genre and notation, and uses the word or words you picked from the third column." Okay, here's my tanka . . . the musical instruction I chose from the columns is "obliterte the choir," and I'll confess I am not conversant in death metal. Anyway, both prompts mixed. After Cannibal Corpse To play death metal cancellare il coro, and vampires will rise, the choir's undead twitching, fast, melodic, and guttural. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Alan also merged both prompts in a lovely haiku. After “Lord, Have Mercy” One hymn sung graveside and a handwrought monument, lift hope for Heaven. —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Designed by Freepik Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

NaPoWriMo / PAD 2025 • 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

Day 4 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2025 // Stafford 78

Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “write an unexpected mess poem. Like maybe somebody spills their milk or forgets to put away the groceries. Or maybe the dog leaves a present. Or perhaps the cat is in a gift-giving mood as well. Or maybe the mess is a little more situational (like falling behind on paying the bills or getting caught up in a love triangle.” Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “It’s the rare human structure – be it a bedroom, kitchen, dentist’s office, or classroom – that doesn’t have art on its walls, even if it’s only the photos on a calendar. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem about living with a piece of art.” Today, I'm mixing the prompts in a doidotsu — a Japanese poetic form with four lines of 7, 7, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. Here's a write-up on the doidotsu: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/dodoitsu-poetic-forms. Abstract Expressionism —a doidotsu At my home, mail and clutter are an unexpected mess, Jackson Pollock art piece . . . just gotta live with it! —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] In case someone doesn't know abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock's artwork, here's an example. Jackson Pollock, "Convergence" (1952) Here's Alan's poem today. His title reflects both prompts. Unexpected Art I am driving a van north, up to Washington, DC, out of Appalachia with four of my classmates, all of them women, all of them young enough to be my kids, to make a presentation about community health in a depressed area of Johnson City. They picked me to drive them. They made a playlist on Spotify so I could hear the music they wanted to share with me. We’re all graduate students. They are smart and creative, funny without weariness, open with emotional intelligence. I love them just like favorite cousins. They put Steely Dan, Bob Wills, and Dolly in for me, but suddenly a hard two-beat, rebounding and metallic, prompts them all to rap along, “Whatchu know ‘bout me?” I laugh. There is joy here—the shy one is rapping along, the gal from Texas, the newlywed, the former teacher who came from north Alabama, too, self-empowering lyrics about a middle schooler needing lip gloss confidence. I can hear the border twang, the sweet voice usually much softer, the nasal drawl of the one from the holler, the accent from ‘way back home, “‘Cause my lip gloss is poppin’.” Nothing messes me up more than when someone goes to sleep while I am driving or when they sing along to a song that gave them what they needed. I guess they all decided somebody else could use it. —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 2025 • 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

Day 3 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2025 // Stafford 77

Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “[W]rite a poem that obliquely explains why you are a poet and not some other kind of artist – or, if you think of yourself as more of a musician or painter (or school bus driver or scuba diver or expert on medieval Maltese banking) – explain why you are that and not something else!” Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “[W]rite a short poem. In my mind, I'm thinking of a poem that's like 10 lines or fewer, but there are other ways . . . The poem could be about a short person or object.” I didn't merge the prompts today. Just not in the right mood for the Thorson prompt today (maybe later?). So just doing the Brewer prompt for a short poem. As part of this weekend's Poetry Palooza festival in Des Moines, I'm leading a workshop this afternoon for some seventh graders in Humboldt, Iowa, and I'm going to have us write about food. So I thought I'd warm up (sorta) with this short ditty, two shadormas — a Spanish poetic form in 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllables. Ended up being 12 lines. Oh well. Short-ish enough. I Scream, You Scream Vanilla, chocolate, or else strawberry . . . those three were our only choices as kids in the '60s. Yum. Now we have blueberry sorbet, toffee crunch, bubble gum, Cherry Garcia, and best — dulce de leche! —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Photo by mandarinMD on Pixabay I think I'll show this poem to the students this afternoon. I suppose they'll be surprised at the lack of ice cream flavors! About his poem today, Alan wrote me, “I just recently moved out of a cubicle, because my department has returned to its renovated building. It is perverse for me to offer a 'tricube,' following Brewer’s challenge for a short poem, as I take Thorson’s cue to write about what kind of artist I am not. Folks can figure out the difference between Appalachian and Southern writers when they think about it.” The tricube is three stanzas of three lines with three syllables. Wow! Why I Am Not a Southern Poet When Darnell Arnoult said, “Come and write,” she gave me permission and some space to love deep in hollers and mountains. —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Alan also wrote: “Darnell Arnoult is one of the most generous, loving writers in Appalachia, and there are more than a few folks like that. We love her back. You can find some poems from her latest volume, Incantations, here: https://www.darnellarnoult.net/excerpt-incantations-poems.” Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

NaPoWriMo / PAD 2025 • 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

Day 2 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2025 // Stafford Challenge 76

Today is Day Two in April and also Day 76 in the Stafford Challenge. Here are today's prompts: Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “[W]rite a "from where I'm sitting" poem. . . . From where you're sitting (or standing) at this moment, find something, someone, etc., that interests you and write a poem.” Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “[W]rite a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of 'fact,' and something that seems out of place in time (like a Sonny & Cher song in a poem about a Greek myth).” I have been writing quite a few ekphrastic poems of late, particularly of Grant Wood's images. In March, I was the featured Guest Poet in the Stafford Challenge, where I read some poems and then presented several of my Grant Wood ekphrastic poems. Today, I'm merging the two prompts again with another ekphrastic poem on Grant Wood — a tanka again like the one on his Woman with Plants a couple days ago. Doing the "requirements" of the Poem-a-Day prompt and then the NaPoWriMo prompt in order (and staying within the tanka's syllabics!). I really enjoyed writing this one. After Self-Portrait by Grant Wood (1941) From where I’m sitting, I see you, Grant Wood, golden, floateriffical, flesh balloon by farm windmill . . . no, an alien spaceship! —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] By the way, I cheated a little: rather an "odd/unusual simile" I used a metaphor, odd and unusual enough, I hope. "Self-Portrait" by Grant Wood (1941) https://www.wikiart.org/en/grant-wood Alan also did both prompts. He wrote me, "Directly address someone? Yes. Made-up word? Yes (try looking up the title). Odd/unusual simile? Yes. 'Fact'? Yes. Out-of-place something? Yes (see the simile). “From where I’m sitting”? Yes." Also, Alan has written an acrostic — where the first letters of the lines spell out something. Vermicastigational Really, you want chickens sick? From where I sit, I doubt you Know the consequences. Stunned Rural communities need Funds to prevent illness—you Know that. Herd immunity Rarely works in theory, Forget real life. Again, you Know that. Is this suicide Revengeful, like a worm dead From eating rotten brain cells? Kennedy or not, listen, Junior, you’re killing people. RFK would disown you. —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 2025 • 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

National Poetry Month • Day One, NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2025 • Stafford Challenge 75

Well, friends, we're back! Going to be working NaPoWriMo and Poem-a-Day (typically merging their poetry prompts into one poem), plus continuing with the Stafford Challenge, all in that one poem. Also, Thomas Alan Holmes will be joining us again this season. Hurray! Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “As with pretty much any discipline, music and art have their own vocabulary. Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write a poem that uses a new-to-you word. For (imaginary) extra credit, work in a phrase from, or a reference to, the Florentine Codex” (an encyclopedia of 16th-century indigenous Mexico). Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day suggestion: “For the first Two-for-Tuesday prompt: 1) Write a "Best of Times" poem, and/or . . . 2) Write a "Worst of Times" poem. . . . Write a poem about the 'best of times,' 'the worst of times,' and/or 'the everythingest of times.'” Alan's poem today is a Petrarchan sonnet, with an unusual closing sestet that brings back the a and b rhymes. He said, "I call my variation of the Petrarchan sonnet the Uvalde sonnet, because the expected terminal couplet occurs prematurely." Alan merges all three prompts: both the best of times/worst of times ones along with the musical terminology one, using the word waltz. First the Right Foot, Then the Right Foot, Then the Left Foot It is the worst of times, three-four, the waltz that trips misstepping, like a misspent text, a signal sent corrupted. What comes next is slipping, old denial, placing faults on those who speak only the truth. Trump halts analysis, in his denials vexed by probing questions, even more perplexed that these, his best of times, when as he salts the wounds of those descrying villainy and also those caught in his calumny, ransacker of our nation’s courts and vaults, should be series of days of infamy, diminishment through stumbles, slides, and halts dismissed, denied through obvious pretext. —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] You may have noticed that the word "waltz" in the first line is, by coincidence (or perhaps not), the National Security Advisor's surname. I was also successful today in melding all three prompts: like Alan, both the best of times/worst of times prompts as well as the musical terminology prompt — the first term was somewhat familiar but the second term was completely new to me. Bass No Pain When I’m on stage playing my bass it’s the best of times, my sciatica pain in diminuendo. It’s the worst of times when I’m not playing bass. Sometimes I can barely walk. Basso profondo . . . bass as musical medicine, a miracle. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

https://vincegotera.blogspot.com/2025/04/day-two-napowrimo-poem-day-2025.html

NaPoWriMo / PAD 2025 • 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