Friday, April 28, 2017

Day 28 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2017


28 is a happy number.

Do you know about "happy numbers"? I didn't until a couple of minutes ago. "A happy number is a number defined by the following process: Starting with any positive integer, replace the number by the sum of the squares of its digits, and repeat the process until the number either equals 1 (where it will stay), or it loops endlessly in a cycle that does not include 1. Those numbers for which this process ends in 1 are happy numbers, while those that do not end in 1 are unhappy numbers (or sad numbers)" (Wikipedia).

So, for 28 . . . 22 + 82 = 68. Apply the squaring and adding again . . . 62 + 82 = 100. Again . . . 12 + 02 + 02 = 1. Okay, there we are, happy!   

Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: "write a poem using Skeltonic verse. Don’t worry, there are no skeletons involved. Rather, Skeltonic verse gets its name from John Skelton, a fifteenth-century English poet who pioneered the use of short stanzas with irregular meter, but two strong stresses per line (otherwise know as 'dipodic' or 'two-footed' verse). The lines rhyme, but there’s not a rhyme scheme per se. The poet simply rhymes against one word until he or she gets bored and moves on to another."

Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: "write a poem about a smell. Similar to Day 6’s prompt about writing a poem about a sound, today’s prompt involves thinking about the various good and bad smells that fill the world. Pick one smell (or a variety, I suppose), and write a poem."

Here's my best shot today, merging both prompts. I'm just okay with this one. It's going to need some serious revision, probably. But here it is for now, starting with some song lyrics you might recognize.

Prevention

Ooo-ooo, that smell.
Can you smell
that smell?
Lynyrd
frickin’ Skynyrd
wanted to save
lives. To save
you and me.
Music is free:
you hear it, we
hear it. Hard drugs
aren’t just for thugs.
That girl next door,
that boy who’s your
lawn mower, they’re
all in danger.
But what to do?
It’s all on you.
Love your kids till
they know and feel
they’re something real
important. Give
them strength to live
each day with pride,
not have to hide.
Let’s stem the tide.
Let love abide.

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

Man, this skeltonic form is tough. The rhyme comes back so fast! Easy to use for light verse, for humor, probably, but I wanted to try to write something in a serious vein. I almost went "rogue" (evaded the prompts, that is), but I've committed myself this month to using and combining both prompts.

And now, Alan's skeltonics . . .

Blue Guitar

Vince Gotera
stands on terra
firma, thera-
peutic air o’
seeing, peri-
scopic stare a-
bove the crowd,
in tune, unbowed
while playing loud
and polyrhythmic,
cataclysmic
spills of seismic
rills and cosmic
fire-pick sweet lick
testified,
amplified,
led beside
still waters,
sons and daughters,
troll-abhoring,
poll-deploring,
goal-ignoring,
soul-restoring,
soul-imploring,
psychedelia
like you tell ya
gals and fellas
like Vidalias
sweet and layered
like the first heard
hungry, thirsty
on the first day
joy that burst ‘way
up and out
and all about
as our nation
needs creation.

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

Why, thank you, Alan. What a treat. Love the -smic rhymes! I also find delightful the rhymes of air o’ and stare a- with my last name.

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:

Bruce Niedt said...

Good skeltonics, especially Alan's tribute to you Vince - very inventive! I'm glad you liked mine too.

essay writing companies said...

He was a superstar and yes world misses him, what a nice gesture by you by paying tribute to this star. Thank you for sharing this blog with us and keep posting more such posts

harada57 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.



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