Monthly Archives: April 2021

dressed in tears

dressed in tears

i dress myself in tears these days
not for me, i weep for others
orphaned children, childless mothers
victims of cruelty and hate

justice denied for those who wait
i feel their pain, those who suffer
i dress myself in tears these days
not for me, i weep for others

for every soul who’s led astray
hope one day we can recover
learn to care for one another
with compassion, kindness and grace
i dress myself in tears these days

~kat

Well I completely fell off the NaPoWriMo wagon this year! This poem is based on one of the prompts. I’ve been adding a line or two over the past week when i have the time. Along with my day job, I have been caring for a sick pup who requires a special home cooked diet (our other pups are on the diet as well to avoid food nabbing) and with two very large dogs (175lbs and 125lbs) and a small one (20lbs) I am cooking daily along with all the household chores, while my partner works a second part-time job to pay the medical bills for our Winston. we don’t know how long he will be with us but are doing what we can to make his life a good one. How could anyone say no to this face! 
In case i didn’t mention it, this is a Rondel. Here are the rondel poetry form rules:
1. Poem consists of 13 lines in 3 stanzas
2. Rhyme scheme: ABba/abAB/abbaA (uppercase letters are refrains)
3. Usually 8 syllables per line

signs of the season

signs of the season

bare tree limb tips dipped
in green, white and lavender
sunlight lingering into the evening,
peepers peeping at dusk,
worms slithering from the damp dark,
bees, butterflies, spiders and ants,
buzz, flit and creep, a hint of wet clay,
fading leaves and first blooms in the mist
and this, the first hummingbird sighting
at the nectar jars outside my window
it’s official...spring is finally here

~kat

NaPoWriMo2021 - Day 13 Prompt: This one is short and sweet: write a poem in the form of a news article you wish would come out tomorrow.

letters

letters

dearest muse
you’ve been so silent
fill my head with sweet nothings
to pour on the page
~kat

dearest kat
you’ve been too busy
there is no room in your head
the page, left wanting
~muse

Still playing catch up. Today’s letters give a clue as to why! For NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 11 Prompt: Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a two-part poem, in the form of an exchange of letters. The first stanza (or part) should be in the form of a letter that you write either to yourself or to a famous fictional or historical person. The second part should be the letter you receive in response. These can be as short or long as you like, in the form of prose poems, or with line breaks – and of course, the subject matter of the letters is totally up to you.

things that i can’t forget

things that i can’t forget

i don’t remember when
the world turned blue
maybe it was when
the post-it notes on the ‘frig
lost their power to inspire me
or perhaps it was
when i stopped listening
to the nameless
portraits on the wall...
aren’t they just voices
in my own head after all,
me trying to preserve
my sanity is like using crazy glue
to stop a dam from bursting
i lost control of everything
that late spring into summer into...
the seasons are all a blur
here behind closed doors,
no hope left inside
locked, the key tossed
into the starry night,
into the beautiful purple haze,
that faded to grey, the darkness
in my soul changing hue, to blue
it’s all coming back to me now
like loose change in my pocket
i realize it’s the little things,
things that i can’t forget

~kat

NaPoWriMo2021 - Day 10 Prompt: 
First, find a song with which you are familiar – it could be a favorite song of yours, or one that just evokes memories of your past. Listen to the song and take notes as you do, without overthinking it or worrying about your notes making sense.
* Next, rifle through the objects in your junk drawer – or wherever you keep loose odds and ends that don’t have a place otherwise. (Mine contains picture-hanging wire, stamps, rubber bands, and two unfinished wooden spoons I started whittling four years ago after taking a spoon-making class). On a separate page from your song-notes page, write about the objects in the drawer, for as long as you care to.
* Now, bring your two pages of notes together and write a poem that weaves together your ideas and observations from both pages.

The Song:

Vincent

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy, linen land
Now, I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
Now, I understand, what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you
Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now, I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will
Source: Music match
Songwriters: Don Mclean
Vincent lyrics © Songs Of Universal Inc., Benny Bird Co. Inc.

from the junk drawer
loose change
screw
batteries
checkbook
pen
paper clip
keys
pocket knife
screw driver
measuring tape
post it notes
crazy glue

greening

greening

the world is blooming
life bursting from the deep
buds to leaves while we sleep
dreaming in green

~kat

For Tanka Tuesday...catching up this weekend! A short one-stanza Abhanga.

The Abhanga is:
* stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains (4 line stanzas).
* syllabic, 6/6/6/4 syllables each
* rhymed L2 and L3 rhyme. Often internal rhyme is employed. End rhyme scheme x a a x , x being unrhymed.

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