Monthly Archives: March 2024

NaPoWriMo 2024 – Early Bird Challenge

the windows

the windows in this house have never been dressed
they are naked but for the soul of Gaia adorned in the season’s greens, pastels, ambers, gray-blacks, and whites
the moon in her phases, new to full and
the sun, midst a galaxy of stars streaming in

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024

Early bird Challenge: Write a poem titled either “A [your word]” or “The [your word]” in which you explore the meaning of the word, or some memory you have of it, as if you were writing an illustrative/alternative definition. Word: window.


The Poetry Form:

The Gogyohka by Enta Kusakabe (1983).

• Gogyohka is a new form of short poem that is based on the ancient Japanese Tanka and Kodai kayo.

• Gogyohka has five lines, but exceptionally may have four or six.

• Each line of Gogyohka consists of one phrase with a line-break after each phrase or breath.

• Gogyohka has no restraint on numbers of words or syllables.

• The theme of Gogyohka is unrestricted.


autumn to winter to spring – a ReVerse Poem

It’s been a minute…three seasons in fact, since I collected lines from previously penned poems and constructed a ReVerse Poem. The intriguing thing is that it seems as though I have landed right where I started…face toward the sun. Another odd thing I noticed was a repeat separated by months of me thinking myself silly for thinking. As Alice was known to comment, “curiouser and curiouser”.

I’m well into the second year of the new normal thrust upon us by a series of unfortunate medical events. It still feels foreign to my partner and me. When you’ve spent decades planning a certain thing and the universe throws a plot twist into your best laid plans… well, I suppose we are still grieving. Spring will be a welcome break from the dreariness of winter; its warmth and sunshine a healing touch. Just what we need.

The hummingbirds will be returning soon. Life does go on…yes it does. 🥰🌱🌼🌞🐣🦋🐝


autumn to winter to spring - a ReVerse Poem 

her full face at dawn
burdened with secrets and
lessons from the past ignored
silly me for ever thinking

drawing us deep into the one
to sleep at the feet of our mother
the in between has lost its charm

when hope was a thing
I caught her smiling
she slumbers, dreaming of spring
once upon a time she was fierce,

how silly of me to think it

it keeps me up nights
I see it clearly
it’s time…turn your face to the sun

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week…or in this case, the past several months.


ode to spring

ode to spring

day
light lingering
night
rushing toward the dawn
bud-swelled tree tops pop in white, pink, blue
the breeze
warm and fragrant whispers
it’s time…turn your face
to the sun
bid winter adieu

~kat on the first day of spring 2024

A Pi-Prime 11 poem for this first day of Spring!

Pi digits: 3.1415926535. Each digit in the series corresponds to the syllable count for each line starting with 3 for the poem’s title.


a stone’s throw

a stone’s throw

light
in the distance
where
civilization
blares, where night owls, insomniacs,
under
starless skies, curse the night
I see it clearly
the madness
here, amidst the trees

~kat

A Pi Prime-11 poem is an 11 line poem based on the first 11 digits of Pi with syllable counts for each line based on those digits. The first line is a 3 syllable title. (3.1415926535)


deluded

deluded

turn
down the gaslight
please
it keeps me up nights
wondering if i can know the truth
when lies
are so easily spun
repeated over
and over…
no one gives a damn

~kat

It’s March, and geeky me loves a good Pi base when writing a poem.

Here are a few digits of Pi (π).

3.1415926535

For this poem I decided to write an 11-line poem matching the syllable count for each line with the digits of Pi. The 3. is of course the title set apart by the period separating it from the series that follows. And you may have noticed that the line count is 11…a prime number. 😊Im calling this form Pi-Prime. Geek out!