lick it, stick it on a letter, a stamp delivers, no matter the weather…be it wind, or sleet or snow, it’s how things worked some years ago but these days we prefer to text or tweet, or X, the art of writing nixed can’t even spell, compose a thought, we speak in code, in acronyms…they’re hot! now stamps are just a novelty the fancy ones an oddity prized treasures of philately don’t even bother to write in cursive a glyph the kids these days can’t read IYKYK FWIW SMH W/E
~kat
NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 15 Challenge: Today, we’d like to encourage you to take a look at @StampsBot, and become inspired by the wide, wonderful, and sometimes wacky world of postage stamps.
Wait…I know you know the drill, learn to wait until… Wait until you’re older, the ultimate cold shoulder Wait to speak ‘til spoken to, best be seen not heard Wait to date, to drive a car, to vote, but not too young to serve Wait until your dad gets home, to face your fate alone Wait a minute, maybe two, proceed with caution whatever you do Wait until the time is perfect, though perfect is a lie Wait until tomorrow, next week, or a year or so Wait, never make the others wait, for gods sake don’t be late Wait in traffic, wait in line, wait your turn, and waste your time Wait until you can’t remember what you’re waiting for
Waiting is no way to live, don’t wait, don’t hesitate While you have breath live fully, no regrets Do what means most to you, push through, as for the rest, the busy, silly, messiness of life can wait for once, for you
~kat
I think
I think I must’ve lost my way At least I think it’s true I think I thought I knew you well We both know that’s not true
One of us was less than honest I can’t believe I trusted you You had me fooled up to the end I hate admitting this to you
I think I’ve learned a bitter lesson One that I won’t soon forget I think it’s made me smarter too I know it has, I won’t forget
~ kat
Today you get a two-fer. I chewed on both of these throughout the day…couldn’t decide which one I liked best or either!
NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 14 Challenge: write a poem of at least ten lines in which each line begins with the same word (e.g., “Because,” “Forget,” “Not,” “If”). This technique of beginning multiple lines with the same word or phrase is called anaphora, and has long been used to give poems a driving rhythm and/or a sense of puzzlebox mystery. To give you more context, here’s an essay by Rebecca Hazelton on her students’ “adventures in anaphora,” and a contemporary poem that uses anaphora to great effect: Layli Long Soldier’s “Whereas.
Courtesy Rick Fienberg / TravelQuest International; additional processing by Sean Walker, Sky & Telescope.
How Eclipses Came to Be
Once upon a breeze-swept eve the sun confided to the moon, “I think we should collide!” Then Moon relied, “I’m listening…” all the while heartbeat a-twitter, feeling quite undone. “I’m weary of day,” Sun moaned, “the flowers, trees, birds, humans, bees are fickle souls who rush to shade, it’s quite bizarre, when i am bright, preferring night, even the stars glisten, when you’re around, they swoon!” “I think,” said Moon, who rose full-faced for this occasion, reasoning with a tidal dose of powerful persuasion, “it’s just a rest you need, meet me at high eclipse, new moon, you’ll see, the world will stop to gaze at you, there’s nothing that you need to do, just shine your brightest, be yourself, just be, I’ll do what I do best, trust me old sun, you’ll see.” And so it was, and so it is how moon stepped in to save the day, the sun forgot his weary ways. The earth stood still, moon flipped the switch. Now seasons flow without a hitch, night dawns to day, days dusk to night, all because moon set things a-right, crisis averted, now all is well. We saw it with our own two eyes and lived to tell.
~kat
I’m afraid I ran out of time and daylight yesterday and found myself nodding late-night unable to conjure a single thought, but sleep…need sleep. But undaunted I rose this morning up to the task, to meet Day 13’s challenge and pen a proper, on task poem. Sleeping on it was just what I needed!
NaPoWriMo 2024 – Day 13 Challenge: Our optional prompt for the day asks you to play with rhyme. Start by creating a “word bank” of ten simple words. They should only have one or two syllables apiece. Five should correspond to each of the five senses (i.e., one word that is a thing you can see, one word that is a type of sound, one word that is a thing you can taste, etc). Three more should be concrete nouns of whatever character you choose (i.e., “bridge,” “sun,” “airplane,” “cat”), and the last two should be verbs. Now, come up with rhymes for each of your ten words. (If you’re having trouble coming up with rhymes, the wonderful Rhymezone is at your service). Use your expanded word-bank, with rhymes, as the seeds for your poem. Your effort doesn’t actually have to rhyme in the sense of having each line end with a rhymed word, but try to use as much soundplay in your poem as possible.
It was several summers ago when our paths crossed, her frail frame swimming in goodwill store high fashion, red lipstick bleeding into the lines around her thin lips, curly, gray ringlets tumbling out from under the rim of a crocheted blue cap, an astute observer she was, I could tell with twinkling eyes - so wise was she I sensed it, as I jogged by each day
Even though we never spoke as i rounded the corner of the street the last leg of my three mile trek she always smiled with a nod as if to say, “I see you”, and I would smile and nod, “I see you too” it seemed the polite thing to do I wonder if she sees me still… to see and to be seen is no small thing as I have come to know
I never realized how significant these intentional, chance meetings were until the week she wasn’t there waiting for the city bus in her usual spot. It was a week that turned into weeks…then a month…two months… then three, she was gone, my great fear confirmed when a real estate agent staked a “for sale” sign in the middle of her unkempt, overgrown lawn
I lost interest in running soon after, that street corner became a bittersweet reminder of the connection we shared I wish we had spoken a word or two… how remarkable it was that she touched my soul so deeply, however briefly, moments that fill me with melancholy a tinge of regret, a missed opportunity we might have been friends, perhaps we were though I never even knew her name
~kat
Slightly on topic or off topic…A tale but not exactly tall. 😊
NaPoWriMo 2024 ~ Day 12 Challenge: write a poem that plays with the idea of a “tall tale.” American tall tales feature larger-than-life characters like Paul Bunyan (who is literally larger than life), Bulltop Stormalong (also gigantic), and Pecos Bill (apparently normal-sized, but he doesn’t let it slow him down). If you’d like to see a modern poetic take on the tall tale, try Jennifer L. Knox’s hilarious poem, “Burt Reynolds FAQ.” Your poem can revolve around a mythical character, one you make up entirely, or add fantastical elements into a real person’s biography.
So it is easier for you to find all the parts/chapters of my ongoing fiction series, I created a new page that lists all the links. You can check it out HERE!
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