Author Archives: Kat Myrman

NaPoWriMo 2024 – Day 1 – matriarch

matriarch
 
in troubling times when chaos rules the day
mother beckons, come away, come away
balm, sweet as honey, she pours o’er our heads
with tales of yore, tucks us tight in our beds
mother knows best when we are led astray
 
buried secrets hum, things we dare not say
stay busy…busy, to hide our dismay
the sting of truth drives us from things we dread
in troubling times
 
when justice denied requires a stay
when power’s a poison, patriarchs play
when terrible truths rise up from the dead
when madness compels us to flee instead
mother calls us to dance amidst the fray
in troubling times

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day One Challenge: Write – without consulting the book – a poem that recounts the plot, or some portion of the plot, of a novel that you remember having liked but that you haven’t read in a long time.

The Book: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Today’s Poetry Form: The Rondeau

The rondeau is comprised of 15 lines across three stanzas with the first word or phrase from the first line represented as a refrain (R) and a rhyme scheme of two rhymes throughout (A and B). The rhyme and refrain scheme looks like this:

A (R)          
A
B
B
A

A
A
B
R

A
A
B
B
A
R

The A and B lines are usually eight or 10 syllables in length. The refrain is usually one to three words (or so).


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)