Category Archives: Challenges and Writing Prompts

10 X 1 = 10

10 X 1 = 10

remember
when a fact
was a fact?

when

ten times one was
always ten, not
up for debate
or opinion

when

the truth meant something
and lies were abhorred?
we can’t even trust
our own eyes…I heard
the sky is falling

(did you just look up?) 😉

~kat

Following a theme from yesterday for Day 1 of NaPoWriMo 2023’s challenge to write a poem inspired by book cover art found at the site: The Public Domain Review.

whatever

whatever

whatever
used to be
just a word

choice

deferred, polite,
a way to say,
one conveys trust,
perhaps concern

when

we still cared about
other people, to say
‘whatever you need’
and really mean it…
I know…whatever…

~kat

A Cadae for the early bird challenge in this year’s NaPoWriMo, inspired by the random fact found on Mental Floss illustrated above. 

Na/GloPoWriMo 2022 in ReVerse

Na/GloPoWriMo 2022 in ReVerse

she quells the dark night
i need you to be present
nutty and sweet
bend the truth a bit
intoxicating
serving strangers for pennies
we were close once
who will feed the birds when i’m gone
a dismal reminder
deep as wells
my thoughts are many as the stars
while the plague mutates, raging
a peace i never knew, what a pity
to let go of
i was a strange one some would say
Forever – is composed of Nows –

~kat

It’s Sunday, and time to do a wrap up of this year’s Na/GloPoWriMo Challenge with a ReVerse poem! since I already covered the first half of April a few Sundays ago, this week’s ReVerse will close out the second half. Happy May to you! 🌷🌱🌻🌼🌸🌺💐🌹 

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.

lines borrowed from Emily D

lines borrowed from Emily D

A fundamental pause
As much of noon, as I could take –
Forever – is composed of Nows –
the sun through the freckled pane -
moments of escape -
Affirming it a Soul –

~kat


Na/GloPoWriMo 2022 - Day 30 Prompt: write a cento. This is a poem that is made up of lines taken from other poems.

For my final entry in this year’s poetry month challenge I gleaned some lines from a literary favorite of mine, Emily Dickerson. I can’t believe I made it through the whole month after such a long dry spell. Needless to say I am so very happy to be back!

origins

origins

early morn in the month of june
took i, my first deep breath of air
first born with blue eyes, golden hair
under a waning quarter moon
to all things magical attuned
i was a strange one some would say
a solitary to this day
who feels in color, sees in sound
deeply connected to the ground
beneath my feet, one with the clay

~kat

Na/GloPoWriMo 2022 - Day 29 Prompt: write a poem in which you muse on the gifts you received at birth — whether they are actual presents, like a teddy bear, or talents – like a good singing voice – or circumstances – like a kind older brother, as well as a “curse” you’ve lived with (your grandmother’s insistence on giving you a new and completely creepy porcelain doll for every birthday, a bad singing voice, etc.).

For today’s challenge, a Décima: Décima poems—also called la décima, décima espinela, or simply espinela—are poetic verses or song lyrics consisting of a single four-line stanza followed by four 10-line stanzas with eight syllables per line. The rhyme scheme of each 10-line stanzas follows the pattern ABBAACCDDC. The nature of a décima can be philosophical, religious, lyrical, political, satirical, critical, or humorous.