Category Archives: Essays

April 14, 2025

glimmer day 103 ~ NaGloPoWriMo 14 April 2025

the asphalt jungle

green light,
yellow light, 
red light, stop
stop, it’s a red light! stop!!
I see you laughing
phone pressed 
against your ear 
PAY ATTENTION PERSON!!!

the pedestrian light is
ticking like a time bomb
24, 23, 22, 21…click, click, click 
a young woman in flip flops 
scuffles to the other side
flap, flap, flap, flap

the car next to me is rapping
base tones, vibrating 
so loudly my ears,
my whole body feels the beat
there’s a siren in the distance
where is it coming from?

I’m late…why do I come this way?
It always makes me late

oh gawd, there’s a bee 
inside the car
open the window quick
go on bee see yourself out
bzzzzzz, bzzzz, thwap, thwap,
bzzzzzzzzZzzzzZzzz
where’s the newpaper 
don’t make me use it
snap, snap… come on bee 
fly free

what now? who’s laying into
their car horn. BeeeeEEEEpppp!
ok, got it…green light…you can
stop revving your engine 
yeah yeah…I’m going 

I hate commuting… two hours
a day lost, never to be
recovered 

~kat

I had to dig deep for today’s prompt. I’ve been working remotely for 4 years now, so I was writing from memory. I will never go back into an office to work all day in a cubicle. I am much more productive at home. Speaking of productive, today’s glimmer-bearer is a squirrel.

This little guy was on the top of his world, with a ready supply of seeds and nuts nearby. He seemed quite pleased with himself. Not even me with my camera seemed to phase him. It was the start of another day…a very good day, in fact! And a squirrel who came by to remind me to stay the course. And to take time to savor every little victory. Good advice. Thank you my little friend. And well done!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat

NaGloPoWriMo 14 April 2025 Prompt: So today, try writing a poem that describes a place, particularly in terms of the animals, plants or other natural phenomena there. Sink into the sound of your location, and use a conversational tone. Incorporate slant rhymes (near or off-rhymes, like “angle” and “flamenco”) into your poem. And for an extra challenge – don’t reference birds or birdsong!

6 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, NaGloPoWriMo2015, Poem a Day, Poetry, squirrels | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, free verse, napowrimo, Poetry

April 14, 2025

NaGloPoWriMo 13 April 2025 ~ glimmer day 102

By Kat Myrman

not normal 

they were out and about today, doing normal
the people, everywhere I looked, as if nothing 
was unusual, as if no crisis was near, 
disturbing, while everything spirals to nothing
stock markets crash, tariff wars rage, laws are ignored
the people are blissful, impending doom ignored

experts on the news are reeling, losing their minds
students of history sound the alarm…”not a drill” 
they warn, “we’ve seen this before, it doesn’t end well!”
the plunder, the gaslighting, “drill baby drill”
masked vigilantes enacting their agenda
we the people, lost in the chaos, forgotten
it’s not normal how normal things seem, we’ve forgotten

the principles our ancestors fought to preserve
liberty, freedom, justice, just to name a few
opportunities afforded to everyone
the pursuit of happiness for all, not the few
as history’s rewritten and lies replace truth
will future generations ever know the truth

~kat

A wee bit late…moments past midnight. I had almost given up. The task seemed too great, after an exhausting working long weekend. As I settled in to rest, finally, the muse tapped me on the shoulder. “We are writing tonight…” And here we are. Another poem in the books.

Glimmers…we had a few. A whirlwind visit from my three youngest grandchildren aged 8, 6, and 3…(ages added to validate the whirlwind comment 😉). All my grand children and great grandchildren are glimmers. They are my hope. I’m so sorry we’ve made such a mess of things for them.

Back to glimmers…focus kat…being wrapped in the hugs of tiny humans is definitely a glimmer that will hold me for days. And dandelions. There are dandelions too!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨

NaGloPoWriMo 13 April 2025 prompt for the day (optional, as always). Donald Justice’s poem, “There is a gold light in certain old paintings,” plays with both art and music, and uses an interesting and (as far as I know) self-invented form. His six-line stanzas use lines of twelve syllables, and while they don’t use rhyme, they repeat end words. Specifically, the second and fourth line of each stanza repeat an end-word or syllable; he fifth and sixth lines also repeat their end-word or syllable. Today, we challenge you to write a poem that uses Justice’s invented form.

17 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., free verse, NaGloPoWriMo2025, normal, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, free verse, Life Lessons, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality

April 13, 2025

glimmer day 101 ~ NaGloPoWriMo 12 April 2025

By Kat Myrman

…and they lived happily ever after

the shoe fit
it was a whirlwind engagement
the wedding of the century
(we’re talking partridges in pear trees and lords a leaping here)
and the honeymoon…well
poor Cindy…
didn’t take long
for her to discover
her prince
had a nasty foot fetish
happily ever after?
like the American dream 
may she rest in pieces 
✨✨✨✨
where am I? who am I? what…? 
wouldn’t you like to know
follow the yellow brick road they said
when the stocks go low
it’s time to buy
It’s exactly as we planned
I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore
✨✨✨✨
Mary’s little lamb 
was fleeced by old McDonald
while Humpty Dumpty took a fall
from the tallest wall in the history of walls 
bye bye miss America 
France wants their statue back
it’s raining helicopters and jets
can my cat give me the bird flu
we’ll see what happens
in two weeks
that’s the $64,000 question 
we already know the answer
history on repeat…no royalties

~kat

~ NaGloPoWriMo 12 April 2025 Prompt: Try writing a poem that makes reference to one or more myths, legends, or other well-known stories, that features wordplay (including rhyme), mixes formal and informal language, and contains multiple sections that play with a theme. Try also to incorporate at least one abstract concept – for example, desire or sorrow or pride or whimsy.

4 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, NaGloPoWriMo2025, Poetry | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, free verse, Life Lessons, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Rhymed Verse, Social Issues

April 11, 2025

glimmer day 100 / NaGloPoWriMo 11 April 2025

By Kat Myrman

a candle in darkness

hello darkness my old friend
just when we think we’ve seen it all
like a candle in the wind

another blow, the nightmare never ends
as criminals plan their next cabal
hello darkness my old friend

I can’t bear to watch, the bitter end
democracy on life support will fall
like a candle in the wind

we’re spiraling on a downward trend
the people cry but no one hears their call
hello darkness my old friend 

we told the truth, our differences to mend 
they called us traitors from behind their wal
like a candle in the wind

there is no middle ground on which to stand
our leaders on a binge have gone awol
hello darkness my old friend 
like a candle in the wind

-kat

NaGloPoWriMo 11April 2025 Prompt: take a look at Kyle Dargan’s “Diaspora: A Narcolepsy Hymn.” This poem is a loose villanelle that uses song lyrics as its repeating lines (loose because it doesn’t rhyme). Your challenge is, like Dargan, to write a poem that incorporates song lyrics – ideally, incorporating them as opposing phrases or refrains.

Today’s glimmer…bluejays at the crow feeder. Bluejays can be obnoxious creatures. What started as a feeding tray for my crow friends has quickly become host to dozens of blue jays. I have been putting out more peanuts specifically for the crows mid-day when the jays are off doing whatever it is they do.

There are people who act like these jays. They are obnoxious and will push for their own interest above others, even if it means encroaching on someone else’s portion. And then there are those who wait, coming in at the back of the line after everyone else has had their fill. They may even find that their favorite dishes are empty by the time they come to fill their plate. And it’s perfectly fine with them. Potlucks are not about the food, they are about community, and gratefulness for having one’s needs met.

Much love, peace, and glimmers of gratefulness to you,

~kat✨✨💚✨✨

6 Comments | tags: bluejays, Challenge, digital art., digital photography, Glimmers, NaGloPoWriMo 2025, Poem a Day, Poetry, Villanelle | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Villanelle

April 9, 2025

day 98 glimmers – NaGloPoWriMo 9 April 2025

By Kat Myrman

First things first. We need a glimmer or two or three or four.

Glimmer #1: a monarch butterfly hopped from dandelion to dandelion pausing to sip nectar along the way.

Glimmer #2 and 3: Then the turkeys came …and just when I had almost given up hope of seeing my deer friends again, a lone yearling made her way through the wood’s edge to share seeds I had tossed on the ground for the birds.

She lingered a while, then wandered back into the woods… I wondered if she was the lone survivor…

Glimmer #4: The best glimmer of all. The yearling had brought a few friends back to the clearing. Four to five more deer came to call. Not the full herd, but it did my heart good to see them. All tolled, a doe and four young deer.

In the distance the turkeys were making a huge ruckus…I imagined the Jennie’s finally stopped playing hard to get. They certainly are noisy, very noisy lovers.

Dusk started to settle around us. All is right with my world. My thoughts are still with the other deer. I’m still hoping none of them succumbed to the hunters last night. But I’m counting my blessings.

Much love, peace and glimmers to you!

~kat ✨✨💚✨✨

And now for today’s NaGloPoWriMo 9 April 2025 prompt: Today we’d like to challenge you to try writing a poem of your own that uses rhyme, but without adhering to specific line lengths. For extra credit, reference a very specific sound, like the buoy in Hillyer’s poem.

the wind has many voices

if I close my eyes
when a strong wind blows
i can hear the swell and rise
of ocean waves, the ebb and flow
how did the trees 
learn the salty score
of the sea 
waves crashing rhythmically into the shore

sometimes I clearly hear 
the sound of jubilation,
tickling my ears 
a symphony of ovations
fluttering leaves
rousing cheers
i could be deceived 
It sounds like applause, so clear

the wind has many voices 
my favorite one of all
is when the breezes whisper
I love it when they call
“come sit with me,” they croon
“it’s time for you to breathe 
this moment will be over soon
embrace it, take in everything you see.”

so take me to the heights when the winds’ graces
brush my cheek with soft kisses and toss my hair
the wind has many faces,  
I’d know her…they…and them anywhere

~kat