Category Archives: napowrimo

April 1, 2025

day 90 ~ Na/GloPoWriMo 2025 off-prompt 4.1

By Kat Myrman 
s(h)elf life 

I passed my “best if used by” date
over a half a century ago
exposure to the elements 
has taken quite a toll

my skin is leathery and dry
my hair is turning gray
I need bifocals for my eyes
my hearing’s fine…wait, what’d you say?

my plumbing’s gotten leaky
my pipes are filled with gas
I‘ve lost control completely
might toot toot as i walk past 

expirations come, no warning
and the end, I’m sure, is near
luck will keep me ‘til the morning
may the fates grant me a few more years

believe me when I tell you
though I’m slowly losing steam
my mind still thinks I’m twenty-two
filled with hope and unspent dreams

~kat

Na/GloPoWriMo 2025 April 1: Well, I’m not sure where that came from based on the prompt. I started looking at musical terms and artist terms and paintings and ended up considering the concept of shelf lives and expiration dates and how they relate to aging in humans. I blame this detour partly on my day job which bothers itself with product lifecycles, expiration dates and the like. I suppose it’s a sad commentary on the reality of my lack of work-life balance. But I digress. 

And…there goes a butterfly…will ya look at that!

Much love, peace, and unlimited, unspoiled glimmers to you!

~kat

Here’s a link to today’s Na/GloPoWriMo prompt, just in case you want to give it a try. 

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Humor, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Rhymed Verse

March 31, 2025

NaPoWriMo Earlybird Challenge ~ Glimmer day 89

By Kat Myrman 
three generations

my first portrait
hidden deep inside the babe 
mother of my mother

~kat

There is a theory that the egg that became me (with a little help from my dad, of course) was carried inside my mother since all women are born with all the eggs they will have in their lifetime. Where it gets interesting is that, as your mother was developing in your grandmother’s womb, a part of you was there too. Having four daughters, three of whom have daughters stirs my imagination. To think that I once held the sparks of my granddaughters while I carried their mothers inside me.  Isn’t life a miraculous thing! 

That said, hidden in the old photo above is a glimmer of me. 

Much love, peace, and glimmers of promise to you!

~kat

NaGloPoWriMo 2025 Early Bird Challenge: try penning a portrait poem of your own. It can be a self-portrait, a portrait of someone well known to you, or even a poem inspired by an actual painted portrait.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2025, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

May 1, 2024

NaPoWriMo 2024 ~ the ReVerse

By Kat Myrman 
the windows in this house have never been dressed 

1-
when terrible truths rise up from the dead
ancients who reside on veil’s cusp 
I felt it in the deepest part of my soul
entranced, though certain death awaits 
happiness is this moment
a sure antidote for the insanity
Ordered a tea. Wish you were here.

2-
when my time comes, I hope it’s quick
centuries old, with eons of history 
so have a day, good, bad, don’t care
what worked in winter is not a good look for spring
we might have been friends, perhaps we were
We saw it with our own two eyes and lived to tell. 
I think I’ve learned a bitter lesson

3-
Wait until the time is perfect, 
a thought, we speak in code, 
begging to be touched, to feel 
it’s a worn out saying…no regrets
sweet on the tongue with power to sting
like birds to seed
we will never forget that day
is it gray or is it grey?

4-
to know the truth; what is truth?
you love deeply, so deeply
what will be, will be, it’s all good, whatever…
ask me anything
stars bursting ‘midst a sea of green
I’ve spent three days boiling driftwood,
like a tidal wave, you flood my senses, 

denouement-
don’t smile, avoid eye contact, let them be!
her entrance, well, it caused a stir

~kat

Happy May Day to you! Time to look back at the challenge that was, NaPoWriMo 2024, with a ReVerse poem!

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 month broken into 7 “day” increments.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2024, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, napowrimo, Poetry, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai

April 30, 2024

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 30 – Belle Went to a Burger Joint

By Kat Myrman 
Belle Went to a Burger Joint

‘Twas midday at the burger joint 
she sauntered in with flair
dressed in a tattered yellow gown
her entrance, well, it caused a stir

the kid behind the register 
pretended not to see her
the patrons grumbled at the sight
when someone called the manager

“how can we help you ma’am?” he said
onlookers watched, aghast
“send her away, you know she can’t pay!”
but the manager held fast

“Ignore the menu overhead,
ma’am, this is just for you.”
She smiled at him, a toothless grin,
as he filled a tray with food

I present to you, sandwich au beouf 
with a savory side of frites
for dessert I give you tarte aux pommes
and a beverage bubbly sweet

her eyes grew wide in disbelief
“But sir, I cannot pay…”
the manager kindly reassured,
“You are our guest today.”

~kat

Well, that’s a wrap. NaPoWriMo 2024 has come to an end! It’s been a challenge, but one I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I chose Belle from Beauty and the Beast as my inspiration for today’s prompt. See below.

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 30 Challenge: write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a character from myth or legend, as in  Claire Scott’s poem “Scheherazade at the Doctor’s Office.”

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in 2024, Challenges and Writing Prompts, napowrimo, Poetry, Rhymed Verse

April 29, 2024

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 29 – mercurial

By Kat Myrman 
mercurial 
(a trip to market gone horribly wrong!)

how swiftly casual conversation may
turn ugly in these troubling times
a simple “hi, how are you” may devolve
into a hateful, caustic diatribe

“I’m awful, things are terrible, right now
you know exactly what I mean!”
I regret I even asked, backing away
trying, but failing, to make a scene

it’s too late once the switch is flipped
their anger bursts into an ugly rage
I smile, say “I’m sorry” while turning 
cautiously, I try to get away

regretfully, I failed to see his MAGA hat
before exchanging pleasantries 
this is a dog you should never poke 
don’t smile, avoid eye contact, let them be!

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 29 Challenge: And now for our optional prompt. If you’ve been paying attention to pop-music news over the past couple of weeks, you may know that Taylor Swift has released a new double album titled “The Tortured Poets Department.” In recognition of this occasion, Merriam-Webster put together a list of ten words from Taylor Swift songs. We hope you don’t find this too torturous yourself, but we’d like to challenge you to select one these words, and write a poem that uses the word as its title.

Mercurial

Song Title/Album: “illicit affairs” / folklore

Lyric: “Take the words for what they are / A dwindling, mercurial high”

Definition: very lively and quick, or changing moods quickly and often

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in 2024, Challenges and Writing Prompts, napowrimo, Poetry, Rhymed Verse