Category Archives: free verse

April 21, 2026

Na|GloPoWriMo Day 21

smiley kat

smile…
even as the world 
crumbles
people seem to like it…a lot
some even smile with you
some, sometimes, no matter,
those other sour souls,
reeking of suspicion, hostility,
get a wink and a giggle
just the same
and a swift exit stage left 
ain’t nobody got time for that

so smile…smiley kat
until your face hurts
until your heart breaks
until your soul shrinks into
those dark unsafe places where 
memories of horribles hide

some warriors use a shield 
but you, smiley kat, you
flash those pearly whites
stand tall, look ‘em straight
in the eye, and hope they 
don’t see that tear welling,
turning those baby blues, bluer
allergies, you blurt, there’s 
always that…pollen has been
brutal…but you’re a pro you know, 
they nicknamed you well
the monsters 
of your wildest nightmares

~kat

Na|GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 21 prompt: In your poem for today, we challenge you to write your own poem in which you muse on your name and nicknames you’ve been given or, if you like, the name and nicknames for an animal, plant, or place.

Today is my youngest daughters, my identical twin girls’ birthdays. They, along with their older sisters, are the reason I live, my joy…my glimmer of hope, my greatest contribution to the world. Happy Birthday “Gigi” and “Mimi”, I’m so proud of the kind humans you’ve become! ✨✨✨💚💚✨✨✨

~mama kat

much love, peace, and glimmers to you…✨💚✨

15 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, Na/GloPoWriMo 2026, nicknames, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2026, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, free verse, Life Lessons, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

April 17, 2026

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 17

By Kat Myrman

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 17 Prompt: For today’s challenge, write a poem in which you respond to a favorite poem by another poet.

Today’s poem is in response to Mary Oliver’s question in the last two lines of her poem, “The Summer Day“.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

just breathe

what a wink and a blink it is
this life that we rush through 
as children, wishing we were grown
as grown ups, longing for our youth
we find ourselves at twilight wondering
where the day has gone, but dwelling
on what might have been robs
the present precious moment,
over in a flash…if I must, I’ll plan to
pause, to savor every breath I’ve left
because in the end, having breathed 
slow and deep, second to second 
is life…is more than enough

~kat

Random Glimmers today. So many wonderful moments! Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat ✨✨✨💚✨✨✨

Bramlett Mountain now hid behind trees of green!

2 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2026, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, free verse, Life Lessons, napowrimo, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

April 15, 2026

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 15

By Kat Myrman

it’s not love

you say you love 
cheesecake,
strawberries and 
oh my gawd…chocolate, 
chocolate anything, 
you say, is TO DIE FOR…
um..okay
puppies, kittens,
baby giggles…weeping
willow trees, dogwoods,
the ocean, salty air, 
smell of newborns,
right up there with
puppy breath, roses, 
honeysuckle, lavender,
lilacs, wisteria…(sigh)
the smell of fresh cut 
grass..green peppers and
onions frying, bread baking
you say you love 
books, rom-coms, Olympic 
curling, football,
wearing the color fuscia, 
black, and fuzzy slippers, 
how fickle of you to
declare love for
all these things 
all at once or only when 
the occasional object of
your declared affection
presents itself, faithful or 
not, love is just an 
overused, four-letter,
meaningless word, these
days, objectified, 
unrequited, unreciprocated 
love me, love me not…
in the end you’re left
with a petal-less flower 

~kat

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 15 Prompt: Today, we’d like you to write your own poem that muses on love, but isn’t a traditional love poem in the sense of expressing love between romantic partners.

A Quick Glimmer…some graceful friends spending their afternoon on the edge of the woods. One if them resting in the shade on a hot, sunny day.

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

11 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, love, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2026, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, free verse, Life Lessons, napowrimo, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality

April 14, 2026

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 14

By Kat Myrman

remotely working

my commute is three steps 
right, remote, tucked in 
a corner nook, two monitors, 
a tailless mouse to navigate 
my nine to five, eight
hours that clock in more
like ten, days unbroken, 
no set end, spilling into 
night, screen strobing
glare where zoom call talking, 
soft-filtered heads in squares
haggle over bottom 
lines, strategies to mitigate, 
review, discuss, congratulate…
postmortems of recent 
mistakes, scheduling another 
call because we need more 
time…get more done remote 
I’ve found, used to do this all 
onsite, brick and mortar 
cubical bound, ‘til Covid 
flipped the universe and office 
rats like me disbursed, haven’t 
missed a sunset since, stuck in
traffic in the dark, no trudging 
through car lots from
that one spot left to park, 
multitasking makes it work
with colleagues from around 
the globe, just a keyboard 
click away, three steps, right, 
is my commute…I settle in while
the WiFi boots, as hummingbirds 
outside my window, left, sip 
nectar, then flit-fly away

~kat

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 14 Prompt: Today, we challenge you to write a poem that similarly bridges (whether smoothly or not) the seeming divide between poetry and technological advances.

I have mentioned in the past, sometimes you have to create your own glimmer. Today’s offering meets that criteria. Meet the new side table topper on our back porch. Every time i look at this little planter it makes me smile. And that is exactly what a glimmer should do! It was quite a find at the garden center over the weekend. Makes me happy! A very happy Tuesday to you!

Much love, peace, and glimmers to you!

~kat

✨✨✨💚✨✨✨

5 Comments | tags: Challenge, digital art., digital photography, free verse, Glimmers, Na/GloPoWriMo 2026, Poem a Day, Poetry | posted in 2026, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, free verse, Life Lessons, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues

April 12, 2026

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 12

By Kat Myrman

alchemy in grandma’s kitchen

when the early morning sun streamed
through savory steam, wafting from a 
bubbling stockpot in my grandma’s kitchen, 
it usually meant someone was sick.
chicken on the bone, celery, carrots, 
onions, garlic simmering all day
was a proven cure for seasonal ick.

“Give her my special cough syrup”
grandpa would holler from his well-worn
chair near the front room window, 
Bonanza flashing in black, white,
and gray from the tv box…Hoss was 
always my favorite, though everyone 
said Little Joe was the best.

After supper, grandma would open 
the special cabinet, where a dark glass bottle on the top shelf was hidden, grandpa’s stash, as she eyed me, whispering
cautiously, “only because you’re sick…”

She’d measure a jigger of sweet, 
whiskey into hot lemon juice with honey… 
like magic it soothed my sore throat and helped me sleep, along with cool
camphorated oil rubbed on my chest, a sock
filled with salt warmed on the coal-fired stove wrapped around my neck, and cotton balls, dipped in garlic oil, stuffed 
in my ears…I was a loopy, smelly sight, but
by morning, miraculously, I was healed.

At 5 years old I believed my grandma 
was magical, wise, some would say, a witch.
Looking back, I am convinced that she was!


~kat

Na/GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 12 Prompt: Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that recounts a memory of a beloved relative, and something they did that echoes through your thoughts today.

And a glimmer of course…