Category Archives: Rhymed Verse

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 29 – mercurial

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


NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 24 – simple dreams

simple dreams

I am worn out with dreams
finished with futile endeavors
no more wishing on shooting stars
what will be, will be, it’s all good, whatever…

don’t need to make things happen
I’m learning to go with the flow
it’s quite a ride, just cruising along
no pressure, nothing to prove, no show

my dreams these days are simpler things
the season of striving has come to an end
my focus is now on the joy that life brings and the treasure found in single sweet moments

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 24 Challenge: write a poem that begins with a line from another poem (not necessarily the first one), but then goes elsewhere with it. This will work best if you just start with a line of poetry you remember, but without looking up the whole original poem. Or you could find a poem that you haven’t read before and then use a line that interests you. The idea is for the original to furnish the backdrop for your work, but without influencing you so much that you feel as if you are just rewriting the original! For example, you could begin, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day,” or “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” or “I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster,” or “they persevere in swimming where they like.” Really, any poem will do to provide your starter line – just so long as it gives you the scope to explore.

The line I chose is from the poem, “Men Improve with the Years” by William Butler Yeats: “I am worn out with dreams”.


NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 17 – thinking out loud

thinking out loud

this
is
totally
absurd
the latest,
have you heard?
like nothing
we have ever
seen
idolatry
to the extreme
feigned religiosity
disgusting evangelicals
who make our lives
a living hell
they flock to him
like birds to seed
he uses them to
feed his greed
they willingly concede
he owns them ‘til
the day they die
mesmerized by
juicy lies
I pray they see
the honest truth
before the devil
demands
his due

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 17 Challenge: write a poem that is inspired by a piece of music, and that shares its title with that piece of music.

Finally catching up after a crazy week!!! I was more inspired by the title than the actual lyrics of the song, “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. This is what I often think to myself in mixed political company. I have to fight myself from screaming what I really think out loud! In this climate things are better left unsaid, that is if one cares at all about seeing another day!



NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 18 – i’m that fly

I’m that fly

I’m that fly on the wall you see
observing things no one should know
burdened by confidentiality
that builds and builds, I fear I’ll blow
one day when others least expect
I’ll spill the most salacious things
the beans, the cookies, truth, you bet!
sweet on the tongue with power to sting
secrets out for all to see, secretly
I’d love to let it all hang out, imagine
what a scandal that would be
but I’m known for my loyalty
conscientious to a tee…
for once I’d love to flip a switch
and lose the nice me, be a bitch

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 18 Challenge: write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else, and explains why.

Catching up. This weeks has not been conducive to writing poetry. 😉


NaPoWriMo 2024 – Day 19 – no regrets

no regrets

it’s a worn out saying…no regrets
i wonder if it’s possible, i bet
every person has one thing they
wished they’d done better, hey
there’s no shame wondering if
you’d done something differently,
the outcome might have changed
my life, if only…i admit regret haunts me

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 19 Challenge: What are you haunted by, or what haunts you? Write a poem responding to this question. Then change the word haunt to hunt.

I followed the challenge rules, but I think I like the word haunt better poetically thinking. 😊