April 22, 2023

of faith

By Kat Myrman 
of faith

a soul that
is not strong
asks for 
evidence
of faith
showing 
contempt 
for sagacity 
a riddle
it baffles
invisible 
beyond conclusion 

~kat

A reverse Blackout Poem for NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge Day 22, borrowing words in reverse order from Emily Dickinson’s poem, “This World is not Conclusion”.

This World is not Conclusion

BY EMILY DICKINSON

This World is not Conclusion.
A Species stands beyond —
Invisible, as Music —
But positive, as Sound —
It beckons, and it baffles —
Philosophy — don’t know —
And through a Riddle, at the last —
Sagacity, must go —
To guess it, puzzles scholars —
To gain it, Men have borne
Contempt of Generations
And Crucifixion, shown-(ing)
Faith slips — and laughs, and rallies —
Blushes, if any see —
Plucks at a twig of Evidence —
And asks a Vane, the way —
Much Gesture, from the Pulpit —
Strong Hallelujahs roll —
Narcotics cannot still the Tooth
That nibbles at the soul —

CREDITS

This poem is in the public domain.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2023, Blackout Poetry, Challenges and Writing Prompts, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

April 21, 2023

courage

By Kat Myrman 

courage

courage 
is a child
who goes 
back to school
after a massacre 

courage
is telling 
the truth 
even if it means 
losing everything

courage
is wearing
a dress because
it makes you feel pretty
even if they named you Jonathan

courage
is helping those
who are different
because what matters most
is acknowledging their humanity

courage
Is not laughing 
when the joke
is not funny
but hurtful to someone 

courage 
is saying,
“me too”
“Black Lives Matter”
“I stand with you”

courage
I have learned
evolved from
the Latin word, ‘cor’
meaning heart

courage
is following 
one’s heart
showing the rest of us
how to truly live

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge Day Twenty-One: choose an abstract noun from the list below, and then use that as the title for a poem that contains very short lines, and at least one invented word.

Glory
Courage
Anxiety
Failure
Defeat
Delight
Confusion
Calm
Belief
Cleverness
Despair
Honesty
Deceit
Strength

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2023, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, free verse, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

April 20, 2023

in retrospect

By Kat Myrman 

in retrospect

civilization
left to gerrymandered right
exposed their dark side,
extreme-powered corruption,
chaos-fed barbarism, 

where democracy
was devoured by madness
and pro-life killers

~kat
NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge Day Twenty; Have you ever heard someone wonder what future archaeologists, whether human or from alien civilization, will make of us? Today, I’d like to challenge you to answer that question in poetic form, exploring a particular object or place from the point of view of some far-off, future scientist? The object or site of study could be anything from a “World’s Best Grandpa” coffee mug to a Pizza Hut, from a Pokemon poster to a cellphone.

Today’s prompt took me down a dark rabbit hole. Things right now are completely mad. I can’t imagine what future generations will think of us. The poetry form: a tanka/senryu combo.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2023, Challenges and Writing Prompts, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Senryu

April 19, 2023

land-lubber

By Kat Myrman 

land-lubber

i am not a fan of flying
and you can take the stairs, not me
i get queasy, knees, weak, wobbly
fear of heights is terrifying
it’s downright debilitating
for as long as I remember
been a reticent ascender
with feet on terra firma set
but haven’t missed a vista yet
a snail’s eye-view, full of splendor

~kat
NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge Day Nineteen: write a poem about something that scared you – or was used to scare you – and which still haunts you (if only a little bit) today.

For today, a Décima poem:

Décima poetry is a 10 line stanza with 8 syllables per line. The rhyming pattern is abbaaccddc. Using the 10 lines there are generally two ways to organize: The 10 lines, or breaking the 10 lines into two stanzas using abba/accddc.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2023, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Décima, Digital Art & Photos, napowrimo, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

April 18, 2023

all that

By Kat Myrman 
all that

arrogant as always, because you believe, 
(conceit with a capital C) you deserve 
extra, first-class-grade grandiose 
homage, how indulgent, how 
insolent, insulting in fact
just keeping you in luxury…how 
loathsome, mean, offensive 
particularly privileged, 
quintessentially 
rude and revolting is your 
self-absorbed, self-centered self
to think that others are under
you, useless, except to be used
to voluntarily venerate your value, 
wait on your every want, whim, 
and wish…x plus y always equals 
you, yourself, and you, you, you
it’s zaniness, that’s what it is
just zip it…the world owes you zilch!

~kat
(too much??? I hear you thinking…sheesh kat! tell us how you REALLY feel!!! Haha!)

NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day Eighteen: write an abecedarian poem – a poem in which the word choice follows the words/order of the alphabet. You could write a very strict abecedarian poem, in which there are twenty-six words in alphabetical order, or you could write one in which each line begins with a word that follows the order of the alphabet.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 2023, Abecedarian Poem, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Humor, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings