Tag Archives: digital art.

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 27 – get an aquarium they said…

get an aquarium they said…

I’ve spent three days boiling driftwood,
driftwood that the fish nerd at the pet store
said was okay to put right into my fish tank
driftwood that in a matter of hours turned
crystal clear water that I’d spent weeks
conditioning, blood red…the fish didn’t
seem to mind it, did you know the tannins
in driftwood are not harmful to tropical fish?
well, harmful or not, blood red is not a good look
especially given the fact that I recently killed off
a thriving aquarium community because I had
the audacity to get a bigger tank so my fish would have more room to do what fish do….
swim, eat fish flakes,
swim…with me watching…
having a fish tank is so calming…I’ll be boiling
driftwood again tomorrow…as long as it takes…
the driftwood is still bleeding red

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 27 Challenge: write an “American sonnet.” What’s that? Well, it’s like a regular sonnet but . . . fewer rules? Like a traditional Spencerian or Shakespearean sonnet, an American sonnet is shortish (generally 14 lines, but not necessarily!), discursive, and tends to end with a bang, but there’s no need to have a rhyme scheme or even a specific meter.


NaPoWriMo 2014 Day 26 – brambly blooms

brambly blooms

the wild blackberry blooms gleam
stars bursting ‘midst a sea of green
promise plump berries
fruit fit for faeries
be wary
barbs unseen

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 26 Challenge: write a poem that involves alliteration, consonance, and assonance. Alliteration is the repetition of a particular consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds elsewhere in multiple words, and assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. Traci Brimhall’s poem “A Group of Moths” provides a great example of these poetic devices at work, with each line playing with different sounds that seem to move the poem along on a sonorous wave.

Poetry Form: Clogyrnach – A Welsh syllabic and rhyming form with 6 lines. The syllable count is 8/8/5/5/3/3 and the rhyme scheme is a/a/b/b/b/a. There is no required theme.


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 23 – ode to unsung heroes


ode to unsung heroes

they’re not obvious,
your superpowers,
but I’ve seen you
light up a room
with a simple smile
I’ve watched you slay
the closet monsters
with a lullaby and
heal wounds with a kiss
I’ve watched you juggle
groceries, several toddlers,
an infant on your hip, and
an over-stuffed handbag
filled with bandaids, bottles,
diapers, wipes, and snacks,
while navigating across a busy
parking lot, arriving safely
at the car where you deftly
pack, strap, and tuck everyone
in for the ride home…
you wake up early,
lay your head down late
sleep lightly, always
at the ready to serve,
and you do all this without
expecting anything in return
you love deeply, so deeply
you are the wind beneath
the wings of your fledglings
you may think nobody notices
but I do…you’re a true superhero
don’t you dare let anyone
tell you that you’re weak

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 23 Challenge: write a poem about, or involving, a superhero, taking your inspiration from these four poems in which Lucille Clifton addresses Clark Kent/Superman.


NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 22 – lying eyes

lying eyes

we’re told
not to believe
what we see with our eyes
“trust us,” they say, “we’ll tell you what
is true

it’s impossible
to know the truth; what is truth?
it’s an opinion

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 22 Challenge: write a poem in which two things have a fight. Two very unlikely things, if you can manage it. Like, maybe a comb and a spatula. Or a daffodil and a bag of potato chips. Or perhaps your two things could be linked somehow – like a rock and a hard place – and be utterly sick of being so joined. The possibilities are endless!

Poetry Forms: Cinquain and Senryu

A cinquain is a five-line poem consisting of twenty-two syllables: two in the first line, then four, then six, then eight, and then two syllables again in the last line.

Senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 morae. Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious.