Tag Archives: NaPoWriMo2023

not a-mused

not a-mused 

my muse annoys me
stirring up words, uninspired
where they settle like dusty
cliches, old and tired
if I could, I’d tell my muse, ‘you’re fired!’

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge Day Twelve: Write a poem that addresses itself or some aspect of its self (i.e., “Dear Poem,” or “what are my quatrains up to?”; “Couplet, come with me . . .”)

For today challenge, a short form I created called the Horatiodet.

The Horatiodet is a total of 5 lines, syllable count: 5-7-7-5-9 / rhyme scheme: ababb. In other words, it is a short Horatian Ode (only one stanza), a form based on the style of Horace, Quintus Horatius Flaccus (December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC), the leading Roman lyric poet.


questionable sources

questionable sources 

it’s true
you know it is
it’s on the internet
that’s all the proof anyone needs
no lie

~kat

NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day Eleven: Write a poem that takes as its starting point something overheard that made you laugh, or something someone told you once that struck you as funny.

Cinquain 2-4-6-8-2

one-sided

one-sided 

you don’t hear me when I say I love you
I’m paying for the demons of your past
after all these years, still you have to ask
you can’t believe I’ll stay forever true

I wonder if there’s more that I can do
to prove my love, or would it be a waste
it’s exhausting when my effort is misplaced
it’s worth reminding you what we’ve been through

we’ve seen it all, the better and the worst
sickness, yours and mine, and family too
adversity, met head on, we two pulled through
if I had to choose, you know I’d pick you first

so tell me darling dear, do you love me
please spare me all this effort, set me free

~kat

I am not a fan of sonnets. But a challenge is a challenge. Chewed on this all day. Obligatory sonnet penned. Glad this is done. 


NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge Day Nine: Sunday Sonnet - write your own sonnet. Incorporate tradition as much or as little as you like – while keeping in general to the theme of “love.”

In general, though, here are the main characteristics that define most sonnets:
* Number of Lines: 14
* Meter: Typically iambic pentameter
* Rhyme Scheme: Petrarchan (abba abba cde cde or abba abba cdc dcd) or Shakespearean (abab cdcd efef gg), among many others
* Unique Qualities: Contains a volta (twist or turn) closer to the end of the sonnet
* Common Themes: Typically love and romance but also faith, time, personal emotions, and social/political matters

clean up needed on aisle 5

clean up needed on aisle 5

my mind is a junk drawer
it gets me nowhere
you know, I feel everything
I think you see what I’m saying,
Judy, at the Dollar General checkout
I’m going home now
but not before I check the clearance aisle
like I need more crap in my downsized life
i just might be a closeted hoarder
I’m just kidding (but you’re thinking I’m not)
the crazy rant of lunacy
and a smile that hides sadness
I’ll have you know that I have overcome every adversity, untouched
she’s super woman, mistress of her universe
they will remember that when I’m gone
such brilliant fool
who believed she could have it all and died trying
c'est la vie
“You know you don’t need us,”said the junk on aisle 5
have a nice day Judy, keep the change

~kat

Well…today’s challenge was a bear! (See what I did there? 😊). And it took a very dark turn before I knew what was happening! That said, I feel I must make the following disclaimer …the reference to first person in this poem is a purely fictional representation prompted by the weird list of prompts below…haha! I am definitely not a hoarder, closeted or otherwise, I am certainly no Wonder Woman and I am most definitely a bit “touched”, as they say, by life! So glad we cleared that up from the git-go! 🤪

NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge – Day Eight: And here are the twenty little projects themselves — the challenge is to use them all in one poem:

1.  Begin the poem with a metaphor.

2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.

3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.

4. Use one example of synesthesia (mixing the senses).

5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.

6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.

7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.

8. Use a word (slang?) you’ve never seen in a poem.

9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.

10. Use a piece of talk you’ve actually heard (preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand).

11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: “The (adjective) (concrete noun) of (abstract noun) . . .”

12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.

13. Make the persona or character in the poem do something he or she could not do in “real life.”

14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.

15. Write in the future tense, such that part of the poem seems to be a prediction.

16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.

17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.

18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.

19. Make a non-human object say or do something human (personification).

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that “echoes” an image from earlier in the poem.


fish stick Jesus … thoughts and prayers

Fred Whan’s Fish Stick Jesus
David Howlett’s Naan Jesus
Toby Elles’ Frying Pan Jesus
Fish Stick Jesus

He was sighted on a fish stick,
on a pancake and grilled cheese,
Some say it was a miracle
so the faithful flocked to see.

They found him in his glory
on a toasted slice of naan
he gazed from ripe banana peels
and from unrinsed fry pans.

I know you won’t believe it
but they saw him in the clouds
as if coming for his chosen
from amongst the gathering crowds.

Ever watchful for their savior
leaving no stained rock unturned
the hopeful ever seeking
eager for his grand return.

So He came to them in person
wide-eyed, lost, without a home
in the hopes that they would know him
welcome him in, as their own.

But they ne’er saw him coming
turned away and closed their ears
for he looked too much like “others”
that the righteous ones all feared.

“We’ve just enough, we’ve none to spare,
don’t bother us,” they said,
and hovered round their idols
of his images instead.

When end of days for each one came
they waited at the gate
to give account of their life’s deeds
and learn about their fate.

“We saw you everywhere,” they said,
“and gave you proper due…
enshrined your image high and low
we stayed forever true!”

To their surprise the Master then
did shake his head and say,
“I only came to see you once
‘twas then you turned away.”

~kat

NaPoWriMo2023 Challenge – Day 7: a list poem. For today…after being buried in expense reports, power point presentations, spreadsheets, for about 12 hours straight, my brain is a bit fried. But never fear, I found this gem in my archive, written almost a decade ago. It fits the list requirement rather well, I think. Tomorrow, if the fates are kind, I’ll prepare a fresh baked poem. Until then, Peace and Love my lovelies! 😉