antithetical

it seems seas of storms’ve been

tended in the zen garden

will opposition end them?

mindfully

scripted disasters seeded into stones, sands and tea

ceremonies

centre of central fountain’s pattern random centre

off-course, of course

goldfish swim in impoverished formations

lively as corpses

unsuspecting

guests rest meditatively resistant

sands unshifting, kintsugi*-ed rocks rent asunder

dusty distant thoughts prevail

there are no mistakes , there is no…

consciousness

His Holiness enters, in pieces

holds his tea

in shaking hands

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btw

april 29 2024

Crispin School Library, Street, Somerset, UK

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*Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections.

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https://www.napowrimo.net

 Day 29 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.

my choice:- Antithetical

Song Title/Album: “Hits Different” / Midnights

Lyric: “Bet I could still melt your world / Argumentative, antithetical dream girl”

Definition: directly opposite or opposed

About the Word: The adjective antithetical and noun antithesis come from the Greek verb antitithenai (“to oppose”). The oldest sense of antithesis refers to a language pattern that contrasts parallel ideas, as in “action, not words” or “they promised liberty and provided oppression,” and antithetical originally referred to anything that was marked by such antithesis. For example, you could say “The phrase ‘action, not words’ is an antithetical construction.” It is more common, however, for antithesis to mean “the exact opposite” and for antithetical to mean “directly opposite,” as in “his shy demeanor seems antithetical to his dream of being a famous actor.” Usually antithetical is paired with to, as in the previous example, but in Taylor Swift’s song “Hits Different,” she seems to be using the word creatively in a way similar to oppositional.

after divorce

this is a centre

of my life : a garden with

a fountain , me , birds

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haiku

knot & twist tight

out of a heavy sky, light envisioning a moon’s ache

shapes of clouds, assassinated in soundless protests

griefs grated from soft salts dissolved in soft embrace — taste

this spineless destiny on one grain of time — lick

from relentless tides strained and clarified; curds from nothing

the gods must assume responsibility, surely

they gasp, in ragged tatters — no-one dies from love, fools!

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btw

april 28 2024

the rose and crown (Eli’s) Langport, Somerset, UK

ok , ok , ok, i didn’t quiet manage to fit to form, and made my sijo a seven liner!… it happened while i wasn’t watching, slipping away from me wickedly into 7×13 syllables… oh well…

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https://www.napowrimo.net

Day 28 prompt:- try your hand at writing a sijo. This is a traditional Korean verse form. A sijo has three lines of 14-16 syllables. The first line introduces the poem’s theme, the second discusses it, and the third line, which is divided into two sentences or clauses, ends the poem – usually with some kind of twist or surprise.

You could also write a sijo in six lines – at least when it comes to translating classical sijo into English, translators seem to have developed this habit, as you can see from these translations of poems by Jong Mong-Ju and U Tak.

losing you as a lover

for a moment you

were the sun, the moon, the stars

and i was blinded

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haiku

enterrement

can we start with a bang! and work

backwards as reluctant piglets scrummaged

at the funeral ; he’ll have everyone laughing

left wanting more, alas, the fact is we’re packed

in, fat and gristly people, rare breeds and bristly noble hogs

quaffing affable clammy clear broths from

horn rimmed cups — chestnuts! we cried

let there be chestnuts! — but what

we dug was truffles! Heatedly we became

a scene for a time, a frieze framed in glasses til

we buried our snouts in decline and

snorted more laughter than was good

for us— suddenly sober, we sobbed

merriment forgotten — we’ll miss him!

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btw

27 April 2024

the lime kiln, Knole, Somerset, UK

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https://www.napowrimo.net/

 Day 27 prompt :- to 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. Here are a few examples:

• Wanda Coleman’s American Sonnet (10)
• Terence Hayes’s American Sonnet for the New Year
• Ted Berrigan’s Sonnet LXXXVIII

If you’d like more specific instructions for how to get started, Write 253 has a great “formula” prompt for an American sonnet, which you can find here.

is it, life?

so much easier . . .

life as an insect or beast.

consciousness’s a bitch!

blessing of birds

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once upon a lemon-balm and thyme

while lolly-gagging along an autumn

alleyway, surfing the smells of wild fennels

and seeps of flowers about to sleep, i thought

i tuned into at tickle of an invitation from beneath my feet

winding my mind in tantalizing tendrils of delight…

.

an invitation to melt into late sunlight

meeting in a gilded forest clearing 

of a lilt of squirrels and rabbits

sitting in a circle

squabbling, quarrelling

furs a-quiver, whiskers erect

 or so i thought, 

as i thought to enquire ‘what’s the matter?’

the squirrels, startled, scattered

bereft, i called out ‘ what ails?’

to their departing tails

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i muttered

i thought i was invited to this russet reunion

by the earth moon and sun, why’ve you run, so suddenly

gone, why abandon your power-filled pow-wow now

have i overstepped? isn’t there more to come?

i thought i heard the squirrels giggle…

then a russle from the hedgerows released….

chatters of chaffinches and chicadees

lurches of larches and lapwings

itches of assorted insects and bees

winches of whip’o wills  and wispy winged things

tufts of titmouses and tiny-crested grouses

chills of sparrows and warblers and jackdaws and such

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such an uproarus chorus

as the squirrels squealed their solos and duets, the delectable architects of

such a higher choir

such as i was, no musician, i joined in the joyful din by mimicking

murmuring and whistling until well, well, well, past sunset

then as fluttering feathers settled and throbbing throats were rested

the hush-hushed squirrels and rabbits bid me sweet adieu and jolly goodnight

or so i thought…

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btw

april 26 2024

28 Market Place, Somerton, Somerset, UK

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https://www.napowrimo.net

Day 26 prompt:-

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.

Your poem doesn’t have to be as complex as all that, though. Just pick a consonant or two and a vowel and dive right into the wonderful world (hey, there’s some alliteration/consonance/assonance right there) of sound.

mantra after lover

i mutter ‘french film,

french film‘ for calm as i crawl

back to husband’s bed

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haïku

sorry you asked perhaps?

happiness?  — walking to the sea perhaps, growing wings, similarly

fears ?        –that there is nothing there

self-deplorable?        –unforgiveable, the stumbles of mauves on an un-smirched path

other-deplorable?         — unforgiveness, mumbles of purples on perfections of breaths

living admiration?             — walking towards this…what is the word for wordless…the Belovéd

extra extravagance?   — the taste of an open mouth, the open sea, uncompleted sentences meant to…

current state of mind?  — something similar to laughter, growing wings of seeping happiness, chaos, plenitudinal unidirectional gratitudes,

over-rated virtue?  — virtuousness itself perhaps

occasion to lie?  — in this moment perhaps

disliked appearance?  –wrinkles around and about my mouth, pinching

person despised?  — anyone anything that hurts anyone anything innocent

best manly qualities? – -steadfastly, courageously, vulnerably defending anyone anything vulnerable – and cry

best womanly qualities?  –the ability to love untiringly when grieving and still rise and do what it takes to feed the children and laugh – and cry

overused phrases perhaps?  –thank you thank you thank you good grief, goodness me, are you alright? sorry but…?

greatest love of my life?  –the flowers that release their perfumes even when trodden upon, the sun that rises and warms without the ask of it

when and where i find happiness?  –walking the path, warm wind on skin, legs long, lungs full of breath, going within, perhaps his hand in mine

most desire talent ?  –singing in sweetest pitch, humming to the rhythm of my own drums

changing one thing about myself ?  — from this moment forth, walk forward confidently, knowingly, not looking back

greatest achievement?   –something similar to laughter, growing wings

die to come back as?  –something similar to laughter, growing wings

desired place to live?  –somewhere similarly lilac or perhaps carpeted in sea-daisies

most treasured possession? – – conically crooked hatful of sky, my eyes, my sighs, tucked in my cheeks

lowiest depth of misery?  –suppression : little distant sounds of limitation

favourite occupation?  –something similar to laughter, growing wings

most marked characteristic?  –crack-potted whimsy, lolly-licking positivity

most valued in friendships?  –sailing into something similar to laughter

favourite writers ?  –non-sequiturs perhaps

hero of fiction?  –that would be me, laughing & growing wings

favourite names?  –ravens, wolves, daffodils, davids, alices, raindrops on roses…to name a few

most dislike?  –cruelty of any kind – –  lack of kindness — miserliness

greatest regret?  –not knowing yet

how would i like to die?   –( not yet perhaps, yet… )  knowingly. Willingly, while still alive to self

motto?  — walk toward the sea always to your left side repeating credendo vides repeatedly, all is well, all is well, perhaps

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btw

april 25 2024

White Hart, Somerton

Long Sutton, Langport

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https://www.napowrimo.net

write a poem based on the “Proust Questionnaire,” a set of questions drawn from Victorian-era parlor games, and adapted by modern interviewers. You could choose to answer the whole questionnaire, and then write a poem based on your answers, answer just a few, or just write a poem that’s based on the questions. You could even write a poem in the form of an entirely new Proust Questionnaire. We have a fairly standard, 35-question version of the questionnaire laid out for you below.

Happy writing!

• What is your idea of perfect happiness?
• What is your greatest fear?
• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
• What is the trait you most deplore in others?
• Which living person do you most admire?
• What is your greatest extravagance?
• What is your current state of mind?
• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
• On what occasion do you lie?
• What do you most dislike about your appearance?
• Which living person do you most despise?
• What is the quality you most like in a man?
• What is the quality you most like in a woman?
• Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
• What or who is the greatest love of your life?
• When and where were you happiest?
• Which talent would you most like to have?
• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
• What do you consider your greatest achievement?
• If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
• Where would you most like to live?
• What is your most treasured possession?
• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
• What is your favorite occupation?
• What is your most marked characteristic?
• What do you most value in your friends?
• Who are your favorite writers?
• Who is your hero of fiction?
• Which historical figure do you most identify with?
• Who are your heroes in real life?
• What are your favorite names?
• What is it that you most dislike?
• What is your greatest regret?
• How would you like to die? 
• What is your motto?

late night feast

spoon smeared with chocolate

paste, just to taste. . . mmmmm, just eat spoon

and ditch the paste!

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haiku