National Poetry Writing Month Day 19

Create Art Podcast

What is National Poetry Writing Month?

Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.

The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:

NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.

Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today

Finally, here’s our prompt – optional, as always! This one comes to us from Moist Poetry Journal, which posted this prompt by K-Ming Chang a while back:

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

Poem for Today

Haunted, Hunted By

19 April 24

I saw the look on her face

The horror of almost losing her life

I heard the way she tried to speak but no words formed

When the words did come forth

She sounded like the 4-year-olds she would never know

I felt the leathery skin

Tissue paper thin, veins easily seen but not easily pierced

I smelled the stains on her fingers

And the ashtray breath when she kissed my cheek

Her heart had given out

She was initially unable to speak

The one who was so protective of me

Was now the one that I protected

Her dead body with makeup on that she would never wear

I said goodbye to that corpse knowing there was nothing there

Walking back from the park

At the start of the pandemic

My left side turned off

From shoulder to toe there was nothing there

Walking between my two children

Each one holding me up

On the left was my child who reminded me of the mother I lost

On my right was the child that reminded me of my fury and anxiety

They got me home without incident

And I laid on the couch

Unable to tell my wife what I was feeling

Worse yet, unable to tell her what I wasn’t feeling

I didn’t end up in a pine box that day

My speech has slowed a bit, halts from time to time

I can hear it, but no one else notices

I can feel the oblivion coming but no one else listens

I quiet myself in preparation

The end will be lonely

Even if I am surrounded by my loved ones

I will be unable to say it is time

I make plans to leave a sign for when it’s time to die

Wanting to be braver, as an example

But feeling that creeping doom just a step behind

Laying on my back in a hospital

With people mourning my loss

Is not how I want to go out

Is not how I want to face the reaper when they come

I always wanted it to be a fight that would make the gods notice

Explosions and gnashing of teeth

But a quiet death hunts me

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