Poetry Prompt for April 6, 2023

History of National Poetry Writing Month

National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada.

This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.

My History with National Poetry Writing Month

I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021.

What I am doing differently for Poetry Month

For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast.

Todays Poetry Prompt

Uncertainty: Think about a time in your life when you couldn’t make a decision and write based on this.

Todays Poem

Two of Swords 

3 Feb 2023 

Mancave 

 

When opening the deck for the first time 

You couldn’t wait to identify me 

So, you tumbled out and landed on the ground first 

Pushing aside all the other cards 

You knew me before I knew me 

I read the future of others 

Gave them advice with your tutelage 

But nothing for me 

No vision of what was to come 

Just the two of swords 

And the reflection of indecision 

Standing outside a hotel room 

The night before we were to be wed 

My soon-to-be betrothed was asleep, snoring 

And me smoking and thinking about what was next 

Do I...

History of National Poetry Writing Month

National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada.

This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.

My History with National Poetry Writing Month

I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021.

What I am doing differently for Poetry Month

For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast.

Todays Poetry Prompt

Uncertainty: Think about a time in your life when you couldn’t make a decision and write based on this.

Todays Poem

Two of Swords 

3 Feb 2023 

Mancave 

 

When opening the deck for the first time 

You couldn’t wait to identify me 

So, you tumbled out and landed on the ground first 

Pushing aside all the other cards 

You knew me before I knew me 

I read the future of others 

Gave them advice with your tutelage 

But nothing for me 

No vision of what was to come 

Just the two of swords 

And the reflection of indecision 

Standing outside a hotel room 

The night before we were to be wed 

My soon-to-be betrothed was asleep, snoring 

And me smoking and thinking about what was next 

Do I grab a cab and never darken the commonwealth’s door 

Tell Old Dominion that it will not have my soul again 

Yes, I stayed 

Yes, I was wed to my betrothed 

Yes, I added to the population 

Yes, I voted blue to make us more purple 

And on my weak and battered arm 

I have placed you 

My card of indecision 

My card that holds me back 

That feeds my insecurities 

You are a part of me 

Making me an expert of second-guessing 

But you don’t stop me like you used to 

Or maybe I don’t let you stop me 

Maybe I give you some time  

To dance in my insomnia 

But your influence is short-lived 

And I push forward  

Finally, out of your grasp  

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