Friday, April 26, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day twentyfive
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day twentyfour
struggle, or are not victorious, the losses
prepare yourself nor glorious
of the world,or our bed
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day twentythree
feel it all
but i don’t think
i want to—
it seems like work.
feel at all?
she said to me.
i was too high
to think about
how i feel
i could only
think of her
body next to
my body—
which is
not the same.
how many ways
are there
to feel awe:
you climb a mountain,
you find God,
a child is born,
you embrace
the new day;
help me
to stop forgetting.
Monday, April 22, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day twentytwo
What do you say after ten?
Do you even bother?
How do you decide?
Do you interrogate the reasons?
Share the new music?
Accept the small talk?
Do you require closure?
Is there time enough?
What are mine?
Sunday, April 21, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day twentyone
And everything is not okay
We had the necessary conversations
And you left the house for three days
When you come home you are silent
You head straight upstairs
And close the door to your room
This is how you turn the ones you love
Into intruders or strangers
This is how you tell them
You cannot ask the questions
The myth of youth is that actions
Don’t have consequences
That the insistence on freedoms
Bears no responsibilities
But I never thought I failed this much
There are so many regrets
My nights are full of them
But we cannot live there
I gather all my fears
And wonder how to invite you
To come and join me at the table
There is always room for you
My beautiful boy
Saturday, April 20, 2024
#NaPoWriMo day 2024
TO HEAR NOTHING SEE
SEE TO NOTHING HEAR
HEAR SEE TO NOTHING
NOTHING TO HEAR SEE
TO HEAR SEE NOTHING
SEE NOTHING TO HEAR
HEAR TO SEE NOTHING
NOTHING SEE TO HEAR
TO SEE NOTHING HEAR
SEE HEAR TO NOTHING
HEAR TO NOTHING SEE
NOTHING HEAR TO SEE
TO NOTHING SEE HEAR
SEE TO HEAR NOTHING
HEAR NOTHING TO SEE
Friday, April 19, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day nineteen
always watching
and still you failed
to protect her
by jealous Hera
or horny Zeus
Yet Hermes lulled you
with songs and stories
were given to the peacock
is small comfort
your shame is manifest
Thursday, April 18, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day eighteen
in many different ways
because of desire
or in spite of it
because of memory
or vain imaginations
because of youth
or because we age
through distraction
or too much attention
through much effort
or the lack thereof
through many questions
or the wrong answers
we learn to negotiate
the differences
we find ways to justify
the decisions made for us
the body is a great mystery
discover new ways to open it
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day seventeen
Not every book is helpful.
Not every book is a doorway.
Not every book is an anchor.
Not every book is a gift.
Not every book is an answer.
Not every book is necessary.
Not every book is a window.
Not every book is useful.
Not every book is yours.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day sixteen
of the famous gentleman
--the name I desire--
(one of those gentlemen
that keep a lance
in the lance-rack,
an old buckler,
a lean hack,
a greyhound for coursing)
was bordering on fifty;
he was of a hardy habit,
spare, gaunt-featured,
a very early riser and
a great sportsman
among the authors
(the subject)
it seems plain
he was called
it will be enough not to stray
from the truth
in the telling of it.
Monday, April 15, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day fifteen
it is difficult to imagine that
once the sky was so full that
now the sky is so empty
trees breaking under the weight
of all those hollowed bones
murmuring
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Saturday, April 13, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day thirteen
It was always looming in the background,
An unmoving thing
Anchored in my mind’s eye.
Base, face, peak—
In the stillness of the mountain
I prepared.
III
The mountain shifted over centuries.
There were so many stories.
IV
A man and a mountain
Can become one.
A woman and a mountain
Can become one.
V
There are choices:
The beauty of shelter
Or the beauty of exposure,
The wind whistling over the mountain
Or through the valley.
VI
Wind howled through the doorway,
Windows rattled.
The shadow of the mountain
Crossed over the threshold.
The light
Swallowed by shadow
Left traces of heat.
VII
O Travellers,
Why do you imagine all you need is time?
Do you not fear the mountain,
How it breaks the feet
Of all those who come to it?
VIII
I know noble ascents
And unanticipated retreats;
But I know, too,
The mountain has secrets
It will not share.
IX
When the mountain is out of sight
Its presence still sets itself
At the edge of your path.
X
At the sight of the mountain
In the half-light,
Even the bravest explorers
Grow faint.
XI
He crossed the Rockies
Under his own power.
Once, he feared
He mistook the shadows
He carried with him
For the weight of the mountains.
XII
The mountain never stops moving.
The mountain is an anchor.
XIII
The wind will always change.
Light would come
And light would go.
The mountain waited.
It would always wait.
Friday, April 12, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day twelve
anchored
at the skull’s base
bowed low
we forget to stretch
time tightens
and ties itself
to us, tests us
we forget how
to breathe
in tiny circles
we hope
there is an answer
voices to the left
keep moving
measure the distance
Thursday, April 11, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day eleven
Secrets were exchanged.
We had waited so long.
Why had we waited so long ?
In the midst of all our passion,
we feast.
Grind against each other
until we find our bones breaking
against our desire.
Promises were made.
We could wait generations.
How long could we wait,
weighed down by history?
We weep.
curled up in the folds of our skin
until we are raw with longing.
Prisoners of hope.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day ten
the strangeness – this seeking the presence of night
strangely, this revelation: the paucity of sight
strange; this fading delight
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day nine
S T O R M S W O R D S W A R M
W A R N S W
O R D S W A R N S
S W O R D S
W A R M S T O R M
W O R D S W
A R N S W O R D S
S W A R M S
T O R M S W O R D
S W O R D S
W A R M S T O R M
W O R D S W A R N S W O R D
S
S T O R M S
W O R D S W A R M
W A R N S W
O R D S W A R N S
S W A R M S
T O R M S W O R D
S W A R M S
T O R M S W O R D
W O R D S W
A R N S W A R N S
S W O R D S
W A R M S T O R M
W A R N S W
O R D S W O R D S
S T O R M S
W O R D S W A R M
S T O R M S
W O R D S W A R M
W O R D S W
A R N S W O R D S
S W O R D S
W A R M S T O R M
W A R N S W
O R D S W A R N S
S W A R M S
T O R M S W O R D
Monday, April 8, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day eight
we still insist on meaning
we cobble together an understanding
to help us move forward
or simply to move
we name the beauty we seek
or the dream we lost
we sound the depths
what hides beneath the words
i tell you the truth
i’ve been as honest as possible
the deep things of loss
or hope or fear or joy
there are statements and
then there are agreements
i don’t think that means
what you think that means
Sunday, April 7, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day seven
though a small thing
among the body’s parts
yet it sets on fire
the course of our life
beasts and birds
reptiles and creatures of the sea
are tamed and have been tamed
but no one can tame the tongue
the tongue can be a restless evil
the tongue can be full of deadly poison
with it we bless
with it we curse
people made in the image of God
from the same mouth
both blessing and cursing
brothers and sisters
Saturday, April 6, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day six
Where you start to dig
Be careful around the roots
As you dig around the roots
You must remove the entire weed
To avoid the propagation of weeds
To ensure the formation of fruit
The timely propagation of seed
How to measure the elements
Water in the proper amounts
How long to expose to the light
What stays hidden from the light
This delicate task of gardening
The heart and soul, the garden
Friday, April 5, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 day five
are gathered into pockets
and suddenly there’s no time
the days fold in on themselves
back and forth all the silences
Thursday, April 4, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 - day four
uncurlinguntold
yearsofslumber
likeaheartbeaten
withtoomuchloss
we’vewaitedtoolong
toabandonthejourney
ofunsaddlingshame
everymomentunspooling
ametronomemarkingtime
inthedeepcurrentsofnight
thissilencegivesbirthtowords
whichmayormaynotbearfruit
butremainnonethelesstrue
ifonlymyfearcouldrestinyou
oryoucouldtakejoyinitshearing
usbindingtogetherinthisthinair
allthisstretching
towardourhoped
forredemption
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 - day three
on an overcast autumn day in Seoul
Giant slabs of corroded steel slowly twisting
through a giant empty warehouse space
Walking between them everything shifted
or I shifted or I became aware of shifting
bodies moving through space, light
folding over the tops drifting down into corridors
Sound moving away from me and yet also amplified
as I walked and touched these metal skins
A slight vertigo that lessened
when I focussed on my footsteps, breathing
I found myself more anchored in my body
discovered a comfort in my own weight
found myself later testing that body against
what imposes fragility, or wakens awe.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 - day two
the melody of your body
the most important thing
under my skin
becomes the problem
how to solve mysteries
what you take hold of
beyond the words
takes hold of you
requires another language
in motion or at rest
a different kind of power
in sickness or in health
a surrender
late at night naked in bed
abandonment
or bathing in sunlight
a veil
sitting quiet with the birds
our hands
their thin bones
hollowed
a singular beauty
conducting us home
Monday, April 1, 2024
#NaPoWriMo 2024 - day one
but it was too beautiful outside
on the sectional
and all i can think about is
and drink enough water
a burden to others
the betrayal of my body
and the sun on my skin
with you again and again
Monday, March 18, 2024
NaPoWriMo 2024!
In Canada, the League of Canadian Poets has chosen weather as their theme, inviting us to "delve into the experiences, feelings, and inspiration that weather offers."
In the United States, the Academy of American Poets doesn't expressly have a theme but aims to celebrate "poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters."
There are, of course, others attempting this challenge, and you can find a global listing of participants at NaPoWriMo.
I haven't yet decided whether I will attempt to write a poem each day from scratch or try some more erasure/ extraction poems -- or perhaps even try some #vispo experiments!In any case, please follow along, make suggestions, offer critique, share...
Thursday, February 29, 2024
#NaHaiWriMo - curtains/ extra
to keep out the light
that draws around you
*
always one more thing
that leads to one more thing
leading to one less thing
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Monday, February 26, 2024
#NaHaiWriMo- spill/ favourite
we watch where we step
we need nimbler feet
*
i’m your “favourite”
favourite what?
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Friday, February 23, 2024
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Monday, February 19, 2024
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Saturday, February 17, 2024
#NaHaiWriMo - sculpture/ cardboard
*
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Monday, February 12, 2024
Sunday, February 11, 2024
#NaHaiWriMo - tangle/ toxic
and the wind blows
that way
like luggage
Friday, February 9, 2024
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Monday, February 5, 2024
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Saturday, February 3, 2024
Friday, February 2, 2024
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
#NaHaiWriMo 2024
February is National Haiku Writing Month, during which participants attempt to write at least one haiku every day (February being the shortest month).
I'll be participating again this year, though I reserve the right to not write a traditional haiku, and might explore some micropoetry instead (or "fragmental" poetry).Though they're meant for collage, I'll be using the februllage prompts as a starting point.
Feel free to join me, or follow along!