Poetry competition CLOSED 30th April 2024 5:12pm
A public vote has been requested
2024 Official DUP NaPoWriMo Challenge
26/30
Jump! How High?
Once again I’m adrift
Left to sift through the mire
Sorely alone and wondering
How it is this ending came to be
I loved you so with abandon
It wasn’t enough you needed more
I haven’t the luxury of relaxing
In the warmth of your embrace
You made sure of that
Philandering eyes and roving heart
And me, more the fool
Still willing to jump
at the snap of your fingers
54 u/w
Jump! How High?
Once again I’m adrift
Left to sift through the mire
Sorely alone and wondering
How it is this ending came to be
I loved you so with abandon
It wasn’t enough you needed more
I haven’t the luxury of relaxing
In the warmth of your embrace
You made sure of that
Philandering eyes and roving heart
And me, more the fool
Still willing to jump
at the snap of your fingers
54 u/w
26/30
Heretofore First Blush
I was pleasantly surprised
to hear a rapid-fire clicks
in succession of one
another, at 3am,
this morning
I know that’s the sounds
of happy Hummingbirds
What I didn’t know
is they are up flitting
about that early!!
The Finches, Sparrows
Cardinals, Doves, Quails,
and Turtledoves
all rise around 5:30am
The predators are up
at dawn –
save for the Owls
Who hoot until
their bedtime
at 6am
I am up and down at all hours of the night and day
60 unique words
Heretofore First Blush
I was pleasantly surprised
to hear a rapid-fire clicks
in succession of one
another, at 3am,
this morning
I know that’s the sounds
of happy Hummingbirds
What I didn’t know
is they are up flitting
about that early!!
The Finches, Sparrows
Cardinals, Doves, Quails,
and Turtledoves
all rise around 5:30am
The predators are up
at dawn –
save for the Owls
Who hoot until
their bedtime
at 6am
I am up and down at all hours of the night and day
60 unique words
26/30
Spice On The Wind
One small terror is but
anothers miracle rendered
out of the seemingly irrelevant
and hardly noticed
drifting it follows form
to be ubiquitous
Scant to the eyes and formless
singeing all insights
to mesmerize and allure
following its own chaos
existing within a world
of the omnicient rein
as if to mock such greatness
that unseen things can hold
and just let loose with no warning
it rises on the wind to endure
and set standards to vex
and also enlighten
66 uw
Spice On The Wind
One small terror is but
anothers miracle rendered
out of the seemingly irrelevant
and hardly noticed
drifting it follows form
to be ubiquitous
Scant to the eyes and formless
singeing all insights
to mesmerize and allure
following its own chaos
existing within a world
of the omnicient rein
as if to mock such greatness
that unseen things can hold
and just let loose with no warning
it rises on the wind to endure
and set standards to vex
and also enlighten
66 uw
26/30
Delay
Mastering urges via delayed gratification
It’s not really about denying pleasure
Or punishment
But attaining a higher form of self-actualization
Easily giving in into our whims and impulses
Reduces the bar of discipline and control
Because by the time a true reward is earned
The prize won’t be as satisfying
We live in a world where instant pleasure is the norm
Becoming numb and seeking for more
Edging closer to the realms of compulsion and addiction
And in a way losing a sense of freedom
By exercising this delay
Logic and anticipation helps build a steady discipline
Where achieving goals in the long term
Can lead to a life of fulfillment and happiness
83 Unique
113 Total
Delay
Mastering urges via delayed gratification
It’s not really about denying pleasure
Or punishment
But attaining a higher form of self-actualization
Easily giving in into our whims and impulses
Reduces the bar of discipline and control
Because by the time a true reward is earned
The prize won’t be as satisfying
We live in a world where instant pleasure is the norm
Becoming numb and seeking for more
Edging closer to the realms of compulsion and addiction
And in a way losing a sense of freedom
By exercising this delay
Logic and anticipation helps build a steady discipline
Where achieving goals in the long term
Can lead to a life of fulfillment and happiness
83 Unique
113 Total
26/30
Noise
I cannot tune out
the sound around
head spinning
heart does pound
saturating
all my thinking
eyes blurred
surely sinking
unable to dull
sharp noises about
manic spiral
without doubt
wicked trick
mind does play
devoid the calm
lost my way
smothered in volume
to no end
stop it now
my will does bend
holding breath
needing ease
far too much
save me please
Noise
I cannot tune out
the sound around
head spinning
heart does pound
saturating
all my thinking
eyes blurred
surely sinking
unable to dull
sharp noises about
manic spiral
without doubt
wicked trick
mind does play
devoid the calm
lost my way
smothered in volume
to no end
stop it now
my will does bend
holding breath
needing ease
far too much
save me please
26/30
Digital theft
There is a space in my brain
where poems used to form,
an electrical signal that searched
a creative library for an interesting book.
The idea was stamped by the librarian
and I was able to read it for a week.
It could be that all the books are out,
All I know is that the shelves are empty.
It could be that everything is now digital
and I just need to find a new way
to access the all the random data
sort out my noughts and ones.
At the moment I’m blaming AI
My theory is that it’s now found a way
to access our phones and has been
sending out algorithm ear worms
that take my poetry ideas
back to a central hub
extracting all the would be thoughts
and leaving my brain empty.
Well, how else could AI poetry be so crap.
Digital theft
There is a space in my brain
where poems used to form,
an electrical signal that searched
a creative library for an interesting book.
The idea was stamped by the librarian
and I was able to read it for a week.
It could be that all the books are out,
All I know is that the shelves are empty.
It could be that everything is now digital
and I just need to find a new way
to access the all the random data
sort out my noughts and ones.
At the moment I’m blaming AI
My theory is that it’s now found a way
to access our phones and has been
sending out algorithm ear worms
that take my poetry ideas
back to a central hub
extracting all the would be thoughts
and leaving my brain empty.
Well, how else could AI poetry be so crap.
#26
Many masks
We are wearing many masks
Many faces, such a task
We are warping an illusion
Through many realms and much delusion
Let there be no confusion
This life we have all choosen
To be part of such illusion
We lose our minds but keep on choosing
Now what here takes your fancy
In this here reality
Tell me what you can sense and see
Trapped inside our own paralyses
Through these spaces and this rhyme
We are playing all the time
With our words and with these sounds
Makes one wonder if we’re real
Unique word count: 70
Many masks
We are wearing many masks
Many faces, such a task
We are warping an illusion
Through many realms and much delusion
Let there be no confusion
This life we have all choosen
To be part of such illusion
We lose our minds but keep on choosing
Now what here takes your fancy
In this here reality
Tell me what you can sense and see
Trapped inside our own paralyses
Through these spaces and this rhyme
We are playing all the time
With our words and with these sounds
Makes one wonder if we’re real
Unique word count: 70
26 of 30
On one.
Time is always flitting,
Giving what I can,
And the best placed
Amongst the immediacy.
Where to much
Is paced,
In steep steps with patience,
Pushing on.
And to little,
Touched with solo violin song.
Where what and how
Is still,
A balance tipping in the scales,
As they merge into one.
And love stands for
Love alone.
In those present and departed,
In those,
Wayward and at home.
And most at home,
I’m found.
By nature bound in thought or,
At play.
On one.
Time is always flitting,
Giving what I can,
And the best placed
Amongst the immediacy.
Where to much
Is paced,
In steep steps with patience,
Pushing on.
And to little,
Touched with solo violin song.
Where what and how
Is still,
A balance tipping in the scales,
As they merge into one.
And love stands for
Love alone.
In those present and departed,
In those,
Wayward and at home.
And most at home,
I’m found.
By nature bound in thought or,
At play.
#26 of 30
Saying Goodbye
Along the shingled beach
past where we had used to walk,
and where I would have been ahead,
now down towards the shore
under a grey
and slightly melancholy sky,
here we each say a few words
I say
"Goodbye Grandma"
but hope she'll always be with me,
towards the incoming waves
to let the sea claim her ashes
So that she and Grandad
and other now-past-on friends
can all be together,
and in my memory.
(Unique Words: 61)
Saying Goodbye
Along the shingled beach
past where we had used to walk,
and where I would have been ahead,
now down towards the shore
under a grey
and slightly melancholy sky,
here we each say a few words
I say
"Goodbye Grandma"
but hope she'll always be with me,
towards the incoming waves
to let the sea claim her ashes
So that she and Grandad
and other now-past-on friends
can all be together,
and in my memory.
(Unique Words: 61)
26/30
So You Want to Try a Triolet - ABaAabAB
You want to try a triolet?
Iambic feet is what you need.
ti TUM, ti TUM. Do not forget.
You want to try a triolet.
Choose your refrains and do not fret,
Pick stellar rhymes, you will succeed.
You want to try a triolet –
iambic feet is what you need.
ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM!
Four iambs make the line, you see.
Unstressed, then stressed, the words will come.
ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM!
The rhyme scheme sings, it’s lots of fun:
A B, a A, a b, A B!
ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM –
four iambs make the line, you see.
The A repeats, so does the B.
So keep your As and Bs in line.
Take special care, and then you’ll see
the A repeats, so does the B.
Then once you’ve tried, I guarantee
you’ll find you like this French design.
The A repeats, so does the B.
So keep those As and Bs in line.
So You Want to Try a Triolet - ABaAabAB
You want to try a triolet?
Iambic feet is what you need.
ti TUM, ti TUM. Do not forget.
You want to try a triolet.
Choose your refrains and do not fret,
Pick stellar rhymes, you will succeed.
You want to try a triolet –
iambic feet is what you need.
ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM!
Four iambs make the line, you see.
Unstressed, then stressed, the words will come.
ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM!
The rhyme scheme sings, it’s lots of fun:
A B, a A, a b, A B!
ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM, ti TUM –
four iambs make the line, you see.
The A repeats, so does the B.
So keep your As and Bs in line.
Take special care, and then you’ll see
the A repeats, so does the B.
Then once you’ve tried, I guarantee
you’ll find you like this French design.
The A repeats, so does the B.
So keep those As and Bs in line.
26/30
Spectrum
forever I have been
the ever-obedient daughter,
doting and submissive wife
wise and loving mother -
every mask a hiding place for me;
inside the facade of proper greetings,
I’ve hidden away my apathy,
schooled my features to fit in;
a symmetrical smile allows for errors
gaining you grace at every faux pas,
they think I don’t know, when I
blurt my innards outwardly, their
glazed eyes grow stone still and I can
see them escape my torrent, if only
for a moment, then coming into focus,
scrambling to catch the thread,
a quick nod of understanding the
only encouragement I need to press on;
spilling, spewing, exorcising demons
over breakfast
Spectrum
forever I have been
the ever-obedient daughter,
doting and submissive wife
wise and loving mother -
every mask a hiding place for me;
inside the facade of proper greetings,
I’ve hidden away my apathy,
schooled my features to fit in;
a symmetrical smile allows for errors
gaining you grace at every faux pas,
they think I don’t know, when I
blurt my innards outwardly, their
glazed eyes grow stone still and I can
see them escape my torrent, if only
for a moment, then coming into focus,
scrambling to catch the thread,
a quick nod of understanding the
only encouragement I need to press on;
spilling, spewing, exorcising demons
over breakfast
#26
Deprived Dreams
I'm breaking down
In mid of day
The connections
That keep the peace
'Tween truth and lies
Ripping back drapes
Monsters flashing
Before my eyes
Cogs tearing down
Machinery
Overheating
Cognition slips
Brain in first gear
Red lights seem green
Heading full speed
Something Inside
Scream. Screams! SCREAMING!!
Brakes glowing red
Heart shakes and aches
Adrenaline
Quick infusion
Caffeine can't match
Carries safely
My return home
Deprived Dreams
I'm breaking down
In mid of day
The connections
That keep the peace
'Tween truth and lies
Ripping back drapes
Monsters flashing
Before my eyes
Cogs tearing down
Machinery
Overheating
Cognition slips
Brain in first gear
Red lights seem green
Heading full speed
Something Inside
Scream. Screams! SCREAMING!!
Brakes glowing red
Heart shakes and aches
Adrenaline
Quick infusion
Caffeine can't match
Carries safely
My return home
26/30
Nyctophobia
When an impressionable child
darkness I could not abide
Every night when out went the light
petrified I lay in bed
Feeling so vulnerable, so isolated,
Left alone, with no protector
for they were fast asleep
or gone to heaven.
My only safe haven,
an impervious blanket fortress.
When overcome by fear
of creeping, crawling, slithering things;
the gnarly monster hands
reaching up from under the bed
my skinny neck to wring
I would frantically dive
deep under the covers.
Where, yes, it was darker still
but I was the giant
ruling that cavernous citadel.
Reaching supposed maturity
I grew to embrace obscurity.
when I learned to let my eyes adjust
Realizing that rarely
are we left without some light
I fully embraced the night
Increasingly appreciating the stillness,
The peace that comes from near silence
Yet even now, in my ancient state,
If found in a place unfamiliar,
Darkness just may instigate
the uneasiness of an unknown fate,
pangs of anxiety, fearful shivers.
Unique word count: 123
Nyctophobia
When an impressionable child
darkness I could not abide
Every night when out went the light
petrified I lay in bed
Feeling so vulnerable, so isolated,
Left alone, with no protector
for they were fast asleep
or gone to heaven.
My only safe haven,
an impervious blanket fortress.
When overcome by fear
of creeping, crawling, slithering things;
the gnarly monster hands
reaching up from under the bed
my skinny neck to wring
I would frantically dive
deep under the covers.
Where, yes, it was darker still
but I was the giant
ruling that cavernous citadel.
Reaching supposed maturity
I grew to embrace obscurity.
when I learned to let my eyes adjust
Realizing that rarely
are we left without some light
I fully embraced the night
Increasingly appreciating the stillness,
The peace that comes from near silence
Yet even now, in my ancient state,
If found in a place unfamiliar,
Darkness just may instigate
the uneasiness of an unknown fate,
pangs of anxiety, fearful shivers.
Unique word count: 123
26/30
Lostness/&/Vastness
Black rainbow leads back-to-black
Extravagance of brilliance surfacing: Essence
Lostness & vastness distilled unto: Will
Purpose in diversity of verse: Enlisting into the mystery
Strangest of places – Sounds of shells and embrace
Where I will study your face like the secret of it all
Every drift becomes a destination – Formations of manifestations
The most beautiful line made up of line/s and times
Every alignment aligning: Aligned
Mind made to unravel and find design: Designed
Colors assigned a line into the heights of: The high
Lostness/&/Vastness
Black rainbow leads back-to-black
Extravagance of brilliance surfacing: Essence
Lostness & vastness distilled unto: Will
Purpose in diversity of verse: Enlisting into the mystery
Strangest of places – Sounds of shells and embrace
Where I will study your face like the secret of it all
Every drift becomes a destination – Formations of manifestations
The most beautiful line made up of line/s and times
Every alignment aligning: Aligned
Mind made to unravel and find design: Designed
Colors assigned a line into the heights of: The high
26/30
Napo 2024 Day 26
Let’s just write something poetic.
About a thing that makes you tick
and helps make you tock.
I am up against the clock.
Why does free expression
escape me in this session?
Hungry, but my sleepy eyes prevail.
Visiting a dreamland on a big scale.
Caught in the purples and pink.
Here, I do not have to think.
[Unique Words 51]
Napo 2024 Day 26
Let’s just write something poetic.
About a thing that makes you tick
and helps make you tock.
I am up against the clock.
Why does free expression
escape me in this session?
Hungry, but my sleepy eyes prevail.
Visiting a dreamland on a big scale.
Caught in the purples and pink.
Here, I do not have to think.
[Unique Words 51]
