NaPo 2023 Stomp The Prompt Comp

Only active NaPo 2023 participants are allowed to enter this comp, non-qualifying entries will be removed!

FOUNDERS: Ahavati & JohnnyBlaze
HOST: PoetsRevenge

TEAM NAPO: Ahavati, Eerie, PoetsRevenge, Cabcool, Josh, SummerRain75, LunaGreyhawk, Wallyroo92, Cipher_0, Wafflenose, Fiftysevenhours, LJdynamic, Webmiss, JohnnyBlaze, Founder/Director Emeritus

NOTICE: Off Topic, Banter, Drama, and non-registrant Posts will be removed by a moderator. Only poem entries are to be posted to the NaPo challenge thread and NaPo Prompt Comp thread. Please visit the NaPo Discussion thread in the Speakeasy forum for comments, suggestions, frustrations, assistance, and/or general banter at the link below:

https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/speakeasy/read/12470/15/#559700

Kind regards, Team NaPo'23


The RULES!

1) NaPo 2023 participants may enter as many of their Prompt inspired poems here as possible by either linking to (enter comp) or copy/pasting (hit reply). Any prompt number can be used on any day of the month and in any order and prompts may be repeated.

2) Base your entry on either your own interpretation of the quoted lines in the prompt, if there are any, or the prompt idea or both. Adding your own quote is allowed. It can range from comical to serious.

3) After your poem (at the bottom of your post), Hashtag your entry with the corresponding prompt you used. For example: #22

4) You are not required to post these poems in the Official DU NaPoWriMo 2023 Challenge (but if you do, be certain they adhere to the Rules of that comp and copy/paste only, as no linking is allowed in the official challenge).

5) No erotica, extreme content, nor allusions to such are allowed.

6) Writes must be new and not published anywhere prior to 12AM April 1, 2023 your time zone.

Winner of the Trophee will be decided by a panel of Team NaPo judges.

May the Most Entertaining Prompt Inspired Poem Win!


Napo 2023 Prompts:

1) "We can't let the next generation grow up without heroes. Some of us have to fight on!" ~Avijeet Das
Write about the next generation if there were no heroes.

2) "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Write about a time you inadvertently became the monster you hated.

3) Mythology can be defined as the sacred history of humankind. ~Gerald Hausman
Write about a mythological god/dess that you identify with most.

4) "In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot" ~Czeslaw Milosz
Write a poem capturing the moment when a 'pistol shot' of truth is spoken.

5) Write about mythology, faith, religion, spirituality, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, archetypes, gods, demigods, cult leaders, prophets.

6) Write about fictional characters from literature, comics, movies, tv or gaming.

7) Write about someone real you admire, fear, are influenced by; essential workers, parents, veterans, activists as examples.

8) Write about a fictional character you create, envision, describe, tell a tale of,someone/something semi-fictional, a hybrid of real and imaginary, or a robot or cyborg.

9) Reflect on yourself as/becoming a hero, monster or god, what would it look and feel like, how do others see you, what would your challenges and goals be, do you feel deserving of these titles.

10) Write philosophically about the subject of heroism, monsters or gods, are they real or created in our minds, whom or what qualifies or not and why, how are these labels determined and defined, or does doubt exist in atheism, nihilism, fearlessness, apathy.

11) Write a poem about someone you consider to be an unsung hero.

12) Write a poem about Teruo Nakamura, (listed in The Book of Heroic Failures) who was a soldier who did not realise the war ended in 1945, and who kept on 'fighting' until 1974 surrendering only when his hide-out was discovered and local soldiers came to investigate.

13) "She doesn't just take the road less travelled; she paves it as she braves it, and carves her name into its wet concrete." ~Broms The Poet
Write about the path appearing only as you walk it, step by step.

14) Write about the symbolism or impact of animals/living things as divine, damned, misunderstood, etc. examples: sacred animals, endangered or invasive species, a favorite animal, how would they affect things, speak, define themselves, communicate.

15) Write about aquatic or land creatures, myths, legends or known species, their history, habitat, lives and connection to the ecosystem or an adventure tale or search, discovery, curse, or cloak in mystery.

16) Write an outer space or cosmic tale, where might you go, what might you see, whom might you encounter, how would it feel and would you return different than before if you did.

17) Write about the concept of Frankenstein's monster and how a being with no soul would grapple with its humanity.

18) Choose a historical figure and write about the act of heroism they performed that changed the course of history.

19) Write about a time when you made the decision to take "The Road Less Traveled" and how it changed you.

20) "I take my cue from deeds, not words" ~Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Write about action over words of intent.

21) "Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again."
~Homer, The Iliad
Write about a moment where you were fully present and available for whatever happened and how the senses anchored you to that moment.

22) "The most sublime act is to set another before you" ~William Blake
Unpack how this concept relates to the society in which we currently live.

23) Write about someone from more than one aspect, a chameleon changing or embodying a hero, monster or god at different times, do these labels overlap and seem to merge or stand alone, are they subjective or obvious.

24) Write using personification, a poetic literary device in which non-living things are given human traits, examples: reality as a monster, worship or fear of something,  something which saved the day.

25) Write about your first childhood comic/film superhero.

26) If you could have any genetic mutation that would give you a special super power, what would you hope for (example: opposable thumb on your feet, gills, third arm) Write about how you would move about with it, use it for good or evil, attempt to hide it altogether. Or, discovering that you or someone else is/becoming immortal, would life experience differ from mere mortals, be awkward or amazing?

27) "Where are our fathers, O warriors! The chiefs of times of old? They have set, like stars that have shone..Thus they shall pass away, in the day of our fall..Then let us be renowned when we may..like the last beams of the sun.."
~from "Temora" in the poems of Ossian by James Macpherson.
"Prepare a noble death song for the day you pass over the great divide."
~Chief Tecumseh
Prepare your own noble death song to remember a hero that makes you stand and fight the good fight.

28) Did you have an imaginary friend in childhood? Tell us about them, did they help you through a tough time?

29) Write out your fantasy, nightmare; an imaginary adventure, angel, guardian, adversary, guide, challenger, human or otherwise, what or who would you envision or dream of?

30) A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. ~ Christopher Reeve
Write about a time that you were your own hero by overcoming the urge to give up against unsurmountable obstacles.

Welcome, NaPo peeps ! Who saved you, haunted you, or made you? Are heros, monsters and gods in a matrix of our imaginings, or simply all too real to face.  From our earliest, vaguest memories to our vividest moments, a spectrum of characters persist and pervade, reflecting those same qualities existing in ourselves like mirrors. Who or what is in your mirror?  

#3. A somewhat loose interpretation of the prompt, and a niche deity/deities used!

We're off to a great start, here, NaPo peeps, really touching on the themes philosophies!

Peggysoarus

As silvered wings
shrug off the gale
night descends long
her spectre pale

High above it all
soaring in the mists
a soul gallops untethered
in a heavenly tryst

To feel her heart beat
is to flutter great wings
and drift into sleep
as moondust she brings

A creature of myth
birthed from aspiration
look to the star cluster
and view minds creation

               #3

... and that has made no difference whatsoever

The path snaked its way through the forest,
then decided to split into two,
a poet came by and stood wondering
whatever on earth he should do.

'There's a massive absence of signposts,
and I don't know which road to take.
Both the right and the left look inviting,
I hope I don't make a mistake.'

Now the way to the left was narrow,
not many had chosen to take it,
the walk would be very hard going,
and only a fool could mistake it;

but the path to the right was frequented
by many a pair of shoes,
and for any sensible person
this would be the right path to choose.

However, our man was a poet,
not for him the sensible way!
'I'm a poet, not a sheep!' he decided,
and took the left without further delay.

Well, he was stung and scratched by brambles,
and in mud he had many a skid,
but he thought in the end it'd be worth it —
after all, this was what Frosty did!

So he squelched his way through this quagmire,
and conceive his surprise when
the path took a sudden twist to the right
and joined the well-travelled road again!

'Bugger! and blast it!' he thundered.
'Of poems I've had my lot!'
then he went off to be a banker,
just like T. S. Eliot.

____

#19

We're stomping on through with some great work here, NaPo peeps !

She Used to Mollycoddle ~

The first Deity born of Chaos,
She commands, entreats us
not to harm this planet
but to enjoy the bounty
employing our
sight, sound and touch

Pretty certain we were all wards
in the beginning when
mankind came into being
under Her watchful sight

No temples required
for Her forests and caves
were the place for homage
Although not on purpose,
often, when i meditate
while on a nature walk
i feel Her . . .
leas hugging my feet
winds embracing
rain cleansing
tree whispering


Flora, Fauna & Fae
Worship and Honor
Her throughout Her keep
i suspect we, today
have forgotten this duty


#3

Freekenomind

Hollow eyes, plastic hair
only a cyborg to ahead stare
Single minded or no mind
heart in stasis not unkind
Given to walk with legs unflexed
looked upon with sight perplexed
Grave the unnatured unsmiling pout
granted no throat to even shout
A creature fashioned of sadist plans
likening to programmable hands
Dystopian nosoul only penned about
in a wild imaginations restless bout
Made to fit clothes with features gaunt
fashioned to be what others want

                #17