Poetry Competition Ends 30th April 2025 11:19pm
DU Official NaPoWriMo Challenge
1/30
[ NaPoWriMo - 2025 Collection ]
Flowers from Thoughts
Prelude:
Flush wisteria, lavender
ripened upon their vine
Eliot’s hyacinth couple
deep purple, beyond the rain-
pummeled garden gate
A mossy footpath, wet
seeping between toes
of bare feet, droplets plop
extend upward, fall
into Earth's moistened mouth
. . .Other echoes
Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?
(T.S. Eliot)
Not to learn but remember
nor think back to before
November circumstance
tilled the soil of withered slumber
for winter's harsh advance
[ NaPoWriMo - 2025 Collection ]
Flowers from Thoughts
Prelude:
Flush wisteria, lavender
ripened upon their vine
Eliot’s hyacinth couple
deep purple, beyond the rain-
pummeled garden gate
A mossy footpath, wet
seeping between toes
of bare feet, droplets plop
extend upward, fall
into Earth's moistened mouth
. . .Other echoes
Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?
(T.S. Eliot)
Not to learn but remember
nor think back to before
November circumstance
tilled the soil of withered slumber
for winter's harsh advance
1 of 30
Celestial Navigation
Driving aimlessly down Shame Street
sipping on my 32-ounce cup of depression, no ice.
suddenly, my too often neglected HP GPS ,
speaks in a calm, commanding tone
“Pass Easy Street and at the next intersection,
turn right onto Hope Drive.
Noticing I’m out of gas;
I stop at the OA service station,
on the corner of Hope and Not Good Enough Avenue,
after filling my tank with encouragement,
I choose to continue my journey on Hope.
HP’s voice sounds again.
“Travel 12 miles,
turn right onto the on-ramp for 'Abstinence' Highway."
Be patient as you travel the 12 miles, in heavy traffic
and take no detours.
Unique word count: 81
Celestial Navigation
Driving aimlessly down Shame Street
sipping on my 32-ounce cup of depression, no ice.
suddenly, my too often neglected HP GPS ,
speaks in a calm, commanding tone
“Pass Easy Street and at the next intersection,
turn right onto Hope Drive.
Noticing I’m out of gas;
I stop at the OA service station,
on the corner of Hope and Not Good Enough Avenue,
after filling my tank with encouragement,
I choose to continue my journey on Hope.
HP’s voice sounds again.
“Travel 12 miles,
turn right onto the on-ramp for 'Abstinence' Highway."
Be patient as you travel the 12 miles, in heavy traffic
and take no detours.
Unique word count: 81
1 of 30
Write and Restart
Awake and arouse from slumber
the need for words,
long buried beneath the hours,
to again dance across the page
in gleeful joy
to flow freely.
Channel the energies
of the Muses
so as to guide my hands
towards phrases unbidden
and onwards
where ever creativity so chooses.
For too long has it been,
as if dusting cobwebs
from a covered mill
to then hear it grind again
as passioned craft restarts
and the flow follows so.
(Unique Words: 57)
Write and Restart
Awake and arouse from slumber
the need for words,
long buried beneath the hours,
to again dance across the page
in gleeful joy
to flow freely.
Channel the energies
of the Muses
so as to guide my hands
towards phrases unbidden
and onwards
where ever creativity so chooses.
For too long has it been,
as if dusting cobwebs
from a covered mill
to then hear it grind again
as passioned craft restarts
and the flow follows so.
(Unique Words: 57)
1/30
Monosyllabic
I dreamt I saw
through arched back door
wild scenes of war
from days of yore.
I dreamt I strode
where sea once flowed.
Whilst warm sun glowed,
my brisk pace slowed.
I dreamt I heard
notes, trilled and slurred.
One song; no word—
a clear toned bird.
I dreamt I knelt
where you once dwelt;
I did near melt,
so sweet it felt.
Monosyllabic
I dreamt I saw
through arched back door
wild scenes of war
from days of yore.
I dreamt I strode
where sea once flowed.
Whilst warm sun glowed,
my brisk pace slowed.
I dreamt I heard
notes, trilled and slurred.
One song; no word—
a clear toned bird.
I dreamt I knelt
where you once dwelt;
I did near melt,
so sweet it felt.
1/30
Sun-Dappled Warmth
Toes in the sand,
I count the days…
I’m ahead of schedule;
Busy mind, as always
combat-ready these days;
How did I lose the light
that shines so brightly
in front of my face?
How did it escape the confines
of my iron-clad lungs?
Today, I won’t worry, though
I’ve got bigger fish to fry;
the ones we caught
knee to knee beneath
the sun-dappled treetops
make a tasty, worthy ending
to a bright, warm day
Sun-Dappled Warmth
Toes in the sand,
I count the days…
I’m ahead of schedule;
Busy mind, as always
combat-ready these days;
How did I lose the light
that shines so brightly
in front of my face?
How did it escape the confines
of my iron-clad lungs?
Today, I won’t worry, though
I’ve got bigger fish to fry;
the ones we caught
knee to knee beneath
the sun-dappled treetops
make a tasty, worthy ending
to a bright, warm day
01/30
[NaPo2025—Random Eloquence]
flutewind
❝The breath of the flute player: does it belong to the flute?❞—Rumi
your ellipse on my lips transforms my lisp
into the suavest suite that sweets the ear,
for all my random stutterings fall crisp,
as though i were the morning's wisest seer.
strong songs belong where throng pale hearts that long
for petite paeans, powerful to heal
cacophonies that penetrate the trong
of gentle spirits plundered of their zeal.
o flutewind, wind once more your kind embrace
around my emptiness; let me express
how i have longed, elusive dreams to chase,
that cadence not, except in dark distress.
your lungs belong to longing, lonely tongues
bereft of utterance, whose shallow breath
can find no octave, save on lower rungs,
where, biting at their heels, sharp fangs of death.
yet, in your music lies a lullaby
for every hurting heart that strives to thrive;
should I hear no sweet song before i die,
let my steep eyelids, closed, no death contrive.
© Copyright 2025 April 01
by Clyve A. Bowen♫
UWC 115
#1
Postponed
The thing I fear the most in this world is bearing a child
Society wants me to believe that this is against my nature
But I was not born with the maternal instinct to nurture
Or if I was it was ground down by who I called mother
Or maybe because I was thirteen
When I was shown how babies were made
(Months of me carrying only shame)
Or when Mother drove me to the Women’s Christian Clinic
Without a word of what would proceed
(I still can’t go to the gynecologist)
Maybe because my adolescent hormones changed
When I was put on the pill
(Or maybe because an unborn child was more protected
From society than myself)
Maybe because a child doesn’t deserve
To dwell in a place that I’ve loathed for so long
(Or maybe the realization struck
‘I shouldn't be a mother,’ a generation postponed.)
Postponed
The thing I fear the most in this world is bearing a child
Society wants me to believe that this is against my nature
But I was not born with the maternal instinct to nurture
Or if I was it was ground down by who I called mother
Or maybe because I was thirteen
When I was shown how babies were made
(Months of me carrying only shame)
Or when Mother drove me to the Women’s Christian Clinic
Without a word of what would proceed
(I still can’t go to the gynecologist)
Maybe because my adolescent hormones changed
When I was put on the pill
(Or maybe because an unborn child was more protected
From society than myself)
Maybe because a child doesn’t deserve
To dwell in a place that I’ve loathed for so long
(Or maybe the realization struck
‘I shouldn't be a mother,’ a generation postponed.)
1/30
These Days
These days I find it hard to write
My inspiration lacking
My emotions skewed
My mind wordless
These days I find it hard to do anything
Life is taxing and unbearable
Unforgiving and unkind
Filled with burdens to carry
These days are strenuous
Taking all my energy just to function
To get out of bed in the morning
Filled with so much responsibility
And yet I am here
Doing what I can
When I can
With what I have left
And yet I am succeeding
And breaking through all the walls
And stepping out of my comfort zone
And doing what needs to be done for myself
I am surviving
I am thriving
I am exactly who I need to be right now
Writing exactly what I need to be writing
These Days
These days I find it hard to write
My inspiration lacking
My emotions skewed
My mind wordless
These days I find it hard to do anything
Life is taxing and unbearable
Unforgiving and unkind
Filled with burdens to carry
These days are strenuous
Taking all my energy just to function
To get out of bed in the morning
Filled with so much responsibility
And yet I am here
Doing what I can
When I can
With what I have left
And yet I am succeeding
And breaking through all the walls
And stepping out of my comfort zone
And doing what needs to be done for myself
I am surviving
I am thriving
I am exactly who I need to be right now
Writing exactly what I need to be writing
01/30
My Archaic Dole
Pensively, faultless
contrary to popular beliefs -
marveling @ how I became -
painfully suffering torrents of
dry searing tears.
Some gushing, other times
a slight trick, trickling.
Liberating personal
Mollifications though, still,
within motionless ache
trying to solicit peace in
heartfelt presence.
Hopefully leading down
(not spiraling)
floating, floating,
softly landing
to a placid balance.
* * * * * * * * *
Probably when I begin
to forget, more.
My Archaic Dole
Pensively, faultless
contrary to popular beliefs -
marveling @ how I became -
painfully suffering torrents of
dry searing tears.
Some gushing, other times
a slight trick, trickling.
Liberating personal
Mollifications though, still,
within motionless ache
trying to solicit peace in
heartfelt presence.
Hopefully leading down
(not spiraling)
floating, floating,
softly landing
to a placid balance.
* * * * * * * * *
Probably when I begin
to forget, more.
1/30
Best Friends Smoke a Joint in an Alley Outside a Club in the Next Town Over
“I don’t know that smoke,” I said and turned
my face away from hazy,
lazy eyes
that spoke with swirling blue,
shameless lust –
a guise I know when we
are on our own.
I watch the cherry
glow from mouth to mouth,
the unfamiliar night
creeps in and I
don’t know the smoke
he’s blowing out tonight.
She don’t know that smoke,
he seeps into the dark.
She gets shy,
his smolder hands are slick
with heat. I cut confusion
eyes to his.
He’d never touched,
never wanted me
to be his sweet when anyone could see.
I step from underneath his arm and sigh.
He only looks at me like that when he’s high.
Best Friends Smoke a Joint in an Alley Outside a Club in the Next Town Over
“I don’t know that smoke,” I said and turned
my face away from hazy,
lazy eyes
that spoke with swirling blue,
shameless lust –
a guise I know when we
are on our own.
I watch the cherry
glow from mouth to mouth,
the unfamiliar night
creeps in and I
don’t know the smoke
he’s blowing out tonight.
She don’t know that smoke,
he seeps into the dark.
She gets shy,
his smolder hands are slick
with heat. I cut confusion
eyes to his.
He’d never touched,
never wanted me
to be his sweet when anyone could see.
I step from underneath his arm and sigh.
He only looks at me like that when he’s high.
1/30
Fool
Sun setting on a distant rainbow
Gripped palms around a sharpened halo
Raindrops falling on the unstable
A month long to see if able
Thirty writes within self trust
Last time to make a must
Off comes the dust, shake the rust
A new dawn watching the dusk
Ink this think
Jot this thought
Wrote the note
On seems off
In the sky
Before the underground's gone
Mention why
Adorn the sounds in a song
To sing of fools and all they say
It's not just the first, it's everyday
If there's a will there's a way
Uphill and still i hesitate
A struggle to forge this memory muscle
Crumble, collapse and tumble
Wonder for all it's befuddled
Now I can hear this thunder rumble
Fool
Sun setting on a distant rainbow
Gripped palms around a sharpened halo
Raindrops falling on the unstable
A month long to see if able
Thirty writes within self trust
Last time to make a must
Off comes the dust, shake the rust
A new dawn watching the dusk
Ink this think
Jot this thought
Wrote the note
On seems off
In the sky
Before the underground's gone
Mention why
Adorn the sounds in a song
To sing of fools and all they say
It's not just the first, it's everyday
If there's a will there's a way
Uphill and still i hesitate
A struggle to forge this memory muscle
Crumble, collapse and tumble
Wonder for all it's befuddled
Now I can hear this thunder rumble
1/30
TO HER MY BEST
Evil grows wings
And the world don’t change
Beauty and the eerie darkness
The sane and the deranged
The shifting of perspective
As we grow and we protect
The little ones we built
And promised never to neglect
Exalt in all her glory
For the muse is wondrous still
Grab your fruit of choice
And squeeze until you’ve had your fill
‘Cuz living high and proud
With muscles tensed to better dance
Is how I choose to offer up
To her my best romance
TO HER MY BEST
Evil grows wings
And the world don’t change
Beauty and the eerie darkness
The sane and the deranged
The shifting of perspective
As we grow and we protect
The little ones we built
And promised never to neglect
Exalt in all her glory
For the muse is wondrous still
Grab your fruit of choice
And squeeze until you’ve had your fill
‘Cuz living high and proud
With muscles tensed to better dance
Is how I choose to offer up
To her my best romance
01/30
Outro
He loves to get a reaction,
causing the retraction of my feelings.
As the song plays
I know I have stayed too long.
The melody stings.
Still, I pluck each string,
hoping to tune the sour notes;
but the chunks rise to my throat.
The words unsaid well up,
and the tears shed through our chorus.
Now we are at a versus,
and the worst is that no one is winning.
[Unique Words 56]
Outro
He loves to get a reaction,
causing the retraction of my feelings.
As the song plays
I know I have stayed too long.
The melody stings.
Still, I pluck each string,
hoping to tune the sour notes;
but the chunks rise to my throat.
The words unsaid well up,
and the tears shed through our chorus.
Now we are at a versus,
and the worst is that no one is winning.
[Unique Words 56]
1/30
She Rises
With spirit and determination
Her lifeforce spread like fire
Every single feather - a blaze
A wingspan more than what anyone could ever measure
A rite of rebirth and regeneration
Baptized in flames
And us poets
With glassy eyes witness
How she rises
A reawakening from beyond this realm
How the words spoken
Can help heal those of us who are broken
As a testament
Leaving behind a legacy
58 Unique
69 Total
She Rises
With spirit and determination
Her lifeforce spread like fire
Every single feather - a blaze
A wingspan more than what anyone could ever measure
A rite of rebirth and regeneration
Baptized in flames
And us poets
With glassy eyes witness
How she rises
A reawakening from beyond this realm
How the words spoken
Can help heal those of us who are broken
As a testament
Leaving behind a legacy
58 Unique
69 Total
1/30
Severed
It’s a new day, so my heart rises like the sun
It’s another moment of peace, before the yearning
Now, clouds have covered morning light
Just as you invade the crevices of my psyche
Shall I turn away? Shall I close the blinds?
I’m blinded by the rays that pierce the lace lined curtains… ruby red, like my lips you’ve come to know
I am swept away when your skin touches mine
I am the lost treasure of the sea, before it sinks
And I am indeed falling
Drowning in your arms
And begging to breathe
I thought it was the air from your lungs I needed
But as it turns out
… and I know I denied this
I simply needed to open my bedroom windows
Climb out of the corner panes
And run very, very far away
From here.
Severed
It’s a new day, so my heart rises like the sun
It’s another moment of peace, before the yearning
Now, clouds have covered morning light
Just as you invade the crevices of my psyche
Shall I turn away? Shall I close the blinds?
I’m blinded by the rays that pierce the lace lined curtains… ruby red, like my lips you’ve come to know
I am swept away when your skin touches mine
I am the lost treasure of the sea, before it sinks
And I am indeed falling
Drowning in your arms
And begging to breathe
I thought it was the air from your lungs I needed
But as it turns out
… and I know I denied this
I simply needed to open my bedroom windows
Climb out of the corner panes
And run very, very far away
From here.
