Journey to the Stars, NaPoWriMo'25 Stomp the Prompt Comp

Prompt # 12

The Great Big Canvas

When the grand fire in the sky goes to sleep
In the darkness comes a different kind of light
It watches us closer with that pale mystic hue
That glows softly and feels cooler in the night

But behind it there are others that seem further away
Twinkling like faint sparkles amidst ocean waves
They must be the gods who come to visit us in dreams
Those figures we must capture and illustrate in caves

Those distant lonely lights seem to send us a message
Telling tales and stories we have yet to understand
As we ponder and wonder about how far they really are
They look so small compared to the size of my hand

And from time to time I see one darting across the night
Moving so fast I barely catch it when suddenly it’s gone
While the other lights twinkle in silence, stillness and calm
In the great big canvas where gods watch us from beyond


111 Unique Words
160 Total

Prompt # 13

Arcturus Boötes

I can hear their voices ringing in my ear
The tone
Stern and loving
But always with wisdom
Even if I didn’t heed to it
I could see the consequences
Like tidal waves coming to sweep me away

Oh, I paid the price
For the several times I didn’t listen to their advice
But also saved
For the many bullets I dodged
When I took their counsel to heart
When I saw how hard life had been
For my grandmother and mother

Their light looks like Arcturus up in the sky
Follow the Big Dipper as it arcs
No matter how lost you may be
In the desert or at sea
The morals and ethics of the wise
Always offer guidance
So you can find your way


89 Unique Words
127 Total

prompt #13

shelter

elipsed by the moon, the sun shone still in black haziness
It would be a marker of a memorable year in my childhood
a beacon and a sign
leading me onward
into my future

the sun my guiding star
It represents my Father
and the threat of Satan's rebellion
ushering me forward on the right path
to not take this darkness inside me
thus eclipsing the sun in me

still to this day I seek the sun
known as Ra to some
I can imagine the dark firmament
and the first day the sun rose
as a symbol of God's victory over the dark

leading us homeward into his love
conquering death and setting up his kingdom
a place for us all to dwell

Prompt #2

Spider Senses a Tingling

In a fairly large Magellanic Cloud
more light years away than
I have fingers and toes to calculate
who am I not to postulate
a constellation, emulate
my  favorite  arachnid!

Why not! a  Spider Constellation
embedded within a Nebula,
named Tarantula
in the 1750’s?
How do You suppose Explorers
came to the decision of naming?

Was it careless fright upon
a spider’s delight to see
the human fright
in a panic light, tagged
constellation the biggest
bad ass eight-legged
might?

No one will truly ever know
How come Constellations
become nomenclature’d

Prompt # 14

Vega Lyra

I’ve crashed with exhaustion for days
I’ve been depressed lost in a haze
I’ve had a dry spell in my inkwell
When I fell and felt those years were hell
And just when I wanted to be dead
The best years of my life were still ahead

I’ve had yearning for knowledge
Burning for more degrees beyond college
A thirst like I’ve walked the Sahara
A hunger for data
I’ve wanted to expand my mind
But now feel like I’m running out of time

Education has helped me in life
A guiding light through strife
When in dark phases I read the pages
Learning some wisdom from the sages
Like stars in the night
Offering a leading light


80 Unique Words
118 Total

Prompt #15

Rigel Orion

Some paint murals on walls
Some write poetry to touch hearts
Some create music to move the soul
While many push to promote the arts

Some inspire through education
Some motivate through their fashion
Some vocations are here to help humanity
Lifting others by showing empathy and compassion

Some encourage others to be curious
Knowing the universe is always expanding
Promoting knowledge to be fun and creative
As they foster collaboration and understanding

Some spread joy with their skills
Some help heal and bring peace to a cause
Because no matter how near or far we may be
We too can be a light and shine like the stars

79 Unique Words
109 Total

Prompt #23

Imitate / Originate

I’ve ever sided with the Moon.
Her beauty, for one, is unmatched
in my tiny universe from which I
see from well  crafted lenses

As far as love comes and goes,
She always delivers!!
Transmuting love and warmth
rec’d from a star (sun) stars
NO less lessens the star
nor diminishes the shine
received and reflected

Imitate?
Maybe, but more liken to
praising the original

Prompt # 16

Betelgeuse Orion

There’s a certain quirkiness about quarks
Those particles that are part of every atom
Smaller than what we can identify as small
At the core of all things we could possibly ever fathom

And yet when put together along with other elements
They seem to be the creative factor and driving force
From big stars
to violent worlds
and everything between
 Quarks are the smallest beings in the universe


59 Unique Words
69 Total

Prompt # 17

Capella Auriga

A quest is never done until you reach the end
That is
The questions may not get answered in this world
And thus, we must formulate and theorize my friends
Whatever waits for us on the other side of the universe

So we compose and create to the best of our abilities
Trying to solve the big mystery that mystifies us all
Letting our imaginations run rampant, wild and free
To the point that it consumes and exhumes our soul

But once fate has decided that our number is up
The veil of innocence lifts and things begin to make sense
It is the enigma that puzzles the wisest until the day they die
Leaving those of us here alive waiting in suspense

We are but a spec of sand in the span of time
As we move about this earth looking for meaning
But upon death we will see we are just like them
Particles of light from stars who are also dreaming
Dreaming of love


112 Unique Words
167 Total

Prompt # 18

Spica Virgo

They say that when we die life flashes before our eyes
Every minute recorded in our minds
Every memory once forgotten resurfaces
Every pivotal moment lived plays live one last time
So
The flicker from the stars must be stories from the past
Traveling across the great expanse
Telling a tale of how the universe began
But a mystery cannot be solved with just a glance…
No
Stargazers spend years looking up at the heavens
Studying galaxies, clusters and constellations
Putting the pieces of this vast puzzle together
Narrating the story of evolution and creation
But
Us poets try to condense the story of the cosmos
Told in prose and poems to define who we are
Because when our time comes and life flashes
We hope to be up there amidst the stars  


94 Unique Words
134 Total

Prompt # 19

Antares Scorpius

…and I also want to thank Deep Underground Poetry
The place where many poets went to cut their teeth
D.U. offered a home to many of us
Where we shared our creations
Where we refined our skills
A place of camaraderie and community

The years I spent there were a great lesson
I learned to develop my work
Grow and expand my mind
The time I was there I was able to connect
With talented writers and artists
Who influenced me and are now part of my life

Thank you Deep Underground
Thank you D.U. poets
You are all shining stars

66 Unique Words
103 Total

prompt #19

Metaphor

It's with deep appreciation that I accept this award
My passion for writing always stemmed from my imagination
And I wrote stories in Elementary school
With no care for form or rhythm, I just wrote
never being one to follow a pattern

My thoughts would drift, and I would write
Then one day, old dreams went away
And time did not allow, I stopped writing

Years later, anxiety ensued
And somehow I was led to a magical place
The powers that be delivered me to
The DeepUndergroundpoetry sanctuary
The Mistress was stern but understanding
allowing me to unleash my feelings

Some days, I ran naked in the hallways
My writing was poor
And people were sometimes ruthless
But they got my attention
And I started to read them

wondering what made them so great
At first, all I could do was my best to emulate the great ones
Poets started to rally behind me
giving me words of encouragement
And I began to learn to channel my powerful emotions into poetry
I became a poet

If it wasn't for these people, I wouldn't be here today to accept this award
If not for the guardians of this beloved home
I would have no understanding of the great art poetry is

prompt #20

star hopping

Greetings Deepunderground, we have formulated a response to your artistic language of poetry
At first, we could not decode the language in its emotional state
It came to us singing through the universes
And our top scientists and seers
have been trying to understand this deep expression of what you Earthlings call love

It is with high expectations that we reach out to you now
We believe we are related to you, Earthlings
sharing the same space DNA down to the molecular level

Your poetic language is enlightening to us
Some of your ambassadors have somehow
through the nature of the soul
have astral traveled to us
and channeled some of our responses
to your lovely art

We like you are connected below the surface
We are a highly evolved species of being
of great intellect and value

Some of your more timid have expressed their fears
of the lesser evolved nonpoetry speaking beings on your planet
whose goal is to dominate and control through acts of war

Our home galaxy will not be entered by such beings
There is no technology that would allow them entry
We have been communicating to and through poets
for eons now

We expect great things of you
Some are new to this expression
They are just awakening, not too early or late
We have communications with some of you
inspiring greatness and vision

We have evolved and live much longer lives
In fact, there is no death in our society
Simply, an elder will enter a period of rest
and renewal

We travel, taking in new sights
But we are not blindly searching the heavens
in space crafts
There are wards keeping others out of certain dimensions
They cannot be entered using technology

Our children are currently among you
It is a great secret they communicate silently
through the minds

We will be monitoring your progress
and intervening when we deem it necessary
The underground is a sanctuary, and none
find their way there that are not invited

May peace remain in your hearts
And though the journey be long
Our younglings will find their way home through song

Prompt # 20

Proxima Centauri Centaurus

We stars have lived for only billions of years
Yet our time with the universe is finite
Thus you must be fruitful and productive
If you hear this message and see our light

Seek enlightenment and use it wisely
For everything that has a beginning will end
Find the truth and share it gladly
And then you will be able to transcend

50 Unique Words
62 Total

Prompt  # 21

Back to Gemini
(Castor and Pollux 2)

Back to Gemini that space between him and I
When we see eye to eye in that dual personality
One’s a fly by and the other can be the fall guy
Like a balance act between absurdity and rationality

And perhaps this is why Gemini is my favorite constellation
As if the astrological sign is in line with that characterization
There are two temperaments but usually logic is at the helm
While the mad enthusiastic maniac wants to overwhelm

Castor and Pollux watch from their positions in the sky
It’s like their sparkle and flicker bring a twinkle to my eye
And when everything is in balance my stars feel so aligned
As if those lights light years away bring me peace of mind


86 Unique
124 Total