Glo/NaPoWriMo 2023 Official Challenge

2/30

[ NaPoWriMo - 2023 Collection ] Cosmologically Speaking

In The Beginning  

[ . . . ]

Part I: Planetary

i. Ra

“Let there be light”
— Genesis 1:3

Monarch of old reigned
claimed ancestral descent
a bloodline of the light, ruled
by dictates of this solar deity
called the Sun God
personified, sovereign
all-seeing Ra

Creator and nourisher
of Mother Earth—
Father of Life
to fauna, flora
and sentient breath

Shield of Helios, Titan
charioteer between sunrise, Khepri
and set, Atum
arced across the sky
from east to west

Unconquerable force
of burning heat
desert lands, pyramids
Ancient Egypt
Babylon
and beyond
~

2/30

2/30

Untitled II

Pain will lay
in my lap, boring holes into
a withered soul

its mouth wrinkled
with knowing smiles, one eyebrow
twitching toward destiny.

Pure rage burns behind
ocean eyes, turbulent sea,
sand-caked feet walking away.

Something held bruise-tight,
millions of miles eroded
and still nothing suffices.

If you look closely, bobbing in the surf
are tiny, fractured pieces,
if glued together, would make the perfect picture

of a blood-pumping,
howling moon heart—

Amused by heartbreak.

3/30

Happy Birthday To Me!

Hooray! Hooray!
It's my birthday today,
I'm eighty-six, you know.
I don't have a hair
on the top of my head
and my beard is as white as the snow.

My teeth proved to be
only transitory
but I can crack nuts with my gums,
and I don't give a toss
about most everything,
I take life just as it comes.

Now, my lovely girlfriend
has baked me a cake
of a truly tremendous size,
and the brightness of light
from those eighty-six candles –
well, you wouldn't believe your eyes!

So we'll take a deep breath
and we'll huff and we'll puff
and I'm sure we'll blow them all out,
for my girlfriend is one
of the very best blowers –
of that there can be no doubt ...

and when every candle
is safely extinguished
and all of the blowing is done,
we'll pick up our spoons – kiss –
feed cake to each other
and leave not a single crumb. Yay!

2/30

Reclaimed


she saw her
pale frame in the
crystalline ripples
lightly touched its surface
it felt like a dream

seemed like years before the
sun illuminated the water
still in its slumber
holding shadows instead of angels
the cold bit sunken cheeks
and gnawed away
her youth

she stopped, to stare once more
in a bitter gaze, winter had her frozen
this thief, this lake
it laughed
so she dove this time, against the tide
to find herself
and hold that child once more.

2/30

Death's Lantern

Lantern in the fog
Guidance in the dark
Lost within the swamp
Ankles in the bog

Hooded figure guides their hand
Facelessly they beckon forth
Bones wrapped around the staff
Set ablaze as if a torch

There, heavy in the mud
The two shall meet but only once
In the moment when it's done
The vapors rise to kill the sun

Drift of mist
Dust adrift
Ashen sift
They're rising up

Kiss of lips
Musty stitch
Lasting rift
Enough's enough

Embers in humidity
Dismembered enemy
As death becomes a friend
In the end

#3 of 30

Destigmatizing A Stigma

mind always
feels displayed
like museum
medicine jars
jigsaw pieces
never quite fitting

aware of
my difference
in every breath
poked prodded
confined defined
beware monster

strapped
with a label
decribing
what's not me
developing stereotypical
ideas that stick

constant fight
amongst percieved
normal majority
notions
walking against
insanity's current

neverending
mouse wheel
tiresome battles
raging on
invisible behind eyes
and false smiles

Total Word Count 63
Unique Words 63

2/30

Crisis Averted

Sitting atop my throne
pondering the soap scum
encrusted tub
When I spy, uncloaked
against the whiteish porcelain,
a squirming , amoeba
dolphin colored thing.
What kind of fledgling monster could this be?
Prone to risk aversion,
opting to drown
the perplexing invader
before it grew Texas-sized.
Stubborn bugger wouldn’t deign
to go down the drain.
Courage mustered
grabbing the alien with a tissue.
Cautiously unbundling
the mysterious breed.
Identifying the infant, ominous beast
as the innocuous hull
of a sunflower seed.

Unique word count: 69

#2

Perforated Blotter

Poetry is
a process of the primal,
expanding like
ink blots and forest fires.

Poetry is
comprised and composed
of psychic elements
and elementals, coming alive,
a fabric of shadow, touching the surface of the soul

in whispers, coming alive.

Poetry is a circular
maze
of
days,

withholding the secret of how the world is held together.
Poetry is
a reflection of forever,
chained together
letter
by
letter:
Beacons of lights at the surface of a sea, becoming a see.
Poetry
is
an oracle in the oculus of the orb
awash in light
to
be absorbed.

(Unique Words:58)

2/ 30

Of Ex-boyfriends & Strange Phone Calls

Moments
Fire catch lights
Singe the surface
Decrepit parking lots
Flip phones and
Surprising accusations

Taken aback by the contact

Calm, the soft voiced strangers suspicions
On the other end of the line
Speaking words of
Just being friends
A few dates between
Nothing to worry about

We are only friends, promise

Speak more
When I get home,.
Memories, exhibit one
Cool as fuck dude, that
Sparks of chemistry turned
Mutually underwhelming

Sometimes that spark does not ignite

Friendship blooms out of
Hopes for romance
Untwisted by negative
Connotations
We move along in life
Destined to meet another day

Our paths have still yet to cross

2/30

KEEPER OF THE FLAME

You cannot fail me
Though you die
A thousand deaths
I live through every one
Right with you
All the parts
Assembling
To reach a height
That’s always higher

You cannot fail me
I watch the way
You move your feet
Your senses sharpen
Hands that can
Relax on cue
The ship may sink at times
But even then
It’s never dire

You cannot fail me
I see it in your eyes
The scratches on your arms
The way you rise up
As you fade away
No one believes and for a minute
That threatens to include me
But if I said I didn’t have faith
I’d be a liar

-76 unique words-

3/30

Festering Ego

A cavernous vacuous hole.

Keep filling it!

The space will only grow larger,
and the need grander.

Never enough.
I’ll want more-

Your allegiance,
Devotion,
Loyalty,
Soul.

Don’t look at her!
Look. At. Me!
See me!
There aren’t enough
“you're” beautiful’s
to sate me.
Not when I feel
so enormously
diminished.

You’ll drive as fast
as you can on that
emotionally
insecure
Autobahn

Where the only
Obvious
Outcome will be
A crash and burn.


52 unique words

2/30

The Dissident
Walternate Universe - FS44

With my wife soundly asleep in bed
I got dressed so that I would ready at 11:11pm
This time I was more mentally prepared
When the blue portal opened up again

My handler, TOTO gave me a quick briefing
I was a lead architect in the plans of a giant structure
But there was a small flaw in the overall design
That within a year at its full capacity would rupture

“Why doesn’t my alternate self advise against it” I asked
“He has” TOTO replied, “but it’ll cost billions
So even though they told you to fix it or find a way
You’ve tried but it may cost the lives of millions”

“But why doesn’t..” I tried to say but OTTO replied
“Your alternate self does not like confrontation
And here his career also employs thousands of others
But this is a disaster in the works, a complete devastation”

When I stepped through I arrived at my alternate’s office
It was still dark outside but the sun was beginning to rise
I looked at all the design plans though I had no understanding
But I knew I had to make a drastic choice before anyone dies

Later I saw a man in a suit walking toward a big office
I recognized him form the briefing, he was the boss
He saw me as I toiled away at my alternate’s computer
He called me into his office but he sounded so cross

However I ignored him and kept working at the workstation
Until ten minutes later he came to me and sat in a chair
He sat there for a minute studying my features
I could feel he was giving me a threatening glare

“What are you doing here so early” he asked in a gruff voice
I said “I need to talk to you about these design flaws”
“How many times have I told you, no” he replied angrily
Knowing lives were at stake I stood up for a cause

“I removed all files regarding the project from the network
And placed them in a zip drive to send out as evidence
So if you don’t do right and change the design to what I said
Then I will sue you and this company for gross negligence”

“You’re a coward” he said, “you are not going to do anything”
“Listen prick” I replied, “it’s totally different this time
You backed me into a corner but now I have a full arsenal
So if no is your final answer then watch me expose this crime”

I smiled and faced the monitor then hit the send button
I alerted the news, the mayor, the governor even the president
I averted a tragedy and became a whistleblower
And all the documents were signed as “the dissident”

The glove now which had a sleeker design like a wrist brace
Began flickering a light, so I said “Bitch I am out of here”
As he peeked to see that I wasn’t bluffing he began to curse
But I went into the hallway opened the portal and disappeared

272 Unique
510 Total

😄

3 of 30

Test of Faith

Day twelve of Ramadhan
The sun is blazing
Even at this hour
I can feel pangs of hunger
From fasting
My body feels weak
But my will is strong
Only an hour and a half is left
Before Iftar
The past eleven days were fine
It rained almost every day
That makes fasting more easy
Because of the cool weather
Today is different
I can almost feel the heat
Piercing my skin if I go out
Without an umbrella
This is a test of my faith