i know i shouldn’t make excuses, to love gently with magic kisses; for even the hardest of all hearts melt when filled with caresess.
so tonight i send you this light, to guide your way make it right; for no matter how great our strife i love you eventhough and despite.
the space between us is daunting, we can go on endless blame throwing; for lo, truth be told it is our own doing love left us before we started believing.
and so upon this blurry midnight sky, i ask the universe to send you a lullaby; with warm embraces and a loving cry “i love you, let’s give it another try.”
the picturesque city that once lured my youth is now empty and dull, the vibrant university belt that once enticed my innocence is now idle and dreary, the chaotic intersection that once charmed my imagination is now bare and somber, for it has one missing piece; you.
the melodious hyms of love that once made me giggle is now jarring and harsh, the joyous rhythm of poetic rhymes that once made me dream is now gloomy and sad, the cheerful verses that once made me chuckle is now depressing and sad, for it has one missing piece; you.
the sweetness and bitterness of coffee that once perked up my mood is now bland and flat, the delicious taste of croissant that once made me indulge with gusto is now unpleasant and horrible, the flavorful and delectable foods that once tempted my fussy taste is now stale and boring, for it has one missing piece; you.
everything just turned sad and blue, everything just turned stale and gray, everything just turned muted and faded, even this poem has lost its heart and soul; without you.
Our prompt for today asks you to write a portrait poem that focuses on or plays with the meaning of the subject’s name. This could be a self-portrait, a portrait of a family member or close friend, or even a portrait of a famous or historical person.
The Evil Out of the Basket, I Let it All Out (after e.e. cummings)
my hand reached out for yours, sadly you refused to choose the need to take a stand, a battle i tried to withstand; in my solitude i do nothing but grieve in silence ’till i can hold my tongue no more, you don’t understand.
your slightest trigger provokes the bad in me though i have chose not to take the evil out of the basket you always find a better way, to let it all out (with little or nothing at all), the worst just flashed out.
if you wish to understand this heart of mine i, will make you see the life that i long thee as every wind blows the dying petal each day so as my light dims slowly, fading away;
for nothing in this world can diminish the light within my soul, but the power upon which you have control, so take me as i am, or let death be my eternal respite.
(i don’t know what it is about you) that makes my knees weaker than it has already been, my strength is your strength; my love is your love, my life is your life; despite everything.
Here’s our prompt for the day. Begin by reading e e cummings’ poem [somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond]. This is a pretty classic love poem, so well-known that it has spawned at least one silly meme. Today’s prompt challenges you to also write a love poem, one that names at least one flower, contains one parenthetical statement, and in which at least some lines break in unusual places.
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond (e e cummings)
somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond any experience, your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look easily will unclose me though i have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose
or if your wish be to close me, i and my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly, as when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility: whose texture compels me with the colour of its countries, rendering death and forever with each breathing
(i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses) nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands
Today we close out the first three weeks of Na/GloPoWriMo! We’ve just nine days left to go until April comes to a close.
Our featured participant today is clayandbranches, where the “future archeology” prompt for Day 20 brings us a lecture from the Cephalopod Academy.
Our daily resource is the BBC’s archive of poetry-related writing, where you’ll find essays and articles aplenty, exploring different poets, poems, and poetic forms.
Last but not least, here’s today’s (optional) prompt. Begin by reading Sarah Gambito’s poem “Grace.” Now, choose an abstract noun from the list below, and then use that as the title for a poem that contains very short lines, and at least one invented word.
👉 my take, i chose the word honesty and in honor of my country, the Philippines i am using the poetic form hay (-na)ku invented by a fellow Filipino poet Eileen Tabios.
and instead or using invented words i used Filipino words in the last stanza:
Today, I’d like to challenge you to answer that question in poetic form, exploring a particular object or place from the point of view of some far-off, future scientist? The object or site of study could be anything from a “World’s Best Grandpa” coffee mug to a Pizza Hut, from a Pokemon poster to a cellphone.
Destiny asks us to write a poem using the Memento poetic form, this is a poem about a holiday or an anniversary, consisting of two stanzas. Each of the two stanza has 6 lines, syllables 8-6-2-8-6-2; rhyming: a/b/c/a/b/c.
If we like we can add an extra stanza and we don’t have to confine our words to an anniversary or celebration but, explore a moment or an emotion, if that’s where our thoughts take us.
👉 my take: a future prediction of love in consonance with the past and present; and a Memento form choosing love as emotion, ending with a drop line.
love we know is a many splendid thing made famous by lovers and romantics, when love happens at first sight, there is zing it hypes you up like poems in iambics.
does it mean, there isn’t love in heartache? where is it in the middle of anguish? when you are there, i am here smiles are fake, this hurt i can’t take please let it vanguish.
does it mean, there isn’t love in distance? where is it when bounded by uncoupling? oh, dear i am left in torment for once bring me love’s greatest melody of song.
love me in the agony of oceans love me in the silence of the great winds.
our daily prompt, once again pulled from our archives. Today’s prompt is a poem of negation – yes (or maybe, no), I challenge you to write a poem that involves describing something in terms of what it is not, or not like. For example, if you chose a whale as the topic of your poem, you might have lines like “It does not settle down in trees at night, cooing/Nor will it fit in your hand.”
from coast to coast they sail welcome on board they yell.
they moor, unmoor vessels in ports they secure, unsecure cargo as well.
it’s a work from dusk ’till dawn all for their amore waiting home.
off to explore come rain or shine the world ’round they drift, they float, they bob.
’round the world they go, all for their amore waiting home.
at sun down they mourn and frown missin’ home, land in town.
at the break of dawn they yawn and pray another day, to float and play.
sea is a ghost town it’s okay, they won’t back down, all for their amore waiting home.
Author’s Note:
I am from the Philippines, the world’s largest supplier of seafarers. We played an important role in the supply of seafarers, which are the foundation of global logistics.
The Philippines is a third world country with a struggling economy, and a very few or minimal job offerings that could uplift the living condition of anyone working. In this case, young Filipino men (most, if not all) dreamt of becoming a seafarer one day, with the hope of providing enough for their families.
Filipino seafarers are the sons of fishermen, carpenters and rice farmers. They left behind lives in provincial villages where they could expect to make at $1000 a month. Ten times the amount, often earned locally.
This is the reason why despite the challenges and difficulties of maritime work, they opted to stay because it reaps high financial rewards. And they do it, all for the love of their families and loved ones left at home.
Today’s daily prompt again comes from our archives. I challenge you to write a sea shanty (or shantey, or chanty, or chantey — there’s a good deal of disagreement regarding the spelling!) Anyway, these are poems in the forms of songs, strongly rhymed and rhythmic, that sailors might sing while hauling on ropes and performing other sea-going labors. Probably the two most famous sea shanties (at least before TikTok gave us The Wellerman) are What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor? and Blow the Man Down. And what should your poem be about? Well, I suppose it could be about anything, although some nautical phrases tossed into the chorus would be good for keeping the sea in your shanty. Haul away, boys, haul away!
it ain’t love if it’s not about you dear for i can’t have anyone else but you you are the reason my sky is brighter you make the rainbow the prettiest hue.
with you the grass is greener and shinier birds are chirpier, its song beats of you its tune is your melodious hum so clear the wind whistles a lullaby for you.
with you one hour is just a minute without you a minute is forever god becomes a jolly-bearded spirit and everyone around is prettier.
my love for you just grows stronger each day ‘cos it ain’t loving if it’s not for you.
Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own sonnet. Incorporate tradition as much or as little as you like – while keeping in general to the theme of “love.”
A traditional sonnet is 14 lines long, with each line having ten syllables that are in iambic pentameter (where an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable). While love is a very common theme in sonnets, they’re also known for having a kind of argumentative logic, in which a problem is posed in the first eight lines or so, discussed or argued about in the next four, and then resolved in the last two lines.