Poetry Prompt April 29, 2023

History of National Poetry Writing Month National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada. This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project. My History with National Poetry Writing Month I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021. What I am doing differently for Poetry Month For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast. Todays Poetry Prompt Now, write your own two-part poem that focuses on a food or type of meal. At some point in the poem, describe the food or meal as if it were a specific kind of person. Give the food/meal at least one line of spoken dialogue.    Thanksgiving Dinner  29 April 2023  I never really thought about this meal when I was younger  We always drove the hour that took forever  No rest stops unless you call pissing in the corn fields a rest stop  We always left before dawn  And were lucky to return with our lives  We would eat freshly slaughtered ham  Nothing tasted sweeter  The mashed potatoes not from a box  Was chunky and gritty smashed rather than mashed  With all the cousins in their bare house  And each year a James Bond flick on the background  The cigarettes overflowed in the ashtray  The beers and wine were flowing, even for the kids  I’d like to say I tasted my first beer there  But then I’d be lying to you  Just like all the lies of “yeah we are good to drive”  Before the days of MADD and knowing better  One day I stopped going  Could have been because my folks found god  He was hiding out in the churches  That met when I was watching wrestling  And we as a family turned away   I didn’t really get that feeling again  Yes, there was destructive activities  That I can see from the safety of time  “I didn’t let you die during those days  Yes, there was the accident one year before the times of DUI’s  Yes, there was the car on fire that you passed without a care  But I didn’t let you die  I kept you as safe as I could for something else”  When I lived alone  With the roommates and on the 33rd floor above the Lake   The diner that I had frequented was open  Taking in others like me  Without friends or a family  And on the TV, still black and white  A game of hockey played quietly  While the others were munching on turkey  I became engrossed   And that was when  I decided the next year to hold a feast  But unknown to me what the next year would bring  I was alone in my apartment   I had finally escaped the crowds  Making a meal for two  In a studio barely big enough for one  In case there was a knock at the door  There was none  But the next year was different  I had stepped out and allowed myself to feel  To become attached to those who enlightened me  On being a human  On being open and vulnerable  And that year I had a few friends over   Who had nowhere else to go  And we dined like kings  “I am preparing you for a much better feast  A feast that you can share with family and friends  A family you created  And friends who were true”  And so, one year of cooking and clamoring  There I was  A Husband and father of three mentor to a nephew  And friends who brought friends to feast  We dined on duck  And other delicacies  We left a spot open for anyone who had nowhere to go  And my children sat there and asked  Why the empty spot  And we said together  “That spot is for me  That spot represents the chair that I once sat at  Alone in my studio  That chair represents those who couldn’t make it to a home”  With confused looks no more questions came  And a small wish was born that day  A wish that they wouldn’t have to carry that tradition forward  A wish that one day I wouldn’t either  A wish that the past could be forgiven  And a wish for a better year ahead  Sign Up for the Create Art Podcast Newsletter Or Subscribe Here Reaching Out To The Podcast To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation. Email: [email protected] YouTube Channel: Create Art Podcast YT Channel IG: @createartpodcast Twitter: @createartpod Special Message If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to find new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. . You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy