Poetry Prompt for April 16, 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 First Car: Write an ode to your first car  Old Baby Blue  13 April 2023  You did run like a scolded dawg  That Marine was right  To think I could have purchased my mid-life crisis car with busted rings  For the same price as you  I wouldn’t have been able to sleep in that car  Nor could I fall asleep at the wheel  And safely get through Bloomington Illinois  Changing highways in the middle of the night  The stereo system I bought for you   Cost more than what you were worth  And you reminded me when it rained  And the DIY sunroof flooded and collected fish  I drove you to escape from where I was  I drove you to Texas to escape where I came from  I drove you until something flashier caught my eye  And then I sold you for a motorcycle  Because I had only crashed 2 other motorcycles in my life  So that seemed like a fair trade  You never started up again  When all the paperwork was done  And your new owner took possession   You refused to be traded away  And as I crashed another motorcycle  There you stood stoically in the parking lot  Reminding me that I would still have transportation  Hoping I would come to my senses and take you back  But no, I was young back then  And flashy new things, which was everything  Took my attention away from you  And I bought a shiny new red compact car  It looked like a clown car when I stepped out of it  And that car drove me away from Texas  From you  From the memories we made  Sometimes I seek out your relatives  I look at what others have done with your kind  And I miss our days together  You were protecting me  Me fixing another alternator for you  Changing your oil from inside the cab  Hearing that 302 engine roar  Wishing it was in a Mustang  But was resigned to hauling around my possessions  You were my first old baby blue  And I’ll never forget your shag carpet interior,   your tinted moon windows   The swiveling captain chairs  And the fish tank turned sunroof  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. 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