Poetry Prompt for April 1st, 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. Poetry Prompt I Used The Untouchable: Something that will always be out of reach Todays Poem Penetration 1 Jan 23, 2013 I look into your eyes Those pools of blue are so like mine Every morning I ask the same question Wanting to know what is going on behind the window Your voice repeats things that your mother was too young to know about There was no way you would have heard those words and phrases from me I’ve done my best to try and forget the person who originally uttered them But you can pick her out of a crowded picture from 1979 I want to save you the anguish she knew and caused I couldn’t save her in the end And it was a tragic end Relying on everything being provided by The one who molested your children Cheated on you with the church secretary Demanded that we all attend that church 5 times a week Knowing what we knew Being the embarrassment of the congregation I’ve taught my child to say fuck you to the President Put a middle finger up to the patriarchy and systemic racism When they try to grab her by the pussy She knows that she is not to stop stabbing until the knife won’t come out of her attacker's chest, groin, brain, heart She is to use the knives my mother chased my brother and I around the house with Screaming that we were possessed, and she would be taking the demons from our souls Even if it killed us My daughter knows how to slay the demons of Diablo And those who put on the skin of humans She knows how to use her words to stab at my heart My gift to her was anger My gift to her was rage She knows how to wield it I have no need to interrogate the people she will bring to our house Nor will I clean a rifle or a chainsaw in their presence Unless I am actually doing lawn work I have no need to intimidate in order to protect her She can take care of herself if the task is too large Then she knows when to bring me in, to finish And here we are After another screaming match with her mother She is doing her best to look intimidating Her frown flexed Her gaze intense into my eyes Her breath shallow and quick And just as she cannot decipher my demeanor She has no idea I am actually in control of the situation just by sitting here quietly Motionlessly Emotionlessly She ponders how I can exude so much unfeeling, such detachment from humanity She doesn’t know that I am scanning her for a crack A chink in her armor that I helped forge A way to see into her inner workings, her deep thoughts The dreams she refuses to elaborate on She won’t know until she reads this And even that would be a stroke of luck If she finds it and realizes it is about her She’s a bit too much like her long dead grandmother And I am ignorant of my obscure grandfather So, there will be no repeating of N.N.B. I wish a reflection my Mother of choice For now, I will stand by Looking deep into the eyes of my child Attempting to peer into her soul Attempting to steer her away from the paths we have generationally tread 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