April 24, Napowrimo 2026. Today we were given the resource of a curated selection of letters written by the English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, a poet who I admire greatly. His idiosyncratic refusal to stick to preferred poetic structures has without doubt inspired me and follows perfectly behind yesterday’s work on form with the Villanelle.
Today’s prompt asked us to write about something that happens at night which describes something magical or strange that happens while no one is awake to notice. I’ve had parts of this in my mind for a while, glad to have had the opportunity to get it out.
Some say, the best heroes scorn capes,
That darkness blankets the bold and bravest stand.
When pirates pillage the political stage,
Cable-tying coarse colours to a council mast,
Setting sail their bilious billowless bogus semaphore;
From the pits of sanity heed the cry – Avast!
While the Hodgepodge family count sheep,
Woke phantoms wake from fathomless sleep,
With jitterless nerves they arise,
Chests bursting with national pride on a mission just.
They stride Into the black embrace of the quiet cloak.
Poised with harpoon of hope in hand,
They seek those standards most maligned,
Flagging failure they will not oblige.
They strike;
Their blows deflowering the fascist bloom.
Their country’s view,
Now raised, refined, restored to dignity.
Note: A synonym for hodgepodge is a farrago – I’ll just leave that there.
Missives & Musings 