Author Archives: grahamswords1962

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 12 Today we were challenged to write a poem that interrogates (our) own writing process and the motivations (we) have for writing, and the motivations (we) ascribe to readers. I really do not like poetry that talks about itself or the author, but NaPoWriMo is a month-long workshop and I want toContinue reading “All at sea with poetry”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 11 Today we were prompted to write a poem inspired by something we had overhead. I took a branch line on this one and suck with the idea of what can happen today when things are “overheard”. ………………………………………………………………………………………………. The words left her lips as the train departed the station.Where did they go,Continue reading “Gossip Gold”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 10 Today’s prompt was to write a sea shanty inspired poem. Get your hankies ready! ………………………………………………………………. (Solo)Come the cold winter, we followed the rule,No matter how poorly, we still went to school. And in that cold winter you’d oft hear the soundOf kids in the playground blowing snot on the ground, (2ndContinue reading “Blow ya nose snotty”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 9 Today we were asked to write a sonnet based on or around love. I was inspired by Jill Alexander Essbaum’s simply titled Sonnet, which was given in the resource for the prompt. I like the way she drops the rhymes I to the middle of the line, sometimes twice. So IContinue reading “Once more?”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 8 Today were were handed the biggest challenge of the month yet, the “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” exercise. You can read the full detail here. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. M. Cloture-Assis rode into town at Easter, not on a donkey, but astride a bobbo; an old mare he stole from up north. In his country seatContinue reading “M. Cloture-Assis”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 7 Today we were asked to write a poem inspired by a list. I wrote two, a silly one while still in bed, and one with more meaning that required three cups of tea. 1,2,3,4,8 I don’t write lists, and I’ll tell you why for1), Because that gives you another job2) do,Continue reading “Velvet Kisses”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 6 Today’s challenge, to take a poem in another language, read it aloud, feel the structures in the sound and then use that to influence a poem of your own.I’ve always liked the musicality of African languages so I was drawn to Come People by Isabella Motadinyane. Written in her native Sotho,Continue reading “Coddiwomple”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 5 Another shift ended,We rise from dark to dark,Men filling the air,With Hyena barks. Coal cutters still,Joint showers done,Pasties eaten,To home we run. But it’s hard to run,With two broken legs,No home tonight,Straight to hospital bed. Standing at my parent’s door,A friend with missive bad.Portal ajar, it now reveals,The terror known asContinue reading “Flinchless”

When the day arrived, it dawned with release,And peace.The kind of peace only a mountain feels, when,Without moving, The burden of white weight, snow weight slips from its shoulders.It births a sigh.Granite lungs heave relief, it breathes,For the first time since its plutonic release. The sensation shocked her awake,Her mind, body and soul a reconnectedContinue reading “Love’s release”