Author Archives: grahamswords1962

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”

You think I’m wrongThat you’re in the rightThat your case Carries all the might, And all because,Your mind’s far from lame,You’re not insaneAnd all your friends all think the same. You may think that is soBut if you bear Let me shine a light,On the problem of wrong and right. If I place you withContinue reading “The problem of wrong and right”

Napowrimo 2023, Day 4 Today’s challenge is to write a triolet, an eight-line poem where all the lines are in iambic tetramenter (for a total of eight syllables per line), and the first, fourth, and seventh lines are identical, as are the second and final lines. This means that the poem begins and ends withContinue reading “Spring Spikes”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 3 Take a short poem you like and reverse all of its meanings I chose Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith, written below: Nobody heard him, the dead man,But still he lay moaning:I was much further out than you thoughtAnd not waving but drowning. Poor chap, he always loved larkingAnd nowContinue reading “Stand proud as a Tulip”

NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 2 Pick 5-10 words from a list, next, write out a question for each word selected then for each question, write a one-line answer. Now, see if you can make a poem of just the answers. The following are my chosen words, questions and answers. What is a clove? – an aromaticContinue reading “The myopic Mardy Bum”