Author Archives: grahamswords1962

Sunday, a day of rest and contemplation – well it would be if I was not awake at 5am!Hey ho; at least it gives me time to respond to NAPOWRIMO. Today, our challenge is to write a poem titled “Wish You Were Here” that takes its inspiration from the idea of a postcard. Consistent withContinue reading “How I wish….”

So, today’s challenge was to write a poem rooted in “weird wisdom,” such as something objectively odd that someone told you once, and that has stuck with you ever since. As an example, we were directed toward Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Making a Fist.” I do find it intriguing the way my mind responds instantlyContinue reading “The winds of change”

Today we were asked to take a look at Alicia Ostriker’s poem, “The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog.”  and then try to write our own poem about how a pair or trio of very different things would perceive of a blessing or, alternatively, how these very different things would thinkContinue reading “Time”

Today’s prompt challenged us to write a poem in which we take our title or some language/ideas from The Strangest Things in the World. First published in 1958, the book gives shortish descriptions of odd natural phenomena, and is notable for both its author’s turn of phrase and intermittently dubious facts. I took a lineContinue reading “May we never know a wonderless world”

Today, our challenge was to write a surreal prose poem. For inspiration, we were given Franz Kafka’s collection of short parables – my favourite turned out to be “My Destination”. I’ve always struggled with the concept of prose poetry; isn’t it just a very well told and illustrated story? I’ve been a fan of surrealismContinue reading “Fear of flying”

Today we were asked to write a platonic love poem. In other words, a poem not about a romantic partner, but some other kind of love like that of for a sister, a friend, or even a really good Chicago deep dish pizza! The poem should be written directly to the object of our affectionsContinue reading “Passing”

Our challenge: to write, without consulting the book, a poem that recounts the plot, or some portion of the plot, of a novel that you remember having liked but that you haven’t read in a long time. I chose my all-time favourite novel, Catch 22 From the first breath of the first words – IContinue reading “Married at first sight”

It frames his view,And theirs’ of him.In the pane they see pain,He only feels joy. See more of Sadi Gökpınar’s work here

The crushing weight … The deafening silence … The unforced regret …

The lights on the street are silent these days,Through the misted windows they stand and stare away,They don’t return his gaze. The songbirds in the hedges seem to have lost their shine,Lustrous tunes echo down distant corridors,They long for choirs no more. The teapot stands parched, unquenched and dry,It’s only discourse with a single cup,ItContinue reading “Silent lights”