NaPoWriMo 2015 - 1/30 - Rushing - Diary Entry of The Flash

This is technically NOT the first poem that I have written this month, it is merely the first one in this series of poems written from Rachel McKibbens' prompts. I have placed the notes from the process after the poem in case anyone is interested.


Rushing - Diary Entry of The Flash

The alarm went off. I pressed snooze.
Whooshed to the kitchen.
Ate cereal for breakfast. Tried not to choke.
Went to work. Slow day. Everything seems slow to me. Always.
I ran home five miles in the rain in under two minutes. My feet hurt.
I gobbled down a cheese sandwich for dinner.
Went to bed. Sleep is the only time I can move slowly.


~~~~~

From Rachel's blog:
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2009
POETRY EXERCISE #1
Write down three things that are physically impossible. Now set that list aside and write a fake diary entry about the most boring, most ordinary day.

I'll go first:

I woke up. The sun was out. I went downstairs. I made some oatmeal. I ate the oatmeal. The mailman came. I checked the mail. Bills. A birthday card for my neighbor. I watched some television. I pet my dog. I had a sandwich for lunch. I had another sandwich for dinner. I went to bed. 

Now, get that list. Choose one of the impossible things. Rewrite the journal entry as a person who (fortunately or unfortunately) has the impossible power/ability you chose. 


Diary Entry of a Fire Breather

I woke up. The sun was out. My pillow in flames, 
the toilet water boiling. Burnt oatmeal again. 
The mailman came. I scorched the bills. 
I singed the birthday card for my neighbor. 
I watched Mary Tyler Moore melt. I pet my dog to ashes. 
I had a sandwich for lunch. Fried peanut butter and jelly. 
Dinner was the same. Fried.
I went to bed. I dreamt of water.


- - - - 

(This exercised inspired by Louis Jenkins' poem, "Walking Through a Wall")

~~~~~

My notes on the process...

I did the instructions out of order. (I never was good at following directions.)

First the mundane journal entry:

The alarm went off. I pressed snooze. Ate cereal for breakfast. Went to work. Slow day. I walked home in the rain. My feet hurt. I ate a cheese sandwich for dinner. Went to bed.

Then the list of physically impossible things:
- Flying
- Seeing through things
- Superhero Flash speed

I had a hard time deciding which of the three to go with. Since I mentioned my feet hurting I went with Flash-like super speed. (Even with the "slow day" comment, I figured I could make it work.

April Is National Poetry Month (NaPoWriMo)

For those of you who may not know, April is National Poetry Month. National Poetry Month, which takes place each April, is a celebration of poetry introduced in 1996 and organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. You can learn more at their website: http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home

I don't know when poets around the country started challenging themselves to write a poem a day in April, but I started when I first saw other poets doing it online in 2008. The poets call this NaPoWriMo which is short for "National Poetry Writing Month" as a play on the November National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. I have put out a chapbook every year of my poems that I wrote during that time. The group of NYC poets that I was following online had the additional stipulation that the poems be posted daily without any editing. Because of this, when I did my chapbooks I didn't edit them and named my annual chapbooks "Unrefined Creativity" (each with the year of writing and a volume number).

This year I am challenging myself to write from fellow poet Rachel McKibbens' prompts she has in her blog archive (http://rachelmckibbens.blogspot.com/). I have been writing from her prompts over the years and have written some of my favorite poems from them. She posted 104 prompts from 2009-2013 and I have written from 22 of them. Now I hope to write another 30 more. Wish me luck!

Breathe Out Poetry

The Deep Breath of Life

The Earth Moans With Metaphors

Deeply lacking in the actual "Poetry" part of "Poetry by Niccolea"...

I do write poetry occasionally and post it to my poetry facebook. I had intended to keep up with my "New Trick Tuesday" posts and my "Throw Back Thursday" posts but it seems that I am deeply slacking in those. Between work and school I am pretty much out of touch with this blog. So... my project for my days off from school at the end of the month is to at least do the new tricks and the throw backs. I appreciate your patience! Stay tuned! :-)

A Useful Place For Lamentation