National Poetry Writing Month Day 14

Create Art Podcast

What is National Poetry Writing Month?

Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.

The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:

NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.

Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today

Today’s (optional) prompt asks you to write a poem of at least ten lines in which each line begins with the same word (e.g., “Because,” “Forget,” “Not,” “If”). This technique of beginning multiple lines with the same word or phrase is called anaphora, and has long been used to give poems a driving rhythm and/or a sense of puzzlebox mystery. To give you more context, here’s an essay by Rebecca Hazelton on her students’ “adventures in anaphora,” and a contemporary poem that uses anaphora to great effect: Layli Long Soldier’s “Whereas.”

Poem for Today

Listless Is How

14 April 24

Listless is how I wake

Looking at my goals of the day

What I need to accomplish

Needless chores each and every day

Actions that won’t be remembered in perpetuity

Listless is how I feel

As the motions that are meaningless begin to take shape

Looking at all the things I want to fill this hole in my soul

Watching the dust pile up

I can’t even keep up with cataloging the objects that I once thought I desired

Listless is how I live my life

Without interest in the outcome

Without passion that used to drive me on

Without the interest in learning new things

Without challenging the status quo

Listless is how I move through the day

Pushing through the fog that is comprised of mental strain

Pushing through the obstacles I place in front of me

Pushing through the mud that becomes paintings

Pushing through the words on the page

Listless is how I sleep

Never getting the rest that I find is required

Never inspired by what I see in dreams

Never recharging myself and taking naps that pushes me farther behind

Never catching up and going ahead of where I want to be

Listless is how I never wanted to be

Avoiding the trap of thinking none of this matters

Avoiding the fatigue that others fail to understand

Avoiding looking in the mirror and seeing the hopelessness

Avoiding the reflection that others cannot see

Listless is how laziness is taking over

But I don’t have the luxury of being content

But I don’t have the inclination to let things be

But I don’t want this anymore

But I don’t want to change

Listless is how I define myself

And I am not happy with the weeds growing in my yard

And I am not planning on staying in this mood

And I am not going to let you catch up

And I am not going to ever stop

Listless is how I define this small part of my life

It is an enemy within

It is not how the story ends

It is not the final chapter

It is not forever unlike me

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