NaPoWriMo 2026 [April 28]
Day Twenty-Eight
Welcome back, all, for the twenty-eighth day of Na/GloPoWriMo.
Today, our featured participant is the Poet Laureate of the Primitive Planets, which brings us a (gently) hysterical love poem in response to Day 27’s even-stanza-length prompt.
Today’s resource is this short meditation by the poet Barbara Guest, on the tension between a poet’s desire to control a poem, and the fact that poetry is often most moving when it surprises both the poet and the reader with wild and unpredictible moves.
And now for today’s (optional) prompt. Victoria Chang’s poem, “The Lovers,” is short and somewhat shocking, bringing us quickly from a near-hallucinatory descriptive statement to a strange sort of question, before ending on the very direct statement of a “truth.” Six lines, three sentences, and to top it off, a title that I think works for the poem but is only obliquely related to its text. Today, try writing a poem that follows the same beats: three sentences, six lines: statement, question, conclusion.
Happy writing!
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Note: Day Twenty-Eight asked for a six-line poem in three sentences: statement, question, conclusion. Since I had already sat down to finish yesterday’s late poem before yet another long heated day could begin and become whatever it wanted to become, I thought I should also write today’s offering while the room was still somewhat available to me. So here it is, my offering (two, actually) for Day Twenty-Eight: brief, before the day grows teeth.
The Early Room
The morning sits at the edge of the bed
like a country pretending not to listen.
How many times can a kettle boil
before the house admits it is afraid?
Some truths do not arrive loudly.
They wait in the cup and darken the tea.
~ Oizys.
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Before the News Refreshes
The window is open and the room is already full
of things no one has named yet.
What is the use of morning
if the world keeps entering before breakfast?
Some days begin as weather.
Some days begin as warning.
~ Oizys.
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After-note: Maybe I will write more of these depending on how the day unfolds. Or I may not. The day has not yet submitted its agenda. Also, this is the third-last poem of April, which feels both relieving and suspicious.
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Both excellent brief writes. I love brevity and the whole statement, question, conclusion six line format is ideal to write to. Everything has to be boiled down to its essence. 👏
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Shaun. I agree, the format was such a good constraint. Six lines felt almost merciless, but in a useful way. No room to wander off, over-explain, or hide behind furniture. Everything had to be boiled down, as you said.
DeleteOh my. You had a productive morning. Wonderful stuff. Love them both, equally. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Selma. It was one of those rare mornings where the poems arrived before the day could start making demands. So, I am so glad both pieces worked for you.
DeleteWonderful, both poems. They also felt like the same poem. I adore this form. I'll be writing a few more too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Sunra. I love that they felt like the same poem to you. I felt they were speaking to each other too. This form is addictive, isn’t it?
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