backwards

Photo Credit: JP-Flanigan via Compfight cc

backwards

and you’ll hear from me no more
i would love to stay but my time here is over
please remember me well
poetry is not really meant to be useful is it
i wish i could tell you something useful as we part
my voice is weak already
i bury the scroll
today is the last day of poetry




The poem was written backwards, starting from the last line and ending with the first line (see the prompt). I got rid of punctuation and capital letters for practical reasons.

This is Day 30, which means that I have completed one more NaPoWriMo Challenge. I have posted at least one poem every day, sometimes more than one. Some poems need a lot of editing, of course.

Two Poems for Day 29

Photo Credit: jenny downing via Compfight cc

Five Stars

The place is not easy to find.
You will need to
update your maps.
Inside,
wear a helmet at all times.
This is
for your own protection.
Some people wear gloves, but
we used our bare hands.
Shovels are provided.
I was hesitant at first, but
the service is superb.
There is something for everyone,
you just have to dig deep.
Some objects are very delicate,
handle them with care.
If the walls start tumbling down,
be patient.
Go through the rubble methodically.
The work is hard,
but if you are lucky,
you might go home with something.

Photo Credit: tranchristopher5 via Compfight cc

The Encrypted File

The file is encrypted.
The location of the file
is a well-kept secret.
It deletes itself
at midnight.
Every day
the code reappears.
I don’t know what the code is for.
My instructions are simple.
I turn the computer on
and press Execute.



NaPoWriMo Day 29
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 29

Bridge, River

View image | gettyimages.com

Bridge, River

He sees himself in her, but
when she looks at him,
she sees nothing.
They don’t touch.
She keeps running away, but
they both know
she is as tied to him as
he is to her.
Stranded between her shores,
he waits.
He watches over her.
She is the only melody
he has ever tried
to understand.
He is her stone.



NaPoWriMo Day 28

Two Poems for Day 27

View image | gettyimages.com

I am proud to say that I am one of the Day 27 featured poets on the NaPoWriMo website.

Crime Scene, December

Red
roses on
the white bed.

View image | gettyimages.com

A Month of  Poetry

Needle
and thread.
Words on a string.

Stacks
of lines
like cracked china.

Need
to forgive
myself these transgressions.

NaPoWriMo Day 27
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 2

The Bridge

View image | gettyimages.com

The Bridge

I would flow with the river if I could.
Beached between her shores,
I am trapped.
I would fly with the birds,
but they won’t stop for me.
I see myself in the river.
I am made of stone,
not water,
and I have no wings.


NaPoWriMo Day 26
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 26

Two Poems for Day 25

View image | gettyimages.com

At sea

                 “An endless blue circle. In it a star.”
                     Milos Crnjanski

There is no up
and no down.
North and south mean nothing.
Encircled, you listen,
but you hear nothing.
If you are patient,
you’ll see that star tonight,
your only reward
for a hard day of paddling.



2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 25


And now, for Day 25 in NaPoWriMo, a very silly Clerihew:

View image | gettyimages.com

Dr Derek Shepherd

Dr Derek Shepherd,
by a truck he was bettered,
killed by Shonda Rhimes
who committed many crimes.

Snow in April

View image | gettyimages.com

Snow in April

A wind came
from somewhere.
It dispersed
white petals
from the cherry tree.
I thought it was snowing.
Anything was possible.
If this could happen to me,
then it could snow in April.
She took my hand.
Her eyes were kind.
She saved me.
She saved me for you.


NaPoWriMo Day 24
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 24

The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man

Suspended in space and time,
he doesn't look uncomfortable.
Almost like a stretching routine,
a new treatment for the spine.
He is waiting
for something to happen,
but he isn't in a hurry
to leave.
The day is warm and bright,
the flowers smell sweet,
and he has all the time
in the world
to just hang there
and do nothing.
I would gladly change places with him.
I really need some rest.
I wonder if he could throw together
a couple of verses
instead of me.


NaPoWriMo Day 23

Just a Bad Dream

View image | gettyimages.com

Just a Bad Dream

I dreamt that the bird was gone.

In the middle of the night

I looked at the cage and

it seemed empty.

I dreamt that the bird would not return.

Then I dreamt that

I lived a long and peaceful life,

but the bird never came back.


NaPoWriMo Day 22
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 22

What Did you Do?

View image | gettyimages.com

For Day 21 in NaPoWriMo, I created my first erasure poem. The short story is also mine.

My Poem, the Fugitive

View image | gettyimages.com

My Poem, the Fugitive

She broke the law multiple times.
She is wanted in several countries.
That’s all I know.
They say she is dangerous.
Do not approach her without backup, they say.
No, I don’t know
where she is now.
Why do you keep coming
to my door?
She is not my sister,
or my friend.
We are not alike
at all.
I don’t even remember
how we met,
or why she started
following me around.
If I knew where she was hiding,
I would tell you.
Then I could have some peace
at last.


NaPoWriMo Day 20
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 20

A Green Leaf, Fallen

View image | gettyimages.com

A Green Leaf, Fallen

A green leaf, fallen.
Things die, even in spring.




NaPoWriMo, Day 19

In Plain Sight

View image | gettyimages.com

In Plain Sight

You aren’t gone, just hidden in plain sight
under a stone, in the park where children come to play.



NaPoWriMo Day 19
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day19

The Mug – Variations on a Theme

The Mug – Variations on a Theme

Mostly yellow, with magenta petals and a black heart in the middle.

*****************************************************

Mostly yellow, with magenta petals and a black heart in the middle.
A single crack, on the rim.

*****************************************************

Mostly yellow, with magenta petals and a black heart in the middle.
A single crack, on the rim.
Mended, though not well.

*****************************************************

Mostly yellow, with magenta petals and a black heart in the middle.
A single crack, on the rim.
Mended, though not well.
A green leaf, fallen.


It's Day 18 in NaPoWriMo. Today, I did my homework for the How Writers Write Poetry MOOC, which was to post a one-line poem, then a two-line poem, followed by a three-line poem and ending with a four-line poem.

Maybe There'll Be a Sequel Tonight?

View image | gettyimages.com

Maybe There’ll Be a Sequel Tonight?

We lost the first 15 minutes because
I found your presence encouraging.
I believe this afternoon.
I know I am proud to be OK now.
Been offline for four days.
Nobody could see my friends face to face.
Spent three and a half hours on unconditional love,
but we lost the chat.
This is my first photo with my glasses on.
I will spend half my life
in the woods.
Seems good
to remember the summer.
We procrastinate because
we are wondering
about the flowers.
Been offline for your presence.
When I woke up
I couldn’t remember
what to do.
Maybe there'll be a sequel
tonight?
I am not even too unhappy with
my life
as a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

This is my NaPoWriMo Day 17 poem. I wrote it with the help of What Would I Say. This app generates Facebook statuses based on what you have posted on the site in the past. It was so much fun that I couldn't stop. And I couldn't believe when it gave me that "status" I used at the end of the poem.

The Shadow

The Shadow

Science is clear
on this one:
I am not a giant
or a superhero.
My shadow may be dark,
but it does not reflect
any inner darkness.
It has no free will.
Science claims
there are no monsters
or mythical beings.
I am safe from my shadow,
science says.
I would have known this myself
if I had paid attention
in class
instead of scribbling poetry
on the margins of my textbook
and composing little tunes
in my head.

NaPoWriMo 2015 Day 16
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 15

Sentimental

View image | gettyimages.com

Sentimental

There were times you didn’t approve
of me.
My adjectives were cheap,
my conceits tiresome.
I was a sentimental little thing,
you said.
I can’t tell
whether I have improved
over the years.
All I know is that,
each time I am reborn,
there are fewer words in me.
Gone are the adjectives
that used to make me beautiful.
I am an old woman’s song now,
dry and unforgiving,
and I pity no one.



NaPoWriMo Day 15
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 15

Not a Liar

View image | gettyimages.com

Not a Liar

You can’t cheat with this.
They will know immediately.
They won’t unless I tell them.
I am not into revealing
my darkest secrets
to strangers.
But you are a poet.
I’m not that kind of poet.
What kinds are there?
There are those who tell the truth
and there are those who don’t.
Liars, you mean.
That’s what we call
artistic licence.


NaPoWriMo Day 14
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 14

The Gardener

View image | gettyimages.com

The Gardener

I planted a tree in the garden,
now I am waiting for it to grow.
I don’t know its sort.
I work hard in my garden
every day.
I dig, I weed, I prune.
But mostly I wait.
I buried something in the garden a long time ago.
Now I am waiting for it to grow.
The fruit of our labour will bear the name
we choose for it.
Only I know the name of my secret.



NaPoWriMo Day 13
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 13

Saplings

View image | gettyimages.com

Saplings

They sleep all winter.
Enemy from within.
They are faceless,
it is hard to tell
who’s who.
They wake up in early spring.
They break the ground
and show their faces to the world
one by one.
The earth opens
to let them out.
It has no choice.
At dawn
our world is changed
and we must thread softly
because they own this meadow
now.



NaPoWriMo Day 12
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 12

In the Park

View image | gettyimages.com

In the Park

The little girl is
here for the first time and
so is the flower.





NaPoWriMo Day 11
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 11

Howling at the Moon

View image | gettyimages.com

Howling at the Moon

It's a job like any other.
Someone has to do it.
We have no weekends, or public holidays,
we are awake while you sleep
and the pay is miserable.
So, don’t complain about the noise.
Be grateful it isn’t you.

NaPoWriMo Day 10
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 10

The Tunnel

View image | gettyimages.com

The Tunnel

The mountain is blocking the sun.
I don’t know what time of day it is,
or how long I’ve been here.
My hands are sore and bloody.
I believe the hole is getting larger.
I can almost feel the draft
and see the light on the other side.
The job will be over soon.
Then I will be able to leave
and have some rest.

NaPoWriMo Day 9
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 9

Whatever You Do, Don’t Look Inside

View image | gettyimages.com

Whatever You Do, Don’t Look Inside

Someone left this box

on my threshold

the other day.

It’s wrapped in plain brown paper,

but there’s a fancy red bow on top of it.

I took it inside

and it is now sitting

on my coffee table.

When I put my ear

next to it,

I almost believe I can hear something.

I could go on pretending

it is not there,

but people have started

asking questions.

I suppose I should take it

to the cellar

or even

bury it in the garden.

Then I should just

forget about it.

NaPoWriMo Day 8
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 8

A Love Song for Money

View image | gettyimages.com

A Love Song for Money

I wait for you to come.
You are late, as usual.
I wait for you until the pain
replaces the anger.
I will forgive anything now.
You arrive, finally.
You offer no excuses.
You need none.
You look good
in your new clothes.
Forever a dandy.
We have some good times together.
It is always good, while it lasts,
but I hope you know
this will end soon.
I hope you know
I am not to be trusted.
I will betray you.
I always do.
I will sell you off.
That’s how things have been
between us,
so don’t act surprised.

For Day 7, I combined the NaPoWriMo prompt, which was "money" with the 2015 April PAD prompt, which was to write a love poem. My relationship with money has never been an easy one.

Monday Morning

View image | gettyimages.com

Monday Morning

I left the door unlocked last night.
Anyone could have walked in.
So terribly absent-minded.
Or maybe
I did it on purpose.
I don’t know.
People ask for trouble,
but not me.
Never me.
Let’s face it,
I did leave the door open
last night.
Anything could have happened.
Yet, strangely, I slept like a lamb.
As if I wasn’t afraid.
Anyone in their right mind
would have been afraid.
This morning
everything seemed normal,
but I believe
something walked in
during the night.
In fact,
I believe
it is still here.
It seems harmless,
but you never know
with these things.
They say you can never tell
until it’s too late.

Potato

View image | gettyimages.com

Potato

The fruit is poison.
Hidden, the real fruit
is safe.


NaPoWriMo 2015
2015 April PAD Challenge
Day 5

The Summer You Waited for Her

View image | gettyimages.com

The Summer You Waited for Her

You waited for her all summer.
After nine long years,
she would finally come to you.
The day she was to arrive,
you had already left.
Couldn’t you wait a little longer?
Augusta was the name of the woman
who found you.
Was the day too hot?
Did you lose your nerve
at the last moment?
And who was Augusta?
You kept telling her
you worked in a hotel,
but you were a janitor, weren’t you?
Funny what you can find out
When you google someone.
When she was to arrive,
you were no longer there to explain.
She never took that plane,
that’s all I know.


NaPoWriMo Day 4
2015 April PAD Challenge Day 4

The Machine

View image | gettyimages.com

The Machine

The mechanism is broken.

The chain creaks all night.

Nobody can get any sleep.

The wheel keeps turning,

pulling at something

that is no longer there.

The machine is rusty,

even the birds won’t nest inside

any more.

The field has given up,

retreating

before reed

and frogs.

NaPoWriMo Day 3
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 3

The Stars

View image | gettyimages.com

The Stars

Like young ladies in their Sunday dresses,
serene and well-behaved.
We look to them for answers.
Meanwhile
there are fires and explosions,
rage so violent
that it will just have to blow up
one day.

NaPoWriMo Day 2
2015 April PAD Challenge, Day 2

A Padlock

View image | gettyimages.com

A Padlock

It is not free.
It doesn’t sparkle or shine.
It can’t come to you
when you call it,
or take you home.
It watches you leave,
then it waits for you
to come back.
It has nothing to do
with love,
no matter where you decide to put it.
You can drown the key,
but it won’t keep you safe.
It’s rarely silent,
but that doesn’t mean it’s alive.
It offers no resistance.
Any child can break it.



NaPoWriMo Day 1
2015 April PAD Challenge Day 1