Day Two ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2015

Day Two dawns! Well, about five hours ago. (I'm writing this paragraph at 10:17 in the morning.) We're freshly scrubbed here in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Thunderstorm in the wee hours downshifting our temps from yesterday's 80s (!) to today's forecasted 60s and tomorrow's projected 30s (!) at this same time. Thank goodness it's not snow, sleet, or wintry mix today. Knock on wood. Tomorrow, who knows. Okay, back to poems and April. Maureen Thorson's NaPoWriMo prompt today: "I challenge you to take your gaze upward, and write a poem about the stars. You may find inspiration in this [Dome of the Sky] website that lists constellations, while also providing information on the myths associated with each one." Here's Robert Lee Brewer's PAD suggestion: "For today’s prompt, write a secret poem. The poem itself could be a secret, or it could be about keeping secrets or, I suppose, not keeping them. Or maybe it’s about a top secret project, or the poem is a riddle with some sort of secret meaning." As I usually try to do, I'm merging the prompts today. Here goes. Guitar Nebula In the constellation of Cepheus in Northern sky A cloud of radiant gas and star-stuff quivers, Fiery arrow, gigantic guitar in the heavens, Thrumming the ghostly music of the spheres. But little do we know that tilting our heads To the left, counter-clockwise, a mere ninety Degrees, swings into secret, sacred alignment Mighty All-Father Odin's Flaming Eye. Like Jimi or Carlos or Eric or Eddie Van, Odin creator of magical songs shreds— Fingers like pillars of red giant stars clench Through interstellar dust, whipping chords Of a zillion neutrinos shrieking through vast space. Celestial peace sweeping Odin's galactic face. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Guitar Nebula, Arecibo Observatory, Cornell University Alan also combined the "star poem" and "secret poem" prompts today. His poem captures well a childlike point of view, the sense of hope and unfettered possibility that only children can have. P O E M   R E M O V E D while being submitted for publication.   Please come back later. The poem may return at some time in the future. Thank you!       I'm very glad to share with you today's NaPoWriPo poem by my friend Caroline Klocksiem, who is in a writing group with me and Alan. Caroline is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Arizona State University’s MFA program; she teaches English at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Check out her website at carolineklocksiem.com. Ideas for a project beyond survival A friend says my picture looks like I have ideas. I don’t have any ideas for a project beyond survival. This is from a project I am calling Survival. What am I currently working on? I am currently working on not getting sick/fired/overdrafted/divorced. I am currently working on forms and checks, not forgetting fucking milk. I am currently fixing the broken chain-link fence out back. I stand up in front of an audience and confess that I am working on fixing a broken fence. I confess that I tether one link to another with bread ties and zip ties, their angles just like two metal jaw bones joined together. The storm last night transformed the fence into a web which has captured all the stray news with the force of the wind pushed up against it, the tension like breathing in and out of a plastic shopping bag. Each space its own display of fragments. Why am I fixing the fence of a house that is not mine? Against this decoration I feel so plain. Why am I fixing anything? Am I fixing anything? I don’t know. My name is on it. The other day, a capitalist asked me do you only write poetry? —Draft by Caroline Klocksiem    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Photo by Jessica Hoadley Tuggle Friends, won't you comment, please? Alan, Caroline, and I would love to know what you're thinking. To comment, look for a red line below that starts Posted by, then click once on the word comments in that line. If you don't find the word "comments" in that line, then look for a blue link below that says Post a comment and click it once. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

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