Day Eight-Napowrimo- Seeking You- A Ghazal

Napowrimo: here’s today’s totally optional prompt!

The ghazal (pronounced kind of like “huzzle,” with a particularly husky “h” at the beginning) is a form that originates in Arabic poetry, and is often used for love poems. Ghazals commonly consist of five to fifteen couplets that are independent from each other but are nonetheless linked abstractly in their theme; and more concretely by their form. And what is that form? In English ghazals, the usual constraints are that:

• the lines all have to be of around the same length (though formal meter/syllable-counts are not employed); and
• both lines of the first couplet end on the same word or words, which then form a refrain that is echoed at the end of each succeeding couplet.

Another aspect of the traditional ghazal form that has become popular in English is having the poet’s own name (or a reference to the poet – like a nickname) appear in the final couplet. 

My take:

Day Eight-Napowrimo- Seeking You- A Ghazal

 

I wandered through the streets of my city looking for you

Soaking in the sun, drenching in the rain, immersed in you

 

**The poem has been removed to facilitate for submissions. Thank you for visiting.**

 

*Sakhi is a pseudonym I use for my writing at times

The first time I tried a ghazal was in 2021 for Poetixu workshop. It was fun! So was this though it took some time to complete. So, what do you think?

Day Seven-Napowrimo-Why I am Not a Dream Catcher

Napowrimo: Here’s our prompt for the day – as always, optional. A few days ago, we looked at Frank O’Hara’s poem in which he explained why he was not a painter. Jane Yeh’s “Why I Am Not a Sculpture” has a similar sense of playfulness, as she both compares herself to a sculpture and uses a series of rather silly and elaborate similes, along with references to dubious historical “facts.” Today, we challenge you to write a similar kind of self-portrait poem, in which you explain why you are not a particular piece of art (a symphony, a figurine, a ballet, a sonnet), use at least one outlandish comparison, and a strange (and maybe not actually real) fact.

I haven't chosen the said art though instead I went with the dream catcher, a bit of something mysterious and magical.

Why I Am Not a Dream Catcher

I am not a dream catcher,
though I’m often asked to hold onto things
that slip through my fingers like mist.
A dream catcher collects,

**The poem has been removed to facilitate for submissions. Thank you for visiting.**

*Protective fetishes (objects believed to have special powers) appear in numerous indigenous cultures, but the dream catcher typically associated with Native Americans originated in the Ojibwe (Chippewa) culture.

Day Six-Naopwrimo-Tea

Napowrimo Day Six: Today’s prompt (optional, as always) veers slightly away from our ekphrastic theme. To get started, pick a number between 1 and 10. Got your number? Okay! Now scroll down until you come to a chart. Find the row with your number. Then, write a poem describing the taste of the item in Column A, using the words that appear in that row in Column B and C. For bonus points, give your poem the title of the word that appears in Column A for your row, but don’t use that word in the poem itself.

I chose number Four. The edible item from column A, an onomatopoeic word cuckoo from column B and an adjective from column C.

Day Six-Naopwrimo-Tea 

The cup rests like a promise, warm in my hands,
a rich, amber sun rising from the earth’s soft breath.
The taste is wild — 

**The poem has been removed to facilitate for submissions. Thank you for visiting.**

Are you a tea lover? I am one. I prefer tea more than coffee. So this was an interesting take. What are your thoughts? Do leave me your thoughts.

Day Five-Napowrimo-Louder than Possible

 today’s (optional) prompt is inspired by musical notation, and particularly those little italicized –and often Italian – instructions you’ll find over the staves in sheet music, like con allegro or andante. First, pick a notation from the first column below. Then, pick a musical genre from the second column. Finally, pick at least one word from the third column. Now write a poem that takes inspiration from your musical genre and notation, and uses the word or words you picked from the third column.

Details here: https://www.napowrimo.net/day-five-12/

Day Five-Napowrimo-Louder than Possible

 

Let me remember those days

When I thought you loved me—

My heart ached louder than possible

O dear, only to see you once again.

 

**The poem has been removed to facilitate for submissions. Thank you for visiting.**

Notation: Louder than possible

Genre: Aria

An "aria" originally refers to a type of song in opera, typically one sung by a soloist with an orchestral accompaniment. It's usually a moment of emotional expression or reflection in an opera. In a poem, the use of "aria" may evoke this idea of a solo performance or a lyrical, expressive moment. It can symbolize a character's personal or emotional outpouring, much like an aria in an opera. "Aria" often conveys beauty, depth, and emotional intensity, and it may signal a moment of intense feeling or contemplation in the poem.

Words: bones, shadow, clock and moonlight