Basket – Emily – Early Bird 31.3.2022

Cat examines tree in my yard snapped at roots in recent storm

holds – just – firmaments ….

Because at the moment, too many
Rainy day for me, and yet more rain.

Some said it went on for twenty days:
Others said only twelve.
Well t’was day two began the flooding,

Bridges washed away. Forty seven
Roads closed. The heavens just
Wept and wept and wept some more.

Sometimes heavy, sometimes slow
But it went on. The basket we call
Earth slipped and slid and lake upon

Lake – we felt no justice. Until finally
In April the rain eased. Though it was
A weak – entrance – the sun made.

Emily, such heavy baskets we produced.
It’s not by God, but human – climate change.
& I – being human – as guilty as the rest.

Benita H. Kape (c) 1.4.2022

I think this poem is too pragmatic for Emily. But with the line I chose: first line of a second stanza poem number 352 this is just what came to me. Wrote it for Early Bird the 31st March but only now got to post.

NaPoWriMo 2022 – Early Bird

Dickinson is known for her elliptical style, unusual word choices, and mordant sense of humor. Over the past year, I’ve experimented with writing poems based on, or responding to, various lines from her poems. Today, I’d like to challenge you to do the same! Here are a few lines of Dickinson’s that might appeal to you (the slashes indicate line breaks):

“Forever might be short”
“The absence of the Witch does not / Invalidate the spell”
“If to be ‘Elder’ – mean most pain – / I’m old enough, today”
“The second half of joy / Is shorter than the first”
“To be a Flower, is profound / Responsibility –
And if none of those inspire you, you can find many of her poems here.

I took the line “My basket holds – just – firmament – “

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Cyclone Cook: Easter 2017 – NaPoWriMo 2017 – Day twelve – prompt: alliteration & assonance

Cyclone Cook: Easter 2017

. 

The streams are surging;

flood waters furiously flowing.

The second time in a fortnight,

some fierce god shows his wrath.

.

The centre of the cyclone

comes ashore  hitting the sodden

low-lying districts; driving

the town’s residents further afield.

Twenty homes highlighted as no-go.

Few will return after record rainfalls.

.

They wait out the foul weather

in halls and homes regarded

as safe. Fraternizing with friend

in the same boat; Families fretting;

the cyclone fritters its way south.

All flights were canceled.

.

The swollen streams swell. What

will the future hold. They talk of

climate change and they talk of

Cyclone Cook, the high humidity;

the strangely warm weather.

.

It is only the beginning of winter.

The swollen streams swell.

All flights were cancelled.

.

Benita H. Kape © 13.4.2017 (for 12.4.17

 

finally, here is our daily prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like you to write a poem that explicitly incorporates alliteration (the use of repeated consonant sounds) and assonance (the use of repeated vowel sounds). This doesn’t mean necessarily limiting yourself to a few consonants or vowels, although it could. Even relatively restrained alliteration and assonance can help tighten a poem, with the sounds reinforcing the sense. Need some examples. Here’s Gerard Manley Hopkins showcasing alliteration and assonance on overdrive. And here is a poem with a more restrained approach from Kevin Young.

Yesterday – NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 26 (2) – call & response

Yesterday

A soft word to you my yesterday
A soft word in reply

No tears for my yesterdays
Those we shed were a truth at the time.

Travelled miles in my yesterdays
Today is for home

Been through floods and had accidents
Today is unknown

Written poems and tossed them
Remembering those you rescued

Yesterday poems and todays
Are all that I am

Benita H. Kape © 27.4.2016

I just had to share my second response to call and answer. Perhaps I’m nostalgic for days when the kids were at home and badgering for lunch in town.