April Poem a Day Challenge – Poems 13 through 19

As with most challenges, this April Writers Digest Poem A Day competition has grown fiercer in the last week.  The prompts were more difficult or thought-provoking for me.  Still I pushed through it and wrote something each day this week.  Below is my poetry written for days 13 through 19.

For Day 13 we were prompted to write a “confession.”  I jotted down three ideas for that topic.

First I thought of a waitress putting something bad in a customer’s order.  Then I recalled my two children fighting and one confessing to hitting the other child.  Finally I thought of a female being pulled over by a male police officer for speeding and other crimes.  The woman is very pregnant when she is caught.

I went with option number three.  As I composed the poem, I surprised myself with writing out a crime story within the poetry with a twist at the end.

PAD Poem # 13 – Confession in Crisis

Rear view mirror revealed flashing light.
This was turning out to be an interesting night.

She cursed and slammed down her arm.
The lady did what she had to, meaning no harm.

Pull over, shouted the police man loudly.
Sure thing jerk, she uttered proudly.

Of all the crimes committed, hers would be caught.
Leave me be, I’ve earned this, she thought.

Destroyed property, speeding and running a stop sign,
Were a few of the charges the officer would find.

If he looked way back, what else would he discover?
Destroyed evidence, hiding her ex-lover?

Tonight was different, she had no fears.
A new life was coming, no regrets or tears.

When Mr. Uniform approached, she said, “Let’s hurry this up bloke!”
“I’ve got business to handle.  My water just broke!”

The young man looked down at the woman’s large, shaken belly,
Recognizing her criminal face from news on the telly.

She screamed in pain and re-started the car.
“I’m just going to the hospital; it’s not far.”

So the escort commenced, three blocks down the street.
Not long after, baby felony and his mom did meet.

Policeman hoped his captain would not cause him sorrow,
For waiting to arrest his girlfriend tomorrow.

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For Day 14 we were prompted with another “Two for Tuesday” to write on being “honest and/or dishonest.”  I wanted to weave both notions into the poem.  I came up with this idea of a truthful sister and a lying sister.  I must confess I used some characteristics of my two daughters in this poem but I exaggerated them of course.

PAD Poem # 14 – (Honest and Dishonest) – A Tale of Truth and Lies

The tale of two sisters
Known both near and wide
Truthful Trudy, the oldest
With Lying Laura by her side.

Trudy count not tell a lie
Her mouth gave her away
Her tongue often said too much
People never knew what it might say.

Laura could smile and fib
Like no one else they knew
Her stories were legendary
The more that she grew.

The girls’ mom would ask them,
“Do you like my dress?”
Trudy responded, “It’s horrible!”
Laura said, “What a beauty, oh yes!”

The girls’ dad would ask them,
“Who ate the last pie slice?”
Laura said, “It wasn’t dear me.”
Trudy replied, “It tasted so nice.”

The girls’ teacher asked them,
“Which president was the first?”
Laura said, “Benedict Arnold, of course”
Trudy said, “Who cares, history’s the worst!”

Back and forth the sisters bantered
Arguing politics, culture and youth
Laura hiding behind her lies
Trudy revealing too much of the truth.

The girls’ discretion or lack of
Drove their family insane
The lies hurt their hearts
Yet the truth caused them pain.

And just when things seemed calm
Mom announced baby brother Ben
Who they quickly learned had his own talent
Twisting lies into truth once again.

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For Day 15 the topic was to use an “adjective,” any one we choose, and write a poem on that.  I chose “dirty.”  Now before you go thinking my mind was in the gutter, the influence behind that was my kids’ dirty hands and mouths after eating breakfast.  But then my mind went wild from there with all different sorts of imagery about dirt and being dirty…

PAD Poem # 15 – Dirty

His hands covered in day’s dirt
Her words cause intentional hurt

Nurse scrubs lined with blood
Little boy making pies with mud

Diaper overflowing with ooze
Cursing at alarm, no time for snooze

Guilt for what she does not show
Nail infected on left, big toe

Thoughts that run through our minds
Actions taken and uncommitted crimes.

_________________________

For Day 16 the theme was “Science.”  The first thought I had was the film Weird Science from my childhood.  But I didn’t feel up to writing about two teenage boys wearing bras on their heads.  Then I reflected on my childhood memories of science and learning.  I wrote this free-form poem with the ending being a phrase I learned in school about how to remember the planets, only now Pluto is no longer considered a planet.

PAD Poem # 16 – Science

Weird, wonderful memories
Childhood science experiments
Mr. Wizard, Nickelodeon
Using a balloon to make
A funny voice or hand stand up
Liquid to solid to gas
Looking through a microscope
Cell dividing or multiplying
Learning how things work
Wearing goggles and lab coats
Electricity, windmill, water power
Waiting for an explosion
Studying rocks and volcanoes
Using modern ways to explore past
But without “Pluto” the planet…
What does “My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine ____” now?

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For Day 17 the prompt was “swing.”  It could be any form of a swing – the childhood park or politics.  I stuck with the notion of a swing in my backyard which my girls love to use except I dug deeper to discuss fears of being a parent and creating a safe-haven for children that doesn’t exist.

PAD Poem # 17 – Swing

Hold on tight!
Don’t let go!
She grips the chain.
I clinch my fist.
Up and down,
Back and forth,
We dance steadily.
I urge her to try.
She is reluctant
To fly on her own.
I say to be brave,
Yet I shake inside.
A cruel joke for us both,
To create a safe space,
Then leave it forever.
Backyard fades as life beckons.

____________________

 

Day 18 has proven to be the toughest day for me so far.  We could only use “Two Vowels” in each word of the poem we wrote.  That may not sound too difficult but trust me, it was for me!  Luckily words using “Y” was considered a ‘free’ option.  First I tried using “O” and “I” words.  My daughter just had a bunch of spelling words like coin and join.  But then that didn’t work out.  After that, I tried “O” and “U” words.  That didn’t seem to inspire me either.   Ugh, this one was frustrating!  Finally I chose “A” and “E” words because more of those came to my mind.  I kept this poem short because I spent over an hour on the entire exercise…

PAD Poem # 18 – (Two vowels only) – Faded Dreams

Dreamy stance
Faraway glance
Played by lake
Ate apple cake
The warm hand
Felt salty sand
Rays were hazy
Days were lazy
Perfectly made
Flashback fades.

_____________________

Day 19 brought the theme of “authority.”  I thought about a quote I heard recently from a guest speaker in my leadership program.  The Vice President discussed how leaders can and should use influence, not authority, to be a great leader. I let his words inspire me to write this poem.

PAD Poem # 19 – Authority

Influence, not authority
Will give you power over me.

If you demand or yell
That will only make me rebel.

I need you to be on my side
Not cause me to run or hide.

Include me in your team
Ask me my goals and dream

If you can make me a believer
Then you will be a true leader.

____________________________

There you have it, a week’s worth of my poetry from this daily poem challenge.  I have a feeling next week will be even more interesting and challenging.  Come back next Sunday for my writing.  In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter where I sometimes share my notes and photos of the prompts.

Keep “Poem”-ing Your Heart Out!