I've Changed My Mind Again: Poem-A-Day Update

I have decided to make the April Poem-A-Day Challenge a private, rather than public challenge for myself. Instead of posting poems here and over at Read Write Poem or Poetic Asides, I'm going to pull the walls in around me, toil away in artistic isolation, and see what happens. I'll post regular updates on the process here. If you're doing the challenge, please throw your own two cents in about how it's going for you! I'd love to know how the Challenge is shaking out for you!

Today is Day Four! So far, I've completed the following:


Day One:

From "Poetic Asides" prompt--write an origin poem. Title: Zombie Wardrobe

This is one I started a few days prior to April, and I didn't really know where I was going with the concept. I sort of like it and sort of don't like it. It reflects a sort of ennui and sense of fatalism that I've been feeling lately. It's going to need a little more work to be a polished piece.

Day Two:

From "Poetic Asides" prompt--write a poem about outsiders. Title: Self-Defense

This is a newer version of a poem I've been trying to get right for awhile. I don't think it's quite there yet, but thinking about the concept of "outsiders" with it helped me re-work it into a better, more whole poem.

Day Three:

From "Poetic Asides" prompt--write an poem with the title "The Trouble With __________".
Title: The Trouble with Raven.

I was very happy with the results! I've always felt a strong sense of connection to ravens, which was deepened when I returned from a trip to Alaska last year, where I bought a book about Tlingit raven myths. It was an amazing collection of stories! At the time, I wrote a sonnet about Raven, but I was never very pleased with it. It think the "The Trouble with Ravens" is the poem that I wanted to write at the time. Shifting the energy of the poem with a new perspective really brought what I trying to say into focus. This is the first time in about two months that I haven't felt the need to painstakingly re-work something for weeks at a time. What a gift, when the words just flow right the first time. I think it's been in my head for a very long time, forming itself, and it was finally ready to be born.

The poem prompt I'm using today is from Read Write Poem:

"Here’s the idea –- go to the hardware store (or an online paint store), and look up some colors you like. They tend to have evocative names, like white truffle or blackberry harvest. Maybe the whole idea of a hardware store makes you yawn, or worse, cringe. If so, head over to the make up counter, or browse the Clinique Eyeshadow store online. The idea is to find a color or two, write the phrase on a card, and then write down the associations you have with the phrase. Do a five minute free-write, and then turn your musings into a poem."

Lovely to think about color. And sweets.

Those of you who are doing a Poem-A-Day--what's it been like so far?