I decided I wasn’t going to finish out the month of NaPoWriMo, the Muse having abandoned me to fits and starts and tries and fails on the page.  Alas (or maybe, “yay!”) my inner A Student refused to give up on a commitment, and insists that a poem cannot be written if one does not try.  And so together she and I tried with less than enthusiastic participation on my part which was more about making excuses than trying.  A Student won.  I have enough poems to catch up.  Thus, here I am so put forth what we managed, reminding myself it is the process not the product in these sprints.  If you’ve been reading, you have seen that here already.  It is a mantra that I hear from inner A Student.  She’s right of course.  If you’re not in the race, you can’t win.

Day 23

Haiku

The hummingbirds are
back – winged blurs sipping sweets.
Winter becomes spring.

Day 24

This one is the most problematic for me (“process not product,” yells inner A Student) because it took off and then it stopped.

Dictation

What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?  The world would split open.  Muriel Rukeyser, writing about Kathe Kollwitz

The red dragon looking over
my shoulder taps her talons
on the worn wood floor, hums
a tune for harpsichord, Bach
perhaps -but I am not sure, smoke
wisping from her nostrils smelling
surprisingly like lilacs unless you know
that is her favorite breakfast.  I am
waiting for her to tell me secrets,
but she is having second thoughts,
fearing a scenario of unfettered riots
if she were to reveal her truth.

Day 25

Haiku

Walked outdoors:  bird
song; wind whispers, sunshine.
I snorted a bug.

Day 26

(good on me!  caught up despite my resistance!)

(untitled)

Curiosity led me to the edge
where I stayed a while before stepping
out over the air to see if I could grow
wings.  Risky, but worthwhile
as it turns out; it’s a long way down –
more of a glide than a fall – and one
learns so much more than just soaring.
There’s a story here – one you might
remember yourself:  time before time;
incarnation; a stunning blue orb
that comes closer and closer until
you discover yourself over vast oceans,
high mountains, green forests, and arriving
in the arms of a person you will look like,
love or not, and to an adventure full
of danger and discovery.  It is hard to remember
we came here just to see if we could learn to fly.