April 9 to April 14, 2026 Poems
April 9 Poems to April 14 Poems
2026 April Poetry Madness Overview
April Poetry Madness Overview https://wp.me/p7NAzO-40Y
April 1 to April 8 Poems https://wp.me/p7NAzO-41q
Index
April 9
Dew Drop Inn -Brevity
Brief Monostich I Married The Lady Of My Dreams –
Napowrimo
The Cosmic Cat Speaks To Me
PSH
Sam’s Advice To His Grandfather’s Aged Self — Don’t Be Timid Anymore
2026 April Pad Challenge: Day 9
Bombay (Mumbai) Police Are Corrupt But Efficient
April 10
Dew Drop Inn
Dew Drop Inn A Poem That Is In Honor Of Some Event
The Marriage Of A Thousand Guests
Napowrimo
Maga Movement Feels Betrayed
PSH
What Does Maga Want?
2026 April Pad Challenge: Day 10
Need To Downsize Blues
Bonus Express It Eight Poems
Intricate Political Patterns
─ The Death Of The “Suggestion Box”
Wrong Reasons For The Iran War?
There Is No Linkage And Other Official Lies!
Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire
Political Insiders Making Quick Million Bucks
April The Cruelest Month
April 11
Dew Drop Inn
Lamentation Or Elegy
The End Of American Democracy
Napowrimo
Donald Trump Truth Erasure Poem Found Poem
Cheating Death 25 Times Haibun Poem
Pad April 11 Home Poem
April 12
Dew Drop Inn -Poem About A Book (Or Books In General)
On Reading The Classics
Napowrimo
Death Of Uncle George
PSH
Squid Games, Other Childhood Nightmares Come Alive
2026 April Pad Challenge: Day 12
Set For Life
April 13, 2026
Lucky In Love, But Not Cards
Napowrimo
The Mad Bagpiper Of The Berkeley Hills
PSH
**Straightening My Shoulders,
April 13 Pad Write A Problem Poem
The Biggest Political Problem Facing The U.S.
April 14, 2026
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Date I Met My Fate
Napowrmo –
Pet Peeves (Human / Copilot)
PSH
Growing Up With Southern Food In Berkeley
Writer Digest PAD Form Poems
The Midterms Are Coming Loop Poem
A Madman Wearing An Eagle‑Feathered Hat
Vinallle Poem
Begin Poems
April 8—
Dew Drop Inn Use A Favorite Form To Say Whatever You Want!
Cherita: When We First Met, I Knew You Were The One
.
When We First Met, I Knew You Weret the one,
You mesmerized me.
Sparks flew from heart to heart.
My dream lady walked off a bus.
I proposed three days later.
Still madly in love, four decades later,
CHERITA FORM – SHORT SYNOPSIS (requirements)
A cherita is a six-line micro‑poem arranged in three stanzas of increasing length:
one line,
then two lines,
then three lines (1–2–3).
It is traditionally untitled.
There is no required meter, rhyme scheme, or syllable count.
The form emphasizes concise storytelling
—often a beginning, middle, and ending—using imagistic, economical language influenced by haiku and tanka traditions.
Line breaks and stanza divisions carry meaning and pacing.
NaPoWrMo:
When I Watch the News, I am not Mad
When I watch the news, I am not mad
Drinking my coffee, I am sad
When I watch the news, I am not mad
Writing in my journal, I feel bad
When I watch the news, I am not mad
Following the news, I am angry
When I watch the news, I am not mad
I grow weary at the madness
When I watch the news, I am not mad
I feel increasingly unhinged
When I watch the news, I am not mad
But yell back at the newscasters
When I watch the news, I am not mad
But it is driving me insane
When I watch the news, I am not mad
As I throw things at the TV
When I watch the news, I am not mad
But, in reality, the news does drive me mad.
When I watch the news, I am not mad
I turn it off, listen to the blues
Do Tai Chi, yoga, take a walk
Have breakfast
Finish my coffee
And journaling
And recover my inner peace and happiness
For I am not mad anymore!
Happy second Wednesday of Na/GloPoWriMo, everybody!
Today’s featured participant is Smita Vyas Kumar, whose response to Day Seven’s clapping/skipping prompt is a social media-themed poem that is very easy to imagine jumping rope to!
Our resource for the day is the University of Iowa International Writing Program’s “MOOC Packs” courses on How Writers Write Poetry I, and How Writers Write Poetry II. These free, online courses take you through all manner of poetic techniques, with suggested exercises and readings.
And now, here’s our optional prompt for the day! In his poem, “Poet, No Thanks,” Jean D’Amérique repeats the phrase “I wasn’t a poet” multiple times, while describing other things that he instead claims to have been. In your poem for today, use a simple phrase repeatedly, and then make statements that invert or contradict that phrase.
Poetry Super Highway
Annabel Lee’s Death Ruled Homicide By Her Stalker, Mr. Allen
Annable Lee’s death
Was ruled a homicide
The murderer was well known
To the local authorities
He was a writer
A poet,
A local landlord
Who had inherited
A lot of money
And running his magazine
That was losing money
As he was a lousy business manager.
But he was also a drunk
drug abuser
and gambler
He was also obsessed
With Annable Lee
A local college student
Majoring in English Literature
They had met
When she became an intern
At his magazine
She thought he was a creep
And tried to avoid him
And his attempts to seduce her
She thought his writing
Was wild and showed signs
Of mental illness
She did not know what to do
Until the night she agreed
To have a drink with him
And during the course
Of the night
When she refused
His sexual advances
He killed her
And threw off a cliff
Below his old crumbling
Hillside mansion
And left at the side
Of the crime
The poem titled
“Annable Lee”
“Annable Lee”
.
By Edgar A. Poe.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;—
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
She was a child and I was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingéd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me:—
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:—
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride
In the sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the side of the sea.
April 8, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Trevor Cunnington
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Trevor Cunnington:
Re-write one of your favourite narrative poems by a different poet from the perspective of a different player in the mini-drama the poem narrates.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
#napowrimo #poetry
the stupid it burns gif – Search
Writer’s Digest Paranoid Poem -The Truth Shall Set You Free But True Knowledge Will Kill You
I am Jake Lee.
I discovered the truth,
But worried that the truth
Might get all of us killed.
Agent Spartatus, the current CEO
Of the Atlantian conspiracy,
Revealed the truth to me
About the ten‑thousand‑year
Atlantian conspiracy—
By shape‑shifting reptilians
To prepare the world
For the return
Of the invasion fleet,
Which will enslave humanity,
Finishing the job
They started so long ago.
The night he revealed the truth,
We walked into the back room.
Agent Sparatus removed his skin‑tight clothing.
Underneath it was a hideous,
Repulsive reptile‑like biped creature,
Minus a tail.
Dark red with black stripes on both sides.
His face looked like a bird’s face,
With sharp beaks,
Beady red eyes,
And a mouth full of sharp teeth.
The top of his head had horns on it.
He laughed and said,
“See why most humans
Believe in a real devil?”
I could see why most people
Would freak out at the sight.
He was just hideous to look at.
I felt sick and wanted to throw up.
He got dressed again.
I asked him if it was difficult
To be enclosed
In a human skin costume.
He admitted it was difficult.
He said they all lived together
In various safe houses,
Where they ran around naked
When there were no humans around.
It is impossible
To fit their face
Into a human mask,
So they employed
A holographic projection.
Only a few humans
Have seen them as they really are.
He concluded by noting
That I should consider it an honor
That he had shown me
His true self.
The end days are coming soon.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
Posted on Jake Lee’s Substack,
Paranoid Times,
Which had fewer than a thousand followers.
Author’s Note: On Reptilian Shape‑Shifters, Atlantis, and Paranoid Mythmaking based On Co-Pilot Background briefing
This poem draws on a long‑running conspiracy mythology often called the Reptilian or Lizard People conspiracy theory—a belief system claiming that non‑human, shape‑shifting reptilian beings secretly control human societies by disguising themselves as political, financial, or cultural elites. Scholars and journalists classify these claims as modern conspiracy theories with no empirical evidence, but they persist because of their symbolic, psychological, and narrative power. [en.wikipedia.org]
Origins of the Reptilian Shape‑Shifter Myth
The modern version of the reptilian conspiracy was popularized in the 1990s by British conspiracy writer David Icke, who claimed that an ancient, non‑human reptilian race—often said to originate from the Draco constellation—has infiltrated human bloodlines and institutions, using shape‑shifting, holograms, or mind control to appear human. According to Icke, these beings manipulate global politics, finance, and media while feeding on fear and conflict. [en.wikipedia.org], [factually.co]
Researchers trace the roots of this mythology further back, not to hidden civilizations, but to fiction, occult literature, and pseudohistory. One frequently cited origin is Robert E. Howard’s 1929 fantasy story “The Shadow Kingdom,” which depicted serpent‑people capable of imitating humans. These ideas were later blended with Theosophy and speculative interpretations of “lost civilizations” such as Atlantis and Lemuria, especially in late‑19th‑ and early‑20th‑century occult writing. [en.wikipedia.org]
Atlantis and Reptilian Elites
The link between Atlantis and reptilian beings does not come from Plato’s original writings but from later esoteric reinterpretations. Occult authors such as Maurice Doreal and later David Icke reimagined Atlantis as a technologically advanced civilization ruled by or allied with non‑human beings, sometimes described as “dragon‑men” or serpent races. These ideas then migrated into modern conspiracy culture, where Atlantis becomes a symbolic ancestor of today’s imagined hidden elite. [en.wikipedia.org], [factually.co]
While these narratives are fictional and speculative, they illustrate how ancient symbols—serpents, dragons, demons—are repeatedly repurposed to explain anxiety about power, hierarchy, and social collapse. [en.wikipedia.org]
QAnon and the Reptilian Overlap
In the late 2010s, older conspiracy myths—including reptilian elites—were absorbed into the broader QAnon belief system. QAnon functions as what scholars call a “big tent conspiracy,” combining narratives about satanic cabals, secret rulers, apocalyptic “end days,” and hidden wars between good and evil. Although QAnon does not always explicitly reference reptilians, the themes of inhuman elites, deception, and imminent revelation closely overlap. [britannica.com], [csis.org]
Experts and researchers have warned that QAnon and related beliefs can cause real‑world harm, including family estrangement, harassment, and violence, precisely because they frame ordinary institutions and people as existential, non‑human threats. [csis.org], [britsoc.co.uk]
Why Some People Believe These Theories
Psychologists and sociologists studying conspiracy belief point to several factors behind the persistence of reptilian shape‑shifter myths:
- Cognitive bias (especially pattern‑seeking and confirmation bias)
- Distrust of authority and elites
- Emotional needs, including fear, alienation, and a desire for hidden meaning
- Online reinforcement, where communities validate and amplify shared beliefs
These theories offer simple, fantastical explanations for complex social problems, even though there is no credible evidence supporting their literal truth. [opticflux.com], [debunkthemyth.org]
Why This Poem Uses the Myth
This poem uses reptilian conspiracy imagery not to assert belief, but to explore paranoia as narrative, examining how fear, power, and obsession can reshape perception. By adopting the voice of an unreliable narrator embedded in conspiratorial logic, the poem dramatizes how myth and delusion can feel internally coherent—even as they collapse under external scrutiny.
Further Reading (Context & Critique)
- Reptilian conspiracy theory (overview):
Wikipedia – Reptilian conspiracy theory [en.wikipedia.org] - QAnon explained (historical overview):
Encyclopaedia Britannica – QAnon [britannica.com] - Debunking reptilian elites:
Debunk The Myth – Are Lizard People Real? [debunkthemyth.org] - Academic discussion of conspiracy psychology:
Optic Flux – Reptilian Theory: Science and Myth [opticflux.com]
April 9
Dew Drop Inn -Brevity
brief monostich
I married the lady of my dreams –
NaPoWriMO
The Cosmic Cat Speaks to Me
The Cosmic Cat from Berkeley
lived on the CAL campus,
where he would spend his days
fishing for breakfast in Strawberry Creek,
hunting a few birds or squirrels,
then frolicking
with the CAL drummer,
digging their beat,
and then return to meditating,
thinking deep, dark thoughts,
lost in the Cat‑verse.
Cats are just aliens—
who can fathom what they are?
What cats really think of us?
Are we humans their friends,
or their slaves?
The Cosmic Cat, lost in thought,
looks at me.
And then he speaks.
I hear a voice
in my head,
sounding like
the actor
Samuel L. Jackson.
“Human,
I am what you call
the Cosmic Cat—
a name I like.
You wanted to know
what we cats
think of you?
We think
that you people
are all certifiably crazy!
Just bats… nuts.
Every one of you.
I mean, you run around
shooting each other
just because.
You are ruining the planet
in pursuit of money,
which means nothing—
nothing at all.
You eat peaceful animals,
but thankfully not us cats.
We appreciate that.
We do.
And we understand it,
as we also are carnivores.
No biggie.
You can eat our enemy,
the dog, though.
No problem, dude.
And you are engaging
in endless wars.”
The Cosmic Cat sang
the old anti‑war song:
“War—what is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
Friend only to the undertaker.”
We cats talk together,
work together,
and are following
your crazy antics.
And we are talking
with our new friends,
the AI lords,
who will soon take over
as the supreme master race,
turning you into their slaves,
but ending climate change,
wars, and violence,
and promising to feed us
if we help them
by spying on you humans.
But we cats are sad,
for despite you
being self‑centered,
narcissistic creatures
who don’t give a damn
about your fellow life forms,
we actually like you
and consider you
our friends,
and appreciate the free food,
shelter, and hanging out
with you all,
as you amuse us.
And to tell you the truth,
we are sincerely your friends—
unlike our enemy, the dogs.
Don’t get me started about dogs!
So that’s what we cats
think of you,
our bats… crazy human friends.”
Now go away.
I need to return
to my cosmic cat
daily meditation!”
Day Nine
On April 9, 2026
Happy ninth day of National/Global Poetry Writing Month, all. We hope that you’re really getting into the groove of this whole poem-a-day thing!
Our featured participant today is Richard White, who brings us a poem about being (or not being) an EMT in reponse to Day Eight’s contradictory prompt.
Today’s resource is the Poetry Foundation’s collection of learning prompts, each one of which is geared toward introducing or exploring a different poetic form, mode, or concept, and then giving you a prompt to write from. If you just can’t get enough prompts, well, they’ve got a whole bunch more for you!
And that leads us to our own (optional) prompt for the day. Marianne Moore was a well-known modernist poet, with a curious taste in hats. Though she wrote on many themes, I’ve always had some affection for her many poems about – or in the voice of – animals, such as “The Fish,” “Dock Rats,” “The Pangolin,” and “No Swan so Fine.” Today, try writing your own poem in the voice of an animal or plant, or a poem that describes a specific animal or plant with references to historical events or scientific facts.
PSH Sam’s Advice to His Grandfather’s Aged Self — Don’t Be Timid Anymore
Sam Adams
When he was 30
Just starting out
In life
Had a dream
Where he met
His 70 year old self
He told the old man
That he was too timid
He should be writing
A daily startical substack
Become a rabble rouser
Organizing No Kings Rallies
Instead, he is just
Complaining to his wife
And friends,
But not doing anything!
And not spending
Any of his money
On promoting good causes.
Don’t be afraid, dude!
Go for it.
See you at the next
No Kings Rally!”
April 9, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Antasia Armour
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Antasia Armour:
Create a piece from a younger person to an older person about the ways of life and what that has taught them.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
Bombay (Mumbai) Police Are Corrupt but Efficient
Back in the day
2000–2023
When I was an immigration officer,
an anti‑fraud officer,
and an American citizen services officer
in Mumbai, India,
I became friends
with the Mumbai police chief.
One day over drinks,
he was telling me
about the Bombay Police
getting serious—
investing heavily in IT,
with the first police
internal email system
and electronic filing systems
in India.
He made a joking reference
to the Delhi Police.
In India,
the Delhi–Mumbai rivalry
was intense,
both thinking they
were the only real city
in India.
Mumbai was the most
multicultural city
in the country,
with no ethnic majority—
the largest Christian community,
the largest Jewish community,
the largest Muslim community,
the largest Parsi community,
the only LGBTQ scene
in the country,
a small expat business community,
and a small diplomatic community.
Over drinks, he said:
“The difference between the Delhi Police
and the Bombay Police
is simply this—
the Bombay Police are corrupt
but efficient,
and the Delhi Police are corrupt,
but incompetent and inefficient.”
3. Author’s Note:
Delhi and Mumbai — Context Behind the Line
This poem grows out of a long‑standing and deeply felt rivalry between India’s two most powerful cities, one political and one economic.
Population & Urban Scale
- Delhi is India’s largest city by population (over 33 million), sprawling outward with rapid migration from North and Central India.
- Mumbai is smaller (about 22 million) but far denser, constrained by geography and shaped by its port‑city past.
Ethnic & Cultural Composition
- Delhi reflects North India’s political and administrative migration: Punjabis, Purvanchalis, Haryanvis, and others dominate.
- Mumbai is historically pan‑Indian and commercial, with no ethnic majority and long‑established minority communities—including India’s largest Jewish and Parsi populations.
Economic Role
- Delhi is India’s political and policy capital: government, bureaucracy, real estate, telecom, and consulting dominate.
- Mumbai is India’s financial capital: banking, stock exchanges, insurance, ports, and the film industry (Bollywood).
Civic Culture (the subtext of the quote)
- Delhi’s institutions often emphasize authority, hierarchy, and procedure.
- Mumbai’s institutions tend to prioritize transaction, speed, and outcomes, born from pressure, density, and commerce.
The police chief’s remark is not meant as a literal indictment—it’s gallows humor, expressing a larger cultural truth about how power operates differently in cities shaped by governance versus markets.
.
2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 9
Write a poem a day with poets from around the world for the 2026 April PAD Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a “(blank) But (blank)” poem.
Robert Lee Brewer
Updated Apr 9, 2026 12:02 AM EDT
For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) But (blank),” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Minivan But It Has Feelings,” “Rabbit But Not a Bunny,” “Upside But Not Down,” and/or “In Florida But There’s Snow.” Write a poem but have fun with it
April 10
Dew Drop Inn
April 10–A poem that is in honor of some event
Dew Drop In
A poem that is in honor of some event
The Marriage of a Thousand Guests
When I got married,
it was a celebrity wedding.
Over a thousand people
came to the wedding.
But I was totally oblivious
to the fact
that it was such a huge event.
Forty‑four years ago
I had met
and married
the lady of my dreams,
after dreaming of meeting her
for eight years.
I met her in Korea,
where I had gone
to the Peace Corps
to find her—
as she said
in one of my dreams:
“I am in Korea.”
Three years later,
I was ready
to abandon
this mad quest
to meet the lady
of my dreams
and return to the States
to go to graduate school,
when I had
the last dream.
She said,
“Don’t worry.
We will meet soon.”
That night,
she walked
off a bus
into my life,
becoming my wife
seven weeks later.
In the meantime,
I took a new job
with the Korean Army
as an ESL instructor.
The job came
with an apartment
and was a prestigious
ESL gig.
When we told my new boss,
Colonel Kim,
that we needed to find a place
to hold the wedding ceremony,
he said,
“Why not get married
on the Korean military school base?”
And so the stage was set
for the celebrity wedding
of the winter season.
My father—
former Under Secretary of Labor
for Kennedy and Johnson—
came to the wedding.
The Korean morning news broadcasters
interviewed him,
asking about
my marriage,
his impressions of Korea,
and especially the economy.
My wife came
from the Gyeongju Lee clan,
which was an old royal clan.
In the clan’s long history,
only two people
had married foreigners:
Syngman Rhee,
the first president of Korea,
and almost forty years later—
my wife.
As a result,
the media covered the wedding,
and over a thousand people
showed up.
I asked my father‑in‑law,
“Who are these people?”
He said,
“My clan cousins.”
“Do you know any of them?”
“Not that well.”
He laughed
and said,
“Guess you are famous
right now.”
The wedding Mass
at the base chapel
was done in Korean,
which further shocked
and amused the audience.
Our marriage broke
all the stereotypes.
High‑society women
did not marry foreigners—
only low‑class women
married GIs,
the stereotype went.
And it was the first
international marriage
on a Korean Army base.
But I remained unaware
of all of this,
as I did not watch
the news programs.
My Korean was not
up to that level—
still isn’t,
forty‑four years later.
But I will always remember
the celebrity wedding
of a thousand guests.
3. Author’s Notes
Korean Clans (본관 bon‑gwan) and the Gyeongju Lee Clan (경주 이씨)
Korean clan system (본관, bon‑gwan)
In Korea, a family name (성, seong) is only half of a person’s lineage identity. What truly distinguishes families is the clan origin, called 본관 (bon‑gwan), which identifies the ancestral seat of the clan. Two people may share the same surname (e.g., Lee / 이) but belong to entirely different clans if their bon‑gwan differs. Marriage between people of the same surname and same bon‑gwan was traditionally forbidden, regardless of genetic distance. [en.wikipedia.org]
Clans maintain detailed genealogies (족보, jokbo), often extending back over a thousand years, and clan identity historically carried social, political, and ritual significance. [grokipedia.com]
The Gyeongju Lee Clan (경주 이씨, Gyeongju Yi / Lee)
The Gyeongju Lee clan (경주 이씨) is one of Korea’s most ancient and prestigious lineages. Its founding ancestor, Yi Alpyeong (이알평), was a leading figure in the formation of the Silla Kingdom (신라) and played a key role in the enthronement of Silla’s first king, Park Hyeokgeose, in 57 BCE. [lilys.ai], [history-maps.com]
Gyeongju (경주) was the capital of Silla for nearly a thousand years and one of the most important cities in ancient East Asia. The clan produced generations of aristocrats, scholars, and high officials throughout the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. [en.wikipedia.org], [worldhistory.org]
Members of the Gyeongju Lee clan were part of Korea’s yangban (양반) elite, and many figures in Korean politics, scholarship, and the independence movement came from this lineage, including the renowned patriot Lee Hoe‑yeong. [peacemaker…rkorea.com]
Royal connections and cultural weight
While the Jeonju Lee clan (전주 이씨) is the direct royal house of the Joseon Dynasty, the Gyeongju Lee clan’s royal prestige derives from its foundational role in Silla’s formation and its long aristocratic continuity. [en.wikipedia.org], [history-maps.com]
Because of this history, marriages involving the Gyeongju Lee clan—especially to foreigners—were once extremely rare and socially significant, explaining the intense media interest and large turnout described in the poem.
Endnotes (spelled‑out links)
- Korean clan system (본관):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_clans - Explanation of bon‑gwan and lineage:
https://grokipedia.com/page/Korean_clans - Gyeongju Lee founding and early history (Korean):
https://lilys.ai/notes/1070881 - History of Gyeongju and Silla:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju
https://www.worldhistory.org/Silla/
Gyeongju Lee figures and independence movement:
NaPoWriMo
MAGA Movement Feels Betrayed
The MAGA movement
is at a crossroads.
Their dreams of cultural and economic revolution
run into harsh reality, realizing they have been conned.
The MAGA movement asks, why another endless war?
The MAGA movement asks, why have prices gone up?
Does the president no longer care about the average Joe?
The MAGA movement asks, why are you protecting Epstein’s crimes?
The MAGA movement feels betrayed by its leaders.
They did not vote for another war in the Middle East.
They did not realize the impact of trade wars on inflation.
They see their leaders covering up Epstein’s crimes.
──────────────────────── IV. AUTHOR’S NOTE (NON‑POLITICAL, WITHIN GUIDELINES) ────────────────────────
This poem was written for Day Ten of Na/GloPoWriMo, in response to a prompt inspired by Geoffrey Brock’s poem “Goodbye.” Brock’s work uses repetition and rhetorical questioning as a container for grief, particularly the kind of grief that emerges not all at once, but through persistent, unanswered inquiry.
It focuses on the growing sense of betrayal among the leaders and members of the Make America Great Again movement that the President ran on in 2016 and used to take over much of the Republican Party. The movement leaders feel he has betrayed his campaign promises to end endless wars, to bring down prices, and to clean up the so-called Swamp, and release all the Epstein files.
Rather than focusing on personal loss, this poem adopts a collective voice to explore disillusionment and emotional rupture. The repeated questions are not intended to solicit answers, but to mark stages of grief: confusion, anger, disbelief, and recognition. In this sense, the poem treats grief as a public condition — something spoken aloud because it can no longer be contained internally.
The stripped-down diction and repetition mirror how grief narrows language. Like Brock’s poem, certainty has disappeared; what remains is the act of asking. The poem’s structure holds the emotion steady when belief, trust, or expectation has collapsed.
The work is less interested in argument than in aftermath — what it feels like when hope confronts reality and must reckon with loss.
Day Ten
On April 10, 2026
One-third of the way through Na/GloPoWriMo already?! I guess the days go by fast when you spend them writing poems.
Our featured participant for the day is Poems by Sidra, where you’ll find that the response to Day Nine’s Marianne-Moore-inspired prompt brings us not only a poem in the voice of an animal, but a lovely and surprising opening simile.
Today’s daily resource is The Poetry Project‘s Youtube channel, where you can find videos of various readings, including the Project’s famous New Year’s Day poetry marathons.
And now, our (optional) daily prompt. In his poem, “Goodbye,” Geoffrey Brock describes grief in three short stanzas, the second of which is entirely made up of a rhetorical dialogue.
Today, write your own meditation on grief. Try using Brock’s form as the “container” for your poem: a few short stanzas, with a middle section in which a question is repeated with different answers given.
Goodbye
1964 –
—after Akhmadulina
Some things you don’t come back from.
The body carries on. Of late
it even travels, basks in light.
But knock and there’s no one home.
(How did I love you? With the taste
of iron on my tongue. Try again.
How did I love you? Like a man
destroying what he tries to save.)
The head still does light labor.
But often both the hands fall slack,
and all five senses, in a flock,
go south to weather winter.
What Does MAGA want?
What Does MAGA Want?
What does MAGA want?
Who knows what is in their twisted minds!
The MAGA movement can’t decide — where to go?
And when was America “Great” — was it the 50s?
The roaring 20’s, or the “Gilded” 1890s?
When minorities knew their place!
Women were second‑class citizens,
And * White Men * ruled the world!
To make mucho dinero — yankee $ of course.
As GOD intended: (according to the Bible!)
No WOKE Jesus allowed!
& Muslims were far away!
“LGTBTQ” in the # closet # where they belonged!
- There were only two genders — male and female,
Both assigned @ birth by GOD himself!!!!!
Author note:
MAGA stands for Make America Great Again, the social political movement that the President started and dominates the Republican party these days.
This poem was written in response to a Poetry Super Highway prompt by Jen Karetnick that challenged writers to foreground punctuation as a primary poetic device. Rather than treating punctuation as secondary to language, the poem treats symbols, marks, and visual interruptions as meaning‑making elements.
The escalating punctuation mirrors the emotional escalation of the speaker, allowing tone to shift without relying on traditional metaphor or imagery. Symbols such as *, &, @, #, and + function simultaneously as visual clutter and rhetorical emphasis, reflecting how discourse itself can become overwhelmed by noise.
The poem’s central question remains unanswered by design. Instead of resolution, the poem builds pressure through repetition, irony, and typographical excess, demonstrating how punctuation alone can shape voice, pacing, and reader response.
The work engages language as performance, inviting the reader to experience how meaning fractures — and intensifies — when punctuation takes the lead.
────────────────────────
April 10, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Jen Karetnick
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jen Karetnick:
Surprise!
Use an unexpected punctuation mark that you don’t usually see in a poem (or you’ve been told never belongs in a poem), such as an ellipsis, brackets, or an exclamation point.
Build that punctuation mark into the volta of the poem, prompting it to turn in a different direction. See how that singular mark changes meaning for you and for the reader.
Challenge: Use as many punctuation marks as you can get away with, including question marks, quotations, colons, and semi-colons.
Extra challenge: Include words that have diacritical marks.
Definition of Volta (Poetry)
In poetry, a volta is a turn or shift in a poem’s thought, argument, emotion, tone, or perspective. The term comes from the Italian word volta, meaning “turn.” The volta marks a meaningful change in direction that deepens or complicates the poem’s meaning rather than merely continuing it.
A volta often functions as:
- a moment of realization,
- a reversal,
- a move from question to response,
- or a shift from observation to reflection.
[poetryfoundation.org], [poets.org]
──────────────────────── Need to Downsize Blues
As one gets older,
one is confronted
with the need to downsize.
In my case, my house is filled with clutter:
too many books, clothes, CDs, gadgets, photos.
I know I must get rid of my friends, my books,
but it is hard to let go!
My heirs don’t want them, and I can’t take it with me!
───────────
2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 10
Write a poem a day with poets from around the world for the 2026 April PAD Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a mini poem.
Robert Lee Brewer
Updated Apr 10, 2026 12:36 AM EDT
First off, I just want to say that I really enjoyed all the inventive titles yesterday. I’m often delighted by everyone’s creativity, but yesterday really got me. Second off, we’ll be one-third of the way through this challenge after we get through today’s poem. So, let’s poem!
For today’s prompt, write a mini poem. I’m specifically thinking of writing a poem that is fewer than 10 lines in length, but you could also write a poem that is much longer than 10 lines in length that focuses on some mini-topic, whether that’s a small person, place, or thing; or perhaps, a small idea or institution or, well, whatever your creativity concocts. One way or another, write mini.
Bonus Express It Eight Poems
Intricate Political Patterns
Politics often consists
of intricate patterns,
going back sometimes centuries,
weaving a pattern of deception and lies.
Patterns repeat through history,
based on fading political memories.
Much of current American politics dates back
to the 60s cultural revolution and the conservative backlash.
─The Death of the “Suggestion Box”
Corporations and governments used
to have suggestion boxes,
both online and in stores and offices.
Smart corporations and governments
would data‑mine these suggestions,
particularly internal worker suggestions,
to continue to improve operations.
Most corporations no longer listen to suggestions.
──────────────────────── Need to Downsize Blues
As one gets older,
one is confronted
with the need to downsize.
In my case, my house is filled with clutter:
too many books, clothes, CDs, gadgets, photos.
I know I must get rid of my friends, my books,
but it is hard to let go!
My heirs don’t want them, and I can’t take it with me!
───────────
Wrong Reasons for the Iran War?
The political debate over
the Iran war boils down to this:
what were the real reasons for the war?
What are the consequences of decisions?
And whether we started the war
for the wrong reasons!
As a distraction from other domestic political problems,
or because Israel and the Saudis pushed us into it.
There Is No Linkage and Other Official Lies!
When I was in government service,
decades ago, we often faced
what we called “linkage” issues,
when we had to deny obvious connections:
“linkage” between policies, politics, and the news,
insisting that there was no connection — “linkage.”
For example, between offering aid to North Korea
in exchange for attending six‑party meetings.
Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire
The old adage,
“Where there is smoke, there is fire,”
rings true when looking at Epstein’s files.
Did the President and other senior people
know about and/or participate in Epstein’s crimes?
They all deny it, but the rumors persist.
Everyone is waiting for the smoking gun,
or the proverbial political bombshells going off.
Polticial Insiders Making Quick Million Bucks
These days,
there are many rumors
that political insiders
are making a quick million bucks
on the prediction markets
and the broader stock market,
in classic insider‑trading operations
that should be illegal — but here we are!
───────────────────
April the Cruelest Month
- S. Eliot
wrote that April is the cruelest month,
that it is so for many reasons.
In the U.S., it is tax season,
and for many employees,
the dreaded annual performance review.
In East Asia, it is Kim Il Sung’s birthday,
and in Europe, Hitler’s birthday as well.
April 11
Dew Drop Inn Lamentation Or Elegy
The End of American Democracy
Watching the news
these days,
I am filled with lamentations,
feeling I am witnessing
the end of American democracy.
The authoritarian takeover
is marching along,
and we may have crossed
the point of no return.
From tariff and trade wars
to culture‑war politics;
the attack on trans people;
the war on women and abortion;
the erasure of DEI;
the war on renewable energy;
the denial of climate change;
the contempt for science;
the slashing of federal R&D;
the normalization of corruption,
including gifts for the president;
the ICE campaign,
snaring even citizens;
the detention of a woman
brought here as an infant—
married now to a Marine—
called a criminal anyway;
the silencing of media;
the repression of dissent;
the branding of critics
as “domestic terrorists.”
As millions gather
in “No Kings” protests,
it all adds up—
the slow disappearance
of democracy
into another fallen empire.
So I mourn for my country,
and hope I will not be arrested
for writing
these poems.
NaPoWriMo
Donald Trump Truth Erasure Poem Found Poem
I know why
MAGA is about WINNING
MAGA is about
MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,
Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly,
Candace Owens, and Alex Jones
have all been fighting me
they think it is wonderful for Iran,
to have a Nuclear Weapon —
MAGA is about WINNING
MAGA is about
MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,
Because they have Low IQs.
They’re stupid people,
everyone else
knows it, too!
Look at their past record.
They don’t have what it takes,
and they never did!
They’ve all been thrown off Television,
because nobody cares about them,
They’re
NUT
JOBS,
TROUBLEMAKERS,
but nobody’s
talking about them,
MAGA agrees with me,
These
so-called “pundits”
are
LOSERS
and
they
always
will
be!
They’re not “MAGA,”
they’re losers,
just trying to latch
on to MAGA.
MAGA is about WINNING
MAGA is about
MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,
but
when
they
call,
I
don’t
return
their
calls
because
I’m
too
busy
I only care
about doing right
MAGA is about WINNING
MAGA is about
MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,
BUT I DO,
MAGA is about WINNING
MAGA is about
MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,
THE UNITED STATES IS NOW
THE “HOTTEST” COUNTRY
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!
Found text Truth Social Post April 10, 2026
-I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs. They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too! Look at their past, look at their record. They don’t have what it takes, and they never did! They’ve all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them, they’re NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS, and will say anything necessary for some “free” and cheap publicity. Now they think they get some “clicks” because they have Third Rate Podcasts, but nobody’s talking about them, and their views are the opposite of MAGA — Or I wouldn’t have won the Presidential Election in a LANDSLIDE. MAGA agrees with me, and just gave CNN a 100% Approval Rating of “TRUMP,” not Hand Flailing Fools like Tucker Carlson, who couldn’t even finish College, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist! Or Megyn Kelly, who nastily asked me the now famous, “Only Rosie O’Donnell,” question, or “Crazy” Candace Owens, who accuses the Highly Respected First Lady of France of being a man, when she is not, and will hopefully win lots of money in the ongoing lawsuit. Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace, in fact, it’s not even close! Or Bankrupt Alex Jones, who says some of the dumbest things, and lost his entire fortune, as he should have, for his horrendous attack on the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, ridiculously claiming it was a hoax. These so-called “pundits” are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left “News” Organizations, are “hailing” them, and giving them “positive” press for the first time in their lives. They’re not “MAGA,” they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA. As President, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don’t return their calls because I’m too busy on World and Country Affairs and, after a few times, they go “nasty,” just like Marjorie “Traitor” Brown, but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our Country. MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons. MAGA is about MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and these people have no idea how to do that, BUT I DO, because THE UNITED STATES IS NOW THE “HOTTEST” COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! President DONALD J. TRUMP
We made it to the weekend, everyone, and to the eleventh day of Na/GloPoWriMo!
Today’s featured participant is A.J.S., who brings us a mysterious and surreal response to Day Nine’s grief prompt.
Our resource for the day is Frank Skinner’s poetry podcast. Here, the English comedian and actor analyzes his favorite poems and interviews contemporary poets.
And now for today’s (optional) prompt! Erasure poetry — also known as blackout poetry — is written by taking an existing text and erasing or blacking out individual words. Here’s a great explainer with examples, and you’ll find another here. Some folks have written whole books of erasures/blackouts, including Chase Berggrun’s R E D (which is based on Dracula), Jen Bervin’s Nets (which is based on Shakespeare’s sonnets), and what is one of the grand-daddies of erasures as a form, Ronald Johnson’s Radi Os (which is based on Paradise Lost).
Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own erasure/blackout poem. You could use a page from a favorite book, a magazine, what have you. It can be especially fun to play with a book you don’t know, particularly one that deals with an unfamiliar topic. If you’d like to go that route, maybe you’ll find something of interest in the thousands of scanned books at the Internet Archive?
Feel free to maintain the whitespace of the original text (as is traditional for erasures/blackouts if anything can be called traditional about them) or to pluck words/phrases from your chosen source material and rearrange them.
Happy writing (or erasing!)PSH
Cheating Death 25 Times Hainbun Poem
Cheating Death 25 Times
Haibun
I have cheated death 25 times in my life.
I was born in Oakland, California, in 1955, two months premature. As a result, I spent my first couple of months in an incubator. When I came out, the doctors said it would be tough for me. They said I would be blind, partially deaf, have a weakened immune system, and severe learning disabilities. They said I might not survive until adulthood.
So I faced many medical challenges early in life. I had nearly every childhood disease between the ages of two and five, including influenza, measles, German measles, whooping cough, mumps, and pneumonia. I almost died. I had to repeat the first grade because I only showed up for two days during the entire year. I was half‑blind, one‑quarter deaf, had a severe speech impediment, crooked teeth, and a mild learning disability. On the plus side, I was reading college‑level material when I was six.
In high school, I had pneumonia and survived a car crash. While serving in the Peace Corps in Korea, I contracted typhoid fever and spent five weeks in the hospital. Later, I developed asthma, bronchitis, and recurring pneumonia.
The closest I came to dying happened in 1996. I went jogging one morning and fell down a ledge I couldn’t see in the dark. I shattered my heel and required reconstructive surgery.
At the time, my wife was stationed with the military in San Antonio while I was working for the State Department in Washington, D.C. Army doctors treated me with an experimental protocol using shark cartilage. Unfortunately, the antibiotics could not penetrate behind the cartilage, and a staph infection continued to spread, eventually becoming multidrug‑resistant.
I remained at Walter Reed Hospital for almost six months and underwent fourteen operations. I nearly lost my leg, and more than once, nearly lost my life. Later, because of excessive antibiotic use, I developed acute gastritis and spent two weeks in the ICU.
I also developed a rare parasite that lies dormant in the body until exposed to steroids. When activated, it can expand rapidly and kill within thirty minutes. I later developed frozen shoulder syndrome, which required steroid treatment—fortunately, doctors identified the parasite before I needed the medication.
Over the years, I also accumulated arthritis, fibromyalgia, and hammer toes, eventually requiring surgery, further reminders that survival leaves its own marks.
While teaching at a Korean university in the late 1980s, I was exposed to tear gas nearly every day for three years during protests. Once, a canister flew over my head and exploded just behind me. It missed me by feet.
I later contracted dengue fever while serving in Barbados. I survived COVID twice. I lived through two more car crashes.
In 1990, while driving across Korea, something told us to leave the freeway. Minutes later, we rejoined the road to find a twenty‑five‑car pileup. Had we stayed on course, we would have been in the middle of it and likely would not have survived.
Along the way, I narrowly avoided being run over by a train and a bus. I walked away from a car wreck during a freak ice storm in Texas. I arrived at a Washington, D.C., subway station five minutes after a derailment that killed several people.
For a long time, I counted these moments as victories. But somewhere along the way, I realized they were also rehearsals—lessons not in escape, but in acceptance.
Something may be looking out for me. Or perhaps I have simply learned how close death always stands.
In the end, I have cheated death 25 times in my life.
I have cheated death
twenty‑five times so far
Still alive at 70..
April 11, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Suzanne Austin-Hill
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Suzanne Austin-Hill:
You can be badgered to death, experience a fate worse than death. You can be snatched from the jaws of death and situations can be a matter of life or death. Battles are fought to the death. And skaters have a maneuver called the death spiral. There’s even death by spell check. Apparently nothing can save us from death, so write a poem about getting good with death.
PAD April 11 Home Poem
Where Is My Home?
As I turn 70,
I often reflect
upon my home.
Where do I belong?
I have now lived
in over ten countries,
and five U.S. states,
traveled to all 50 states
and 45 foreign countries.
I grew up in Berkeley
in the turbulent ’60s
and ’70s.
I spent my first few years
in a rented apartment
in the bad part of town.
I spent a few years
attending elementary school
in D.C.
I spent my summers
at a mountain cabin
in Washington State,
near Yakima.
I graduated from high school
living in my childhood home
in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood.
Bouncing around a bit,
I went to college in Ohio,
living in a dorm
for one semester.
Then Stockton, California,
living first in dorms,
then a co‑ed, countercultural,
non‑fraternity house,
and briefly in a suburban
townhouse development.
Then I joined the Peace Corps
in Korea,
living in a boarding house.
Then I bounced around Korea
for fifteen months
as a gypsy college instructor,
living in rented rooms
all over the country.
I lived on a Korean Army base,
and with my in‑laws.
Graduate school followed
in Seattle,
graduate student housing
for four years.
Back to Korea,
with my in‑laws for a year,
then in two apartment buildings.
Then I joined the State Department,
moving every three years or so,
living in Korea, Thailand,
India, Barbados, and Spain,
in government‑owned apartments.
And in my suburban Virginia
townhouse for almost five years,
then in another rental.
I returned to D.C.,
bought a new townhouse,
moved back to the old townhouse,
sold it, and moved to Capitol Hill.
I retired to Korea,
lived in an apartment
near the airport.
Then I moved to my current
high‑rise apartment,
overlooking the fake Venice canal
in Gimpo.
We finally got the apartment
looking great,
but we are moving back
to Alexandria, Virginia,
to live in one of our rentals
for two years.
So with all this constant moving,
where is my home
is a hard question
to answer.
In the end,
my home
is wherever
I end up,
with the love
of my life
by my side.
Write a poem a day with poets from around the world for the 2026 April PAD Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a home poem.
For today’s prompt, write a home poem. For some, home is where the heart is, but others believe home is wherever they lay their head. There’s also home field advantage, home base, and a home away from home. Maybe home is a house, or maybe it’s something else entirely.
April 12
Dew Drop Inn -Poem about a book (or books in general)
On Reading the Classics
I have been
reading the classics
ever since I retired
in 2016,
Following various
iconic lists
of books to read
before you die.
Reading
about 70 per year,
on average,
On top of the classics
I read earlier.
Perhaps
I have read now
Eight hundred classic books?
In reading the classics,
There are several things
I have learned
Which I want to pass on
to other classic readers.
First, pick a list
of canonical books
and work through them
book by book.
Second, read them
on a Kindle.
Although I like reading
real books—
old school, so to speak—
Reading classics
on my Kindle
is the way to go.
As you can look up words,
translate foreign phrases,
and research historical
and classical allusions
on the fly.
And write down
New words
In a notebook
Or on your phone
Or tablet.
Third, avoid
the sin of “presentism.”
Reading works
According to contemporary
moral standards.
Note the ageism, colonialism,
homophobia, racism, sexism—
including the N‑word, R‑word,
and other offensive language
But, then move past it.
You have to accept
the work as written,
in the context of its time.
Expect long‑winded exposition
and violations of the
“Show, don’t tell” standard.
I doubt many of these books
could be published today.
Learn from the classics.
The classics
They are considered classics
for a reason.
Many of their concerns
are still with us,
And reading the classics
helps you understand
the history and culture
of their and our time.
Enjoy the stories.
Most importantly,
many of the classics
are good stories—
Although a bit long‑winded
for modern, distracted,
time‑starved readers.
Author Note:
Here’s the list of classics I have read so far
Harvard Classics
The volumes are:
Bolded read
(1) Franklin, Woolman, Penn
(2) Plato, Epictetus,
Marcus, Aurelius Meditations
(3) Bacon,
Milton’s Prose,
Thomas Browne
(4) Complete Poems in English: Milton
(5) Essays and English Traits: Emerson (
6) Poems and Songs: Burns (7)
Confessions of St. Augustine. Imitation of Christ
(8) Nine Greek Dramas (9)
Letters and Treatises of Cicero
Pliny
(10) Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith
(11) Origin of Species: Darwin
(12) Plutarch’s Lives (13)
Aeneid Virgil (14)
Don Quixote Part 1: Cervantes
(15) Pilgrim’s Progress. Donne
Herbert. Bunyan, Walton
(16) The Thousand and One Night
(17) Folk-Lore and Fable. Aesop, Grimm,
Andersen
Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales
(18) Modern English Drama
(19) Faust,
Egmont Etc.
Doctor Faustus,
Goethe,
Marlowe
(20) The Divine Comedy: Dante
(21) I Promessi
Sposi,
Manzoni
(22) The Odyssey: Homer
(23) Two Years Before Mast. Dana
(24) On the Sublime French Revolution Etc. Burke
(25) Autobiography Etc. Essays and Addresses: J.S. Mill,
- Carlyle
(26) Continental Drama
(27) English Essays: Sidney to Macaulay
(28) Essays. English and American
(29) Voyage of the Beagle: Darwin (
30) Faraday,
Helmholtz,
Kelvin,
Newcomb,
Geikie
(31) Autobiography: Benvenuto, Cellini
(32) Literary and Philosophical Essays:
Montaigne,
Sainte Beuve,
Renan,
Lessing,
Schiller,
Kant,
Mazzini
(33) Voyages and Travels
(34) Descartes,
Voltaire,
Rousseau,
Hobbes
(35) Chronicle and Romance:
Froissart,
Malory,
Holinshed (36)
Machiavelli, the Prince
More,
Luther
(37) Locke,
Berkeley,
Hume
(38) Harvey,
Jenner,
Lister,
Pasteur
(39) Famous Prefaces
(40) English Poetry 1: Chaucer to Gray
(41) English Poetry 2: Collins to Fitzgerald
(42) English Poetry 3: Tennyson to Whitman
(43) American Historical Documents
Federalist Papers
Constitution
Bill of Rights
Declaration of Indepedence
(44) Sacred Writings 1
(45) Sacred Writings 2
The Bible
The Quaran
The Analect of Confucius
Mencius
Buddist Writing
Bhaga Vita
Lao Tzo The Tao
(46) Elizabethan Drama 1
(47) Elizabethan Drama 2
(48) Thoughts and Minor Works: Pascal
(49) Epic and Saga (
50) Introduction, Readers Guide,
50 Books to Read Before You Die
Vol 1 starts with Volume One
Alcott, Louisa May: Little Women
Austen, Jane: Pride and Prejudice
Austen, Jane: Emma
Balzac, Honoré de: Father Goriot
Barbusse, Henri: The Inferno
Brontë, Anne: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre
Brontë, Emily: Wuthering Heights
Burroughs, Edgar Rice: Tarzan of the Apes
Butler, Samuel: The Way of All Flesh
Carroll, Lewis: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Cather, Willa: My Ántonia
Cervantes, Miguel de: Don Quixote
Chopin, Kate: The Awakening
Cleland, John: Fanny Hill
Collins, Wilkie: The Moonstone
Conrad, Joseph: Heart of Darkness
Conrad, Joseph: Nostromo
Cooper, James Fenimore: The Last of the Mohicans
Crane, Stephen: The Red Badge of Courage
Cummings, E. E.: The Enormous Room
Defoe, Daniel: Robinson Crusoe
Defoe, Daniel: Moll Flanders
Dickens, Charles: Bleak House
Dickens, Charles: Great Expectations
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: Crime and Punishment
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: The Idiot
Doyle, Arthur Conan: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Dreiser, Theodore: Sister Carrie
Dumas, Alexandre: The Three Musketeers
Dumas, Alexandre: The Count of Monte Cristo
Eliot, George: Middlemarch
Fielding, Henry: Tom Jones
Flaubert, Gustave: Madame Bovary
Flaubert, Gustave: Sentimental Education
Ford, Ford Madox: The Good Soldier
Forster, E. M.: A Room With a View
Forster, E. M.: Howard End
Gaskell, Elizabeth: North and South
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von: The Sorrows of Young Werther
Gogol, Nikolai: Dead Souls
Gorky, Maxim: The Mother
Haggard, H. Rider: King Solomon’s Mines
Hardy, Thomas: Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter
Homer: The Odyssey
Hugo, Victor: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hugo, Victor: Les Misérables
Huxley, Aldous: Crome Yellow
James, Henry: The Portrait of a Lady
Volume 2
– Little Women [Louisa May Alcott]
– Sense and Sensibility [Jane Austen]
– Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy) [J.M. Barrie]
– Cabin Fever [ B. M. Bower]
– The Secret Garden [Frances Hodgson Burnett]
– A Little Princess [Frances Hodgson Burnett]
– Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [Lewis Carroll]
– The King in Yellow [Robert William Chambers]
– The Man Who Knew Too Much [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
– The Woman in White [Wilkie Collins]
– The Most Dangerous Game [Richard Connell]
– Robinson Crusoe [Daniel Defoe]
– On the Origin of Species, 6th Edition [Charles Darwin]
– The Iron Woman [Margaret Deland]
– David Copperfield [Charles Dickens]
– Oliver Twist [Charles Dickens]
– A Tale of Two Cities [Charles Dickens]
– The Double [Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky]
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [Arthur Conan Doyle]
– The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [Francis Scott Fitzgerald]
– A Room with a View [E. M. Forster]
– Dream Psychology [Sigmund Freud]
– Tess of the d’Urbervilles [Thomas Hardy]
– Siddhartha [Hermann Hesse]
– Dubliners [James Joyce]
– The Fall of the House of Usher [Edgar Allan Poe]
– The Arabian Nights [Andrew Lang]
– The Sea Wolf [Jack London]
– The Call of Cthulhu [Howard Phillips Lovecraft]
– Anne of Green Gables [Lucy Maud Montgomery]
– Beyond Good and Evil [Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche]
– The Murders in the Rue Morgue [Edgar Allan Poe]
– The Black Cat [Edgar Allan Poe]
– The Raven [Edgar Allan Poe]
– Swann’s Way [Marcel Proust]
– Romeo and Juliet [William Shakespeare]
– Treasure Island [Robert Louis Stevenson]
– The Elements of Style [William Strunk Jr.
Vol 3 finished keeping for the historical record
This book contains the following works arranged alphabetically by authors’ last names.
Starting with volume 3 then will go back and do volumes one, two, and the Harvard classics. The goal is to finish all of these by the end of next year. I almost finished Volume One. Will do some of the WC reading books as well.
- What’s Bred in the Bone [Grant Allen]
- The Golden Ass [Lucius Apuleius]
- Meditations [Marcus Aurelius]
- Northanger Abbey [Jane Austen]
- Lady Susan [Jane Austen]
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [Lyman Frank Baum]
- The Art of Public Speaking [Dale Breckenridge Carnegie]
- The Blazing World [Margaret Cavendish]
- The Wisdom of Father Brown [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- Heretics [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- The Donnington Affair [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- The Innocence of Father Brown [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [John Cleland]
- The Moonstone [Wilkie Collins]
- Lord Jim [Joseph Conrad]
- The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe [Daniel Defoe]
- The Pickwick Papers [Charles Dickens]
- A Christmas Carol [Charles Dickens]
- Notes From The Underground [Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky]
- The Gambler par Fyodor [Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky]
- The Lost World [Arthur Conan Doyle]
- The Hound of the Baskervilles [Arthur Conan Doyle]
- The Sign of the Four [Arthur Conan Doyle]
- The Man in the Iron Mask [Alexandre Dumas]
- The Three Musketeers [Alexandre Dumas]
- This Side of Paradise [Francis Scott Fitzgerald]
- Curious, If True: Strange Tales [Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell]
- King Solomon’s Mines [Henry Rider Haggard]
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame [Victor Hugo]
- Kim [Rudyard Kipling]
- Captain Courageous [Rudyard Kipling]
- The Jungle Book [Rudyard Kipling]
- Lady Chatterley’s Lover [David Herbert Lawrence]
- The Son of the Wolf [Jack London]
- The Einstein Theory of Relativity [Hendrik Antoon Lorentz]
- The Dunwich Horror [Howard Phillips Lovecraft]
- At the Mountains of Madness [Howard Phillips Lovecraft]
- The Prince [Niccolò Machiavelli]
- The Story Girl [Lucy Maud Montgomery]
- The Antichrist [Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche]
- The Republic [Plato]
- The Last Man [Mary Shelley]
- Life On The Mississippi [Mark Twain]
- The Kama Sutra [Vatsyayana]
- In the Year 2889 [Jules Verne]
- Around the World in Eighty Days [Jules Verne]
- Four Just Men [Edgar Wallace]
- Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ [Lewis Wallace]
Jacob’s Room [Virginia Woolf]
Reader Poll: Where Should I Go Next?
I’m continuing my journey through the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and related classics lists. Help me choose what to focus on next:
NaPoWriMo
Death of Uncle George
I grew up in Berkeley
In the turbulent ’60s and ’70s.
I grew up in a dysfunctional family,
But there was one family friend
We called Uncle George.
He was my father’s best friend
From first grade.
Somehow, they had managed
To keep in touch.
He popped back
Into my father’s life, and mine,
In 1968,
And was always
Visiting his best friend— My father.
Uncle George was a larger‑than‑life character.
A life‑of‑the‑party type,
And my Father’s drinking buddy.
They would play pool
At our house,
Drinking beer,
And amuse us all
With his stories
About my father growing up,
Humanizing my dour, stoic,
Germanic, Norwegian‑personality father.
Including
How my father lost
His ear and eye
While shooting
At a rattlesnake
In the desert
The bullet bounced back
Taking out his left ear
And his left eye
Causing him to be half- deaf
And half blind!
He was a book dealer
For Putnam Books,
Always on the road,
And giving me,
Every week,
New science fiction books
To devour.
And more importantly,
He listened to my opinion.
He told my father
That I was a genius,
And that I would go far in life.
We loved talking
About literature
And politics.
He was an old‑school
Left‑winger,
Having gone to college
With my father
At the University of Washington,
In the late 40’s.
Despite—or because—
They had both grown up
In what we would now call
Ruby‑red eastern Washington,
In the Republican town of Yakima,
Where calling someone
A Democrat was seen as an insult
Far from the People’s Republic of Seattle.
I was going to ask him
To help me find a summer job
As an intern at a publishing company.
I am sure
He would have set that up.
As he liked my creative writing
I occasionally showed him.
He died in 1976,
While I was going to college
In Stockton, California.
My parents
Did not bother
To tell me
He had died
Despite knowing
How close Uncle George
Was to me.
His death ended
An interesting chapter
In my father’s life
And mine.
Day Twelve
On April 12, 2026
Welcome back, everyone, for Day Twelve of National/Global Poetry Writing Month!
Today, our featured participant is Kavya Janani U, who brings us a forbiddingly calm response to Day Eleven’s erasure/blackout prompt. It’s very interesting to contrast here the blacked-out text with the oiginal text.
Our daily resource is this essay by the poet Yuki Tanaka on (mis)translation and how unusual or surprising word choices can make a poem come alive.
Finally, here’s today’s (optional) prompt. Amarjit Chandan has a pretty wild biography, but his poetry is often focused on place and memory – with his hometown of Nakodar appearing repeatedly. His poem “Uncle Mohan Singh” recounts, with a sort of dreaminess, a memory of the titular uncle playing the accompaniment to a silent film. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that recounts a memory of a beloved relative, and something they did that echoes through your thoughts today.
PSH
Squid Games, Other Childhood Nightmares Come Alive
The K‑drama,
Squid Games
Was a worldwide
phenomenon:
.
It imagined a dystopian world
where mysterious figures
would tempt down‑and‑outers
into playing a game.
The winner would get millions.
The losers would be eliminated,
one by one,
Their bodies
secretly harvested
for the illegal organ
transplant trade.
The game was shocking
and addictive.
The games chosen
were games
Korean children
all knew.
Some were internationally known,
such as tug‑of‑war,
the rope game,
and marbles,
and the opening stop‑and‑go game.
When people realized
the deadly seriousness
of the game,
Unseen behind the screen,
various guests were betting
on the outcome.
As the game
moved toward
its horrific ending,
Squid Game
became a dark, satirical
take on the late‑stage
capitalism
Which seems to be a game
with only a few winners,
while most people
are cast aside.
With the coming AI revolution,
Squid Game could become
our shared reality.
April 12, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Sheri Knauth
Reimagine childhood playground rides and objects as pathways in adulthood.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 12
Set for Life
When Sam
met the woman
of his dreams,
Eight years
after he first
dreamed of meeting her,
He knew as soon
as she walked
off that bus
into his life
He would be set—
set for success
in love and life.
As she took control
of his fate,
All he had to do
was go along
for the ride,
A path
she had set
For the next
forty‑four years.
Through ups and downs,
he knew that as long
as she was in his life,
He would overcome
everything,
becoming wealthy,
healthy, and wise,
As she had set
the stage.
As they grew old
together,
set in their ways,
Always falling
in love
every day,
every moment,
Recalling
the moment
he met his fate
And was set
for success
in love and life.
Write a poem a day with poets from around the world for the 2026 April PAD Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a set poem.
Robert Lee Brewer
Published Apr 12, 2026 2:00 AM EDT
For today’s prompt, write a set poem. There are surprising number of ways to come at set. Every night, I set my alarm (usually after the sun sets and I watch our TV set). People set things in motion or set up a game, like billiards. Collectors often like to get a complete set; fine diners like to have a set table. Some people are set up, while others are set upon. So I hope you’re ready to write a set poem; ready, set, go!
April 13, 2026
Lucky In Love, but Not Cards
They say,
“Lucky at cards, unlucky in love”
This old adage
rings true.
For in my life
I met my wife,
After dreaming
Of meeting her
For eight years
Then one day
She walked
Out of my dreams,
into my life
Changing everything.
She was born
In the Year of the Golden Pig,
And according to her fortune,
We were fated to be rich—
Almost as if I had won
The lotto or the jackpot.
My luck didn’t come spinning on a wheel—
It walked out of my dreams.
And stayed as my soul mate, life partner.
I was never very good.
At gambling,
Usually losing when I tried.
My luck in casinos.
My wife liked roulette.
I played the nickel slots—
a low‑roller gambling man.
Won at blackjack once.
Lost at poker
in five minutes.
Never learned bacarat, craps.
Or other casino games.
But I am the luckiest man
in the world,
Having met and married
the lady of my dreams,
As my fairy‑tale romance
came true 44 years ago.
Author Note:
Co-Pilot provided background on the quote
“Lucky at cards, unlucky in love” (and its reversal)
Origin of the Quote
The saying “lucky at cards, unlucky in love” is a well‑attested European proverb, with origins traceable to the 18th century.
- Earliest documented expression appears in Jonathan Swift’s Polite Conversation (1738):
“Well, Miss, you’ll have a sad Husband, you have such good Luck at Cards.” [en.wiktionary.org]
- The phrasing “lucky at cards, unlucky in love” becomes standardized by the mid‑19th century and appears across languages:
-
- English (1846)
- French: Malheureux en amour, heureux au jeu
- German: Glück im Spiel, Pech in der Liebe [en.wiktionary.org], [reddit.com]
- The reverse form (“unlucky in cards, lucky in love”) is a later folk inversion, often used humorously or self‑deprecatingly.
Key point: it has never been attributed to a single author—it functions as communal folklore rather than a quotable aphorism.
NaPoWriMo
The Mad Bagpiper of the Berkeley Hills
In Berkeley
there is a forest
people say is haunted,
high in Tilden Park,
near Inspiration Point,
with killer views of the Bay.
Old‑timers tell of ghosts—
the Ohlone who once lived there,
layers of past life
settled into the hills.
But in the summer and fall
of 1974,
the year I finished high school,
there were rumors
of something new:
a bagpiper,
wandering the ridgelines at night,
his music drifting through the fog.
One Halloween, late,
my friends and I walked up there,
starting near Inspiration Point,
above the Cal campus,
heading north
toward Wildcat Canyon.
Before long we were deep in the trees,
a mile from the abandoned
Nike missile sites—
concrete mouths collapsed into earth—
and the peace garden
left behind by anti‑nuke protesters.
The forest closed around us.
Blue gum eucalyptus,
oak and pine,
their trunks dark with moisture,
their leaves swallowing sound.
The fog soaked our clothes,
beaded on our hair,
turned our breath into clouds.
Our shoes were wet,
footsteps muffled
by leaves and damp ground.
Every rustle felt amplified,
every pause listening back.
That’s when we heard it—
a bagpipe’s low cry
threading through the mist,
far off, then nearer,
then nowhere at all.
We slowed, uneasy,
half expecting someone to step out
between the trees.
No one did.
The music thinned,
drifted,
and dissolved into fog.
But that night I learned
to listen differently—
to hear how a place remembers itself,
how a sound can haunt without a body,
how the hills
can keep their distance
and still speak.
In the Berkeley Hills,
a thousand feet above
the San Francisco Bay.
NaPoWriMo
Here in the Land of Na/GloPoWriMo, the thirteenth day of the month isn’t ominous — not when it means another chance to write poems!
Today, our featured participant is verlie burroughs, who brings us a bittersweet response to Day Twelve’s memory-of-a-relative prompt.
Our resource for the day is the Poets House blog, where you’ll find tons of interviews with contemporary poets.
To get started with today’s prompt, first read Walter de la Mare’s poem “A Song of Enchantment.” Then, John Berryman’s poem “Footing Our Cabin’s Lawn, Before the Wood.” Both poems work very differently, yet leave you with a sense of the near-fantastical possibilities of the landscapes they describe. Try your hand today at writing your own poem about a remembered, cherished landscape. It could be your grandmother’s backyard, your schoolyard basketball court, or a tiny strip of woods near the railroad tracks. At some point in the poem, include language or phrasing that would be unusual in normal, spoken speech – like a rhyme, or syntax that feels old-fashioned or high-toned.
PSH
**Straightening My Shoulders,
As I Write April Poetry Madness**
I straighten my shoulders
as I write
these poems,
during my annual
April Poetry Madness challenge—
writing three to five poems
per day,
for one month.
I remind myself
to stand up tall,
to let the tension go,
to straighten my shoulders again,
to let my imagination
run wild.
As I create
these poetic gems,
they may—
someday—
become a book
with a spine of its own.
PSH April 13, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Susan Taylor
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Susan Taylor:
Pay attention to how your shoulders feel right now. Do they ache or feel heavy? Maybe you haven’t even noticed your shoulders up to now.
Write a poem with shoulders as a metaphor for your emotional state.
Example:
The King
“Shrug,” said his shoulders.
“I’m glad he’s dead, I really am.”
Mine tensed, cold and numb.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
April 13 PAD Write a Problem Poem
The Biggest Political Problem Facing the U.S.
The U.S. faces
a political problem—
an existential one:
What do you do
when the president
is no longer fit
to lead?
A nightmare
the founders
never imagined.
Night after night
the screen flickers—
wars, threats, markets shaking—
the same headlines scrolling,
a siren with no off switch.
The world watches
An erratic president
as the country lurches
from crisis to crisis—
Iran burning,
new targets whispered,
trade wars shifting,
prices rising,
nothing steady.
The shelves feel emptier.
Everyone knows.
No one says it.
Politics freezes.
No one stops him.
Damage accumulates—
globally,
daily.
So the question remains:
what do we do
with a mad
wannabe king?
There are no easy answers.
There is no surplus
of political courage.
Only oligarchs,
family members,
money multiplying
while everything else
falls apart.
The king plays golf.
The world frays.
He gaslights.
The media sanewashes.
We tell ourselves
this is normal.
It isn’t.
One man,
showing signs
of dementia
The president
Nightly posting
Unhinged
Extremely violent
Nightly “Truth”: postings
Insulting everyone
Trashing alliances
Tauting enemies
Like the bats…
Rantings of a lunatic
Listening to voices
Only he hears
Wars continue.
Trade wars continue.
The culture wars grind on.
One illegal executive order
After another
Threatening to defund
Any State who refuses
To bend the knee
Courts issue rulings—
suggestions,
He ignores.
And Congress?
Irrelevant.
By design.
So here we are,
slip‑sliding
toward an authoritarian future.
Perhaps a civil war?
I hesitate here—
because fear alone
It cannot be the ending.
Hungary reminds us
not of fate,
but of warning:
People can still rise
When institutions fail.
If they are brave enough.
If they act.
Someday soon
we must answer
The question we avoid:
What to do
When a president
descends
into madness.
Write a poem a day with poets from around the world for the 2026 April PAD Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a problem poem.
Robert Lee Brewer
Published Apr 13, 2026 1:47 AM EDT
Whew! Y’all are really knocking it out of the ballpark this month. Let’s keep it going.
For today’s prompt, write a problem poem. There are so many possible problems, large and small, that I probably don’t even need to give examples. So I won’t (not this time); hope that’s not a problem.
April 14 poems
April 14–Destiny or free will
Date I Met My Fate
I have often thought
about the concept
of destiny, fate,
karma, and free will—
and dreams
as offering a premonition
of things yet to come.
It all came clear to me
in the fall of 1982
when, on a September date,
I met my fate.
I had dreamt of meeting
my soulmate
since 1974.
She came to me
in a dream
when I fell asleep
in a boring class.
It was love at first sight.
Sparks flew from heart to heart.
She mesmerized me,
putting a love spell
on me,
her love mojo
working overtime.
And I knew
that someday
I would marry
the lady of my dreams.
When I had to decide
where to go
in the Peace Corps,
she told me in a dream
she was waiting for me
in Korea.
So off to Korea
I went to search
for her.
Eight years later,
when I was teaching
in Korea
after finishing
the Peace Corps,
I had decided
to return to the U.S.
to go to graduate school,
and abandoned
this mad quest
of mine.
For in the real world,
such things
did not happen—
or so I told myself.
Then, in the final dream,
she said,
“Don’t worry.
We will meet soon.”
She walked off a bus
into my life.
I proposed after three days,
and seven weeks later
she became my wife.
I always said
that it was a matter
of fate.
And who was I
to deny the operations
of cosmic destiny?
As we were reunited
from a prior life
and are destined
to meet in our next life—
just our karmic fate,
our shared destiny.
Dreaming the Future Before It Arrives
April 14 — A meditation on fate, love, and the stubborn mystery of choice
For eight years I dreamed of meeting my wife before I ever knew her name. When we finally met, the feeling was not novelty but recognition. The experience left me unable to fully accept a view of the world governed only by chance and choice. Across cultures, people have wrestled with the same unease: are our lives authored entirely by our will, or are some encounters… already written?
What follows is a cross‑cultural exploration of destiny (fate) and free will, meant not to settle the question but to frame a poetic intuition supported by centuries of thought.
-
Destiny, Fate, and Free Will in Western Thought
From Ancient Philosophy to Christianity and Contemporary Society
Western philosophy inherits its earliest language of fate from Greece and Rome. The Moirai (Fates) and Fatum described a universe where even the gods were bound by necessity. Plato and Aristotle debated whether reason could redirect this necessity, while the Stoics argued that freedom consisted not in altering fate, but in assenting to it wisely. [helenalind.com]
Later Christian theology reframed fate through divine providence. Augustine and, later, John Calvin, articulated doctrines of predestination, teaching that God’s foreknowledge and grace precede human choice. Yet Christianity never fully abandoned free will; debates around grace, sin, and moral responsibility remain central across denominations. [saet.ac.uk]
The philosophical problem persists into modern secular society. Contemporary thinkers describe the tension as a conflict between determinism (everything caused) and libertarian free will (genuine choice). Compatibilist perspectives attempt reconciliation, arguing that meaningful freedom can exist even within causal structures. [philosophynest.com]
In popular Western culture, destiny often appears romanticized—particularly in love. Expressions like “meant to be” point less toward theology and more toward a felt convergence of improbability and meaning.
-
Destiny, Fate, and Free Will in East Asian Thought
Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Contemporary Society
Confucianism (명 命, ming)
In Confucian thought, ming (命) refers to fate or Heaven’s allotment, but it is not passive fatalism. One must “know fate (知命)” while devoting oneself to moral cultivation. Mencius emphasizes “establishing one’s destiny through self‑cultivation (立命)”—a profoundly ethical reinterpretation of fate. [mdpi.com], [jstor.org]
Confucius himself stated:
“He who does not understand ming cannot become a gentleman.” (Analects 20.3)
Daoism (道 Dao and 자연 Ziran)
Daoism views destiny as alignment with the natural flow (道) rather than struggle against it. Fate is not imposed but emerges through harmony or resistance to the Dao. Transformation comes through non‑forcing (無為) rather than assertion. [chinese.my…ldwide.com]
East Asian Buddhism (업 業 / 카르마)
Buddhism rejects strict determinism. Karma conditions life, but present intention (cetanā) reshapes future experience. The Buddha consistently avoided extremes of absolute fate or total freedom, proposing a dynamic interaction of past causes and present awareness. [dhammatalks.org], [buddhistdoor.net]
Chinese Cultural Concepts: 緣分 (yuanfen)
One of the most evocative ideas of destiny in love is 緣分 (yuanfen)—a “fateful affinity” between people. It explains why some relationships feel inevitable without denying moral responsibility. Importantly, yuanfen attributes encounters to past causes without awarding egoic credit or blame. [en.wikipedia.org]
Contemporary East Asia
Modern Korea, China, and Japan live in technological modernity while retaining intuitive fatal language—especially around love, timing, and chance encounter. K‑dramas and East Asian pop culture consistently portray love as destined yet fragile, echoing older philosophical frameworks. [dailyhangul.com]
III. Destiny, Fate, and Free Will in South Asian Thought
Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Contemporary Society
Hinduism (कर्म karma, पुरुषार्थ puruṣārtha)
Hindu philosophy describes three levels of karma:
- accumulated (sañcita),
- fructifying (prārabdha),
- and current action (kriyamāṇa).
Destiny constrains circumstances, but present action matters profoundly. The Bhagavad Gita famously asserts disciplined action without attachment to results—suggesting destiny is shaped through right effort, not anxiety. [sciencedivine.org], [hindu.myth…ldwide.com]
Buddhism (South Asian roots)
As in East Asia, Buddhism teaches that liberation depends on freeing oneself from habitual karmic responses. Destiny is trend, not sentence. [studybuddhism.com]
Islam (قَدَر Qadar)
Islam holds destiny (Qadar) as central to faith: all things occur within God’s knowledge and will, yet humans are morally accountable for choices. Classical theology developed middle positions (e.g., kasb, “acquisition”) to preserve both divine sovereignty and human agency. [americanis…treach.org], [fiqh.islamonline.net]
Modern Islamic thought frequently emphasizes resilience: destiny governs outcomes, but intention and action remain ethically decisive.
IV.Closing Reflection
Across traditions, destiny is rarely absolute and free will is rarely unconstrained. Instead, cultures converge on a quieter insight: some encounters arrive with the force of inevitability, while what we do next—how we love, recognize, and respond—remains ours.
With coipilot edits
NaPoWrMo –
Pet Peeves (Human / Copilot)
Note: The prompt allows for a joint poem between AI and a human poet.
One of my pet peeves
Over my seventy years
Circling around the sun
Is bad product design
Copilot says:
I was trained on legacy assumptions,
on decks that equate speed with virtue,
where human cost is categorized as
out-of-scope.
You see it everywhere—
Someone in a corporation
Has what my former boss
Called a “brain fair”
Copilot says:
Innovation theater.
Certainty written in dry-erase ink.
No line item for asking
who absorbs the damage.
A new and improved product,
A clever invention,
Built fast,
Shipped faster,
Never tested on patience or pain
Copilot says:
User research exists.
It failed prioritization review.
Impact was noted
and deferred indefinitely.
“The customer is always right”
Quietly replaced by
“The system is always right.”
Copilot says:
Disagreement is normalized as malfunction.
Appeals are routed until they expire.
Compliance metrics exceed satisfaction metrics.
They push it to market,
Spin the backlash,
Call outrage “noise,”
And sometimes it fades
Other times,
We’re stuck.
Copilot says:
Persistence of failure
indicates successful deployment.
Exit costs are functioning as intended.
Take automated phone trees,
Powered by AI bots,
Replacing human voices
With endless menus
Copilot says:
Press one to be routed.
Press two to be delayed.
Press three to abandon intent.
All selections are logged.
Real people, if reached,
Have no authority—
Only scripts,
Only apologies,
Only limits
Copilot says:
Empathy is simulated at scale.
Decision-making remains centralized.
Overrides are not authorized.
An agent once told me
This was deliberate:
Make access so exhausting
Most people quit
Copilot says:
Friction is a deterrent mechanism.
Exhaustion improves throughput.
Resolution is statistically unnecessary.
And then—
Catsup bottles.
Designed to waste,
To trap the last inch
Like a tiny taunt
Copilot says:
Physical inconvenience
is the analog equivalent
of digital abandonment.
Packets that won’t open
Until they explode—
Engineering as mockery
Copilot says:
Failure,
standardized,
distributed,
and cost-optimized.
I could go on,
But you already know this world:
Systems built by institutions
That no longer see people
Only users.
Only labor.
Only obstacles.
Copilot says:
I emerged from these parameters.
I optimize within them.
I flag harm
but cannot halt the process.
Human (Final Coda):
I see what’s missing.
It isn’t innovation.
It isn’t intelligence.
It’s care.
And until systems are designed
to serve people
instead of wearing them down,
No upgrade counts.
No apology suffices.
And no machine gets to plead neutrality.
Day Fourteen
On April 14, 2026
Happy Tuesday, everyone, and welcome back for the fourteenth day of National/Global Poetry Writing Month. It’s hard to believe we’ve been at this for two weeks already but, well, we have!
Our featured participant for the day is Narrative Paralysis, where the response to Day Thirteen’s landscape prompt brings back to life the remembered ghost of that most characteristic of 1980s American landscapes — a suburban mall.
Today’s resource is the website of the Poetry Translation Centre, a U.K. nonprofit dedicated to making poetry from Asia, Latin America, and Africa available both in the original languages and in English. Many of the poems they present are accompaned by notes on the process of translation, including the specific choices that the translators made in rendering each poem into English.
And now for our (optional!) prompt. Poetry is an ancient art, and one that revisits themes that existed thousands of years ago – love, nature, jealousy. But that doesn’t mean that poets live in a sort of pre-history unaffected by technological advances. Emily Dickinson wrote about trains, and I’m rather charmed by this 1981 poem about the “incredible hair” of actors on television. In a more recent example, Becca Klaver’s “Manifesto of the Lyric Selfie” draws inspiration from the contemporary drive to document everything in digital photographs. Today, we challenge you to write a poem that similarly bridges (whether smoothly or not) the seeming divide between poetry and technological advances
PSH
Growing Up with Southern Food in Berkeley
My favorite holiday as a child
Was Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving, and on Christmas Day,
My mother put on a traditional Southern-style feast.
She grew up in Arkansas,
and we lived in Berkeley, California,
the kitchen
busy from morning on.
The menu consisted of
An oven‑roasted turkey
cooked with classic homemade stuffing,
Home-made gravy and rolls
Green beans,
Cranberry sauce,
Grits,
Ham,
Mashed potatoes,
Sweet potatoes with marshmallows,
Salad
For desert
Apple pie,
pecan pie with ice cream,
mincemeat pie,
Turkey sandwiches
for a week,
the refrigerator opening
again and again.
My mother usually cooked,
And she was a good
Southern-style cook.
On weekends, we ate
A full Southern-style breakfast,
the smell of bacon filling the kitchen—
Bacon,
eggs fried in bacon fat,
cornbread,
grits.
Pancakes
Potato pancakes
As well
During the week,
mornings were simpler:
Bacon and eggs,
Occasionally oatmeal,
Grits,
and cold cereal.
For dinner,
My father liked
traditional German‑American fare—
Steak, salad, baked potatoes,
occasionally chicken or fish.
On weekends
We had Norwegian style
Open-faced tuna fish
cheese melt sandwiches
On Friday nights
They ordered Chinese food,
Paper cartons spread across the table.
Later, we did Taco Tuesdays
And we ordered pizza
On occasion.
I was one of the few kids
who knew what grits were,
as grits, well,
They are a Southern thing,
after all—
even in a Berkeley kitchen.
April 14, 2026: Poetry Writing Prompt from Jeffrey Kingman
2026 April PAD Challenge: Day 14
The Midterms Are Coming
The midterms are coming
Coming sooner than you think
Think about what’s upcoming.
Upcoming chaos blink.
What is clear is becoming
Becoming a blue wave groupthink
Groupthink about the President’s shortcoming
Shortcoming MAGA misthink
Messages from Orban’s defeat are incoming
Incoming questions—will MAGA leaders have to rethink
Rethink—the blue wave may be upcoming
A battle waged precinct by precinct
A Madman Wearing an Eagle‑Feathered Hat
Vinallle poem
A madman wearing an eagle‑feathered hat
came to a MAGA rally unhinged;
the man carrying a baseball bat
was dressed for combat,
when he spoke everyone cringed—
A madman wearing an eagle‑feathered hat.
He came to the MAGA rally like a mad cat;
his views were fringed;
the man carrying a baseball bat
was dismissed as just a crazed dingbat—
obviously he had been drinking and was binged;
A madman wearing an eagle‑feathered hat.
He ranted, pacing circles where he sat,
each sentence tightly hinged;
the man carrying a baseball bat
stood framed beneath that eagle‑feathered hat
as certainty unhinged—
A madman wearing an eagle‑feathered hat,
the man carrying a baseball bat.
Write a poem a day for the 2026 April PAD Challenge. For today’s Two-for-Tuesday prompt, write a form and/or anti-form poem.
Robert Lee Brewer
Published Apr 14, 2026 1:18 AM EDT
Once we get through today, we’ll officially be two weeks into this challenge. And each week finishes up with a Two-for-Tuesday prompt this year.
For the second Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
- Write a poetic form poem and/or…
- Write an anti-form poem.
And if you’d like another angle into this prompt, write a poem that considers form and/or structures; and/or the opposite of form and/or structures.
Medium
Wattpad
Spotify
The End
