April 2025 Poetry Madness April 13 to April 18 Poems

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You can find my prior April Poems here:

April Poetry Madness 2024 April 26 to April 30, 2024 Poems
April Poetry Madness April 21 to APril 25 Poems
April 2024 Poetry Madness April 15 to 20 Poems
April Poetry Madness 2024 April 7 to April 14
April 1 to April 6 Poems 2024 Poetry Madness

PSH April 2023 Poems
April 20-30 2023 Poems Do Drop In
April 2023 Poetry Dew Drop In April 11-15
Writers Digest April 2023 Poems

April 2023 Dew Drop In Poems
April 30th, 2022 Poems
April 29th Poems
April 26th and April 27th, 2022 Poems
April 23rd, April 24th and April 25th, 2022 Poems
April 22, 2022 Poems
April 23rd, April 24th and April 25th, 2022 Poems

April 22, 2022 Poems
April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems</a >

April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems
April 16 and 17, 2022 Poems

Enjoy and stay safe, everyone

Begin Poems

April 13 to April 12 poems

April 13 Day Thirteen

NaPoWrMo

World in turmoil

Stock market crashing.

Tariff war heats up.

World markets crashing.

This will not end well.

Recession coming, not end well.

DOGE rampage.

Slashing government spending.

Unemployment rising .

Slashing government spending.

Govbots fired

Govbots fired.

Happy Sunday, all – I hope you have an enjoyable thirteenth day of Na/GloPoWriMo.

Our featured participant today is Chronicles of Miss Miseria, where the response to Day Twelve’s symphonic, Stevens-inspired prompt fires on all cylinders.

Our daily resource is the online collection of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, founded in 1947 by Brazilian businessman Assis Chateaubriand. Here, you’ll find everything from old masters to mysterious photographs.

Finally, here’s our prompt for the day (optional, as always). Donald Justice’s poem, “There is a gold light in certain old paintings,” plays with both art and music, and uses an interesting and (as far as I know) self-invented form. His six-line stanzas use lines of twelve syllables, and while they don’t use rhyme, they repeat end words. Specifically, the second and fourth line of each stanza repeat an end-word or syllable; he fifth and sixth lines also repeat their end-word or syllable. Today, we challenge you to write a poem that uses Justice’s invented form.

Donald Justice’s poem, “There is a gold light in certain old paintings,”

“There is a gold light in certain old paintings”

By Donald Justice

There is a gold light in certain old paintings

That represents a diffusion of sunlight.

It is like happiness, when we are happy.

It comes from everywhere and from nowhere at once, this light,

And the poor soldiers sprawled at the foot of the cross

Share in its charity equally with the cross.

Orpheus hesitated beside the black river.

With so much to look forward to he looked back.

We think he sang then, but the song is lost.

At least he had seen once more the beloved back.

I say the song went this way: O prolong

Now the sorrow if that is all there is to prolong.

The world is very dusty, uncle. Let us work.

One day the sickness shall pass from the earth for good.

The orchard will bloom; someone will play the guitar.

Our work will be seen as strong and clean and good.

And all that we suffered through having existed

Shall be forgotten as though it had never existed.

“govbot” is a perjorative term for government workers popular on the right, dating back to the Clinton era.

Writer’s Digest Prompt

Full Moon Madness

Sam Adams

Was drinking

In his favorite watering hole

The Cosmos Bar

In Soi Cowboy, Bangkok.

Twenty drinks too sober

He contemplated life.

It was the evening

Of the pink full moon

The lunatic light

Of the moon.

Shown on the street

Outside the bar

Sam was soon transformed

Into a demented werewolf

Ran outside

Howling like an escaped banshee

At the lunatic light of the full moon

Shining down on his lost soul.

The Cosmos Bar is a fictional expat bar located in Soi Cowboy, Bangkok. Soi Cowboy dates back to the Vietnam war era when it was a popular drinking district or expats in Bangkok. Sam Adams is a fictional character that pops up in many of my stories and poems, a distant descendant of the famous Sam Adams, and beer brewer, from the revolutionary war period of US history.

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Full (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Full Moon,” “Full Throttle,” “Full Tank of Gas,” “Full Monty,” and/or “Full Tank of Gas.”

Here’s my attempt at a Full (blank) Poem:

“Full Throated,” by Robert Lee Brewer

I sound my long barbaric yawp
from every available hilltop
on my way to the barbershop
fearing I may never stop
while sucking on a lollipop
as the neighbors channel-hop
and the horses clippity clop
beside another bumblecop
which could be a malaprop
for the use of bumpercrop
as I find I flip and flop
like a price at a car swap
or the head of a wet mop
stuck inside a karate chop
falling like a sad raindrop
into a pond–a frog–kerplop!

Bonus Full Moon Poem

Pink Moon Lunar Madness Overcomes Old Man

Pink Moon

The lunatic light of the pink full moon
Shinned on a lonely man in the Cosmos Bar
Who was a lost film star
Drinking from afar
The lunatic light of the pink full moon.

The man was a star
The light in the bar was bizarre
They sat there playing the guitar
The lunatic light of the full moon.

He thought to himself so far
Went outside, saw a squad car
Howling at the moon, looking at a sports car.
The lunatic light of the pink full moon.

Poetry Form: DANSA

Here are the guidelines for writing the dansa:

Opening quintain (or 5-line stanza) followed by quatrains (or 4-line stanzas)
The opening line of the first stanza is the final line of every stanza, including the first
Rhyme scheme in the opening stanza: AbbaA (capital A represents the refrain)
Rhyme scheme in all other stanzas: bbaA
No other rules for subject, length, or meter.

One additional PPC rule for this one: a minimum of 13 lines (3 stanzas per the above rules)

Poetry Superhighway Prompt

Driving, Walking or Travel Poem

Walking Along the Fake Venice Canal

I take a walk

Every day

Along the fake Venice canal

Near my home

In Gimpo, Korea.

It is lined with restaurants

And shops.

And this time of year

Flowering trees.

There are boats

For rent as well.

Someday I am going

To Venice

As part of a Mediterranean cruise.

And I will walk

Along a real Venice canal

And have dinner.

And think about

The fake canal

And the real canal.

Drive (or walk) down a familiar street or block. Pay attention to everything: the condition of the street, the signs, people, cars or other vehicles, and the trees, flowers and grass or lack thereof. Where are you walking? Maybe on a sidewalk or in the grass? Where are you driving? Maybe on a paved road or maybe a dirt or gravel road? Write a poem about traveling down this street.

Next, do the very same thing but this time go down an unfamiliar street or block. What do you see that’s different? What do you see that’s the same? How does it make you feel to be in an unfamiliar setting vs a familiar one? Write a poem about going down this street you’ve never traveled on before.

Then take both poems and intersperse the lines from the poem of a street of familiarity to the poem of the street of unfamiliarity to create an overall picture in a poem of traveling the known vs the unknown

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

Dew Drop Inn

April 13—Greenery

Green Trees Don’t Make It

70 lines

Everyday
I look out and see

The ugly green trees
Standing guard
in front of my house.

And I think to myself
Who owns the trees?
And what do they think of us?

Are we their friends?
Are we their enemies?
What do the trees think of us?

Do they silently watch us,
Spies to the celestial emperor?

I have pondered this question
Many a morning,

Who is the owner of these trees?
And why do they silently watch us?

I wonder if the trees don’t hate us
And why they don’t protest.

Every day as we drive back and forth
Emitting poison gases from our mechanical asses
Right into their unprotected faces.

And every night we eat our dinner
And then give the trees
Our polluted leftovers

And laugh as they silently die
From our acidic fallout
Constantly floating down on their skin.

Yes, I wonder about the trees
And the birds and the bees
And everyone else.

What are they thinking?
Are they plotting revenge?
Or are they merely there

Silently, watching, plotting,
Designing fiendish plots of revenge
Dreams of vast nuclear destruction.

Cosmic diseases wiping out everyone in the ass
Oh Yes, I wonder and dream and ponder
What is the meaning of those silent green trees?

Standing on the corner
Quietly condemning us
With their quiet tears, and falling leaves.

In the winter they stand
Naked and alone
Covered with ice-cold snow
As we drive by nice and warm.

And we don’t care
As they stand out in the cold
Shivering, plotting
warm plans of cosmic revenge.

Is it too late for us
To become friends

with the trees?

Or will the day come
When the trees will wake up
And gather together
All the other slaves of humanity.

I have a vision
One morning I will open the door
And see an army of wild things
Coming to arrest me
For crimes against nature.

And I will plead, I did not know
And they will laugh
and turn me all of my kind
Into silent tombs,

And we will stand out in the cold
Like the green trees
Plotting dreams of revenge
For ever and ever.

Until our day finally comes
And we can go out
and kill all the wild things
Perhaps we already have.

revised poem I wrote on Earth Day 1976!

Day Fourteen

NaPoWriMo

Florida Criters that can kill you

Florida is a state

Of mind

With many creatures

Big and small

That can kill you.

Starting with bears

gators

Giant snakes

And cougars.

Not to mention

Mosquitos

That carry malaria

Dengue and zenke fever.

And other monsters

Lurking in the swamps

Of Florida.

Today we are two full weeks into National/Global Poetry Writing Month. Hopefully you’ll all have fourteen poems under your belts by the end of the day and, if not – no worries! You can always catch up (or just cut yourself some slack).

Today’s featured participant is Glenn Mitchell, who really hit it out of the park with his take on Day Thirteen’s Donald Justic-inspired prompt!

Our featured resource for the day is the online gallery of the Rijksmuseum, where you may particularly enjoy their series on 100 masterpieces within the museum’ s collection. And here’s a little anecdote about how browsing an online collection of this kind can lead you to new and startling discoveries. While taking a peek at the museum’s exhibit regarding Meissen porcelain, I came across this slide show about a particular porcelain macaw, which in turn led me down the rabbit hole of learning about saxon elector and Polish king Augustus the Strong, who “died at the honorable age of sixty-two, his kingdom a financial ruin, with nine children from six different women, and a collection of thirty-five thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight pieces of porcelain.” I feel much less sheepish about my comparatively modest trove of knick-knacks and doo-dads after reading that.

And with that silliness out of the way, today’s (optional) prompt is inspired by a poem that’s an old favorite of mine, by Kay Ryan.

Crustacean Island

There could be an island paradise
where crustaceans prevail.
Click, click, go the lobsters
with their china mitts and
articulated tails.
It would not be sad like whales
with their immense and patient sieving
and the sobering modesty
of their general way of living.
It would be an island blessed
with only cold-blooded residents
and no human angle.
It would echo with a thousand castanets
and no flamencos.

Ryan’s poem invites us to imagine the “music” of a place without people in it. So today, try writing a poem that describes a place, particularly in terms of the animals, plants or other natural phenomena there. Sink into the sound of your location, and use a conversational tone. Incorporate slant rhymes (near or off-rhymes, like “angle” and “flamenco”) into your poem. And for an extra challenge – don’t reference birds or birdsong!

Writer Digest April 14

How to Lose Weight

They say

Inside every fat man

Is a thin man

Trying to break free.

Since, Janaury 2024

I have lost

Almost 15 pounds (7 K).

Dropping from a high

Of 195 pounds (88 K)

To a low of 170 pounds (77 K)

In about a year or so.

How did I lose

so much weight

And most importantly

Not gain it back?

First I came down

With a mysterious COVID

Like illness.

And lost 15 pounds

In one month

The doctors could

Not figure it out.

But ruled out bronchitis

Cancer, pneumonia

And TB.

Then I started

Daily workouts

Including

Walking up 16 flights

Of stairs six times

A day

That

Along with a strict diet

And no more daily

Glass of wine

Or whisky!

And hitting the gym

Led me to keep

the weight off

In any event

I feel great

And look great.

Not bad

For a 69- old man

I say.

no set form for this one, sort of a loose narative free verse poem

Whew! We’re two weeks in on this month and this challenge already. Go, us!

For today’s prompt, write a losing poem. Losing often comes with negative connotations, like losing a game or a family pet or socks (seriously, where do they all disappear to?). However, a person could also lose some weight, bad habits, and/or negativity. Of course, it could be argued these are still negatives (positives via double negatives), but I find I’m starting to lose my train of thought, so it’s probably best to get poeming.

Here’s my attempt at a Losing Poem:

“What I’ve Gained,” by Robert Lee Brewer

There’s nothing I’ve gained
that I won’t eventually lose;
not that I know how, but I
can decipher the clues;
so I don’t care much about
all the items I can gain
when I’ll eventually lose
and then lose them again:
better I think is to share
all the ups and the downs
with every loser who’ll
happily keep me around,
because everything I gain
I will eventually lose,
so abide if you can
to skip having the blues.

PSH April 14, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Eric Nicholson

May the Force be with You

In the Star Wars universe

The rebels led by Luke Skywalker

And Princess Lea

Are behind the curve.

The imperial storm troopers

Too powerful

A force.

All seems lost

To the rebels.

But the rebels

Still maintain

Hope.

That with the force

With them

They can overcome.

And defeat

The dark side

Of the force.

Represented by Darth Vadar

Luke Skywalker’s father.

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Eric Nicholson:

Use a series of sequences from a well known film and splice with more nature-based lines. Or political!

The idea is to either parallel each or contrast. The effect could be sereal, philosophical or lyrical.

free verse form

Dew Drop Inn April 14—Sky

Living under a Martian sky

Joe Lewis

Was one of the first

Martians.

He immigrated to Mars

In 2045.

Along with thousands

Of other refugees.

From an Earth

That was becoming

Unihabitable.

Everyone was moving

Into domed cities

On earth, the moon

Or Mars.

Live under the Martian sky

Was difficult

But the sunsets

Were out-of-this-world.

free verse poem

April 15 Day Fifteen

NaPoWrMo Are you ready America?

Are you ready America?

To combat the rise

Of Christian fascism?

That seems to be everywhere

Are you ready to overcome

Ready to save country?

Today is the halfway point of National/Global Poetry Writing Month! Hooray for poems!

Our featured participant today is The Cynical Optimist, where the place-sounds poem for Day Fourteen lets each creature in a particular park have its own solo.

Today’s resource is the online gallery of the National Museum of New Zealand. It’s pretty fun to just search for random words in their search bar, and see what kind of objects and art pop up. For example, I searched the word “butter,” and was presented with this photograph of a bracelet made up of butter and cheese exhibition medals, this stamp celebrating the wonders of butter production, and a teeny saucepan made for a dollhouse.

And now for our (optional) daily prompt. The MC5 was a 1960s rock band. If you’ve heard anything by them–and you likely have–it’s their 1969 song Kick Out the Jams.

Jesse Crawford, otherwise known as Brother J.C. Crawford, was the band’s stage MC and warm-up man. Below are the words with which he opened a concert in Japan in 1969 (you can find the recording on Spotify/Apple Music as part of the Kick Out the James [Live] [Japan Remastered] album, on the track titled Intro/Ramblin’ Rose).

Brothers and sisters
I wanna see a sea of hands out there
Let me see a sea of hands
I want everybody to kick up some noise
I wanna hear some revolution out there, brothers
I wanna hear a little revolution

[big pause]

Brothers and sisters
The time has come for each and everyone of you to decide
Whether you are gonna be the problem
Or whether you are gonna be the solution (that’s right)
You must choose, brothers, you must choose

It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision
Five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet
It takes five seconds to realize that it’s time to move
It’s time to get down with it

Brothers, it’s time to testify and I want to know
Are you ready to testify?!
Are you ready?!
I give you a testimonial
The MC5

And now here’s a short little poem by Jane Kenyon:

The Shirt

The shirt touches his neck
and smooths over his back.
It slides down his sides.
It even goes down below his belt—
down into his pants.
Lucky shirt.

And now for your prompt! While Brother J.C.’s warm-up and Kenyon’s poem might seem very different at first, they’re both informed by repetition, simple language, and they express enthusiasm. They have a sermon/prayer-like quality, and then end with a bang.

Your challenge is to write a six-line poem that has these same qualities.

All appreciation to Dawn Potter for this prompt!

six line poem per prompt

Writers Digest What Fresh Hell is this Nonet Poem

I start my days, drinking hot black coffee

Watching morning headlines unfold

Thinking—what fresh hell is this?”

What’s wrong with these people

People disappear

snatched off the street

being sent

straight to

Hell?

Here we go: Halfway through the month and time for another Two-for-Tuesday prompt.

For the third Two-for-Tuesday prompt:

Write a poetic form poem and/or…
Write an anti-form poem.

Criteria

The nonet poetic form is simple. It’s a 9-line poem that has 9 syllables in the first line, 8 syllables in the second line, 7 syllables in the third line, and continues to count down to one syllable in the final (ninth) line.

I couldn’t find an origin, but I did learn that the word nonet is used for a group of 9 performers or instruments. So I’m assuming this is one of those poetic forms inspired by music.

April 15, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from John Dorroh

Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul

For the last few years

I have been playing

The piano.

Everyday from 5 to 6 Pm

I sit down at the piano

And play a piece of music

I have been working through

The classics

And have finally gotten

To where I can play

A Mozart Sonata

And nail it!

This poetry writing prompt submitted by John Dorroh:

Look around the room and select an object that speaks to you. If one doesn’t speak to you, pick an object that starts with the letters D, M, C, or P. Write a letter to the object addressing its value to your life. Next, write a letter from the object, expressing its connections, appreciation and/or dissatisfaction with things you have done.

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

no particular form -just four sets of tercets

April 15—Death and taxes

Benjamin Franklin once wrote,

“There are only two things

certain In life,

Death and Taxes!

Someday we all

May become cyborgs

becoming immortal.

but sadly,

I think we will never

Be able to escape

The tax man!

April 16, 2025

NaPoWrM0

Day Sixteen

On April 16, 2025

What is Hip? Tower Of Power Wants to Know!!!!

The Tower of Power

Erupted out of the East Bay

In Northern California

In the late 60s

And have been playing

Funk music ever since

They were the sound

Of the East Bay funk movement

That predated disco

Hiphop and rap music

And Go Go music

In DC as well

The great funk bands

Always had a hip as hell

Attitude

Anchored by a great horn section

With saxophones on top

And a pounding bass beneath

Killer keyboards

And guitars as well

And the rhythm section

Keep it all going

To the funky beat

All backup to the soulful ballads

Of the lead singers

The band

Was multi-cultural

Way before that was a thing

Asians, Black, Hispanic

White players

Straight, gay and trans folks

As well.

Playing that funky music

White boy

Until the day they die!

Yeah

They had two great hits

“What is hip”

Asks the question

That has no real answer

“What is hip!”

And the other song

Was their immortal love song

The greatest make out song

Of all time

“You’re Still a Young Man”

The first slow dance

I ever danced to

Back in the day

I often wondered

How many babies

Were conceived

After listening to

And dancing

To that song?

ode poem to my favorite band growing up. this inspired me to put together the rest of my Tower of Power tribute poems as a bonus set

Enjoy

Tower of Power Palindrome

Tower of Power

Music
Soul music
Funky music
The Tower of Power
Fill the air
The Tower of Power
Funky music
Soul music
Music.

New Prompt: Write a Palindrome. You can read an example here: “Palindrome”

Our Musical Street

30 lines

I grew up
In a very creative time
a very musical time.

The 60’s had the best music
Mot ruled the Bay Area
As well as Great rock music

Acid jazz
Acid Rock
Fusion Jazz
The Grateful Dead
Mamas and the Papas
Jefferson Airplane
Jimmy Hendrix
last high school
was Berkeley High School
Santana

And so many others

The best funk band
Of them all

Tower of Power
Beloved by all
High school students.

For their immortal classic
Make out song
“You’re Still a Young Man.”

Tower of Power rocked
Every party in town
On every street.

Music flowed.
On every musical street
In the city.

That was Berkeley
In the 60’s and 70’s.

Please use the following as the Title of your story or poem:

“Our Musical Street”

Please select “Music” as one of your genres.

Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk-based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 19681. The band has had several lead vocalists, the best known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the band between early 1973 and late 1974, the period of their greatest commercial success1. They have had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100; their highest-charting songs include “You’re Still a Young Man”, “So Very Hard to Go”, “What Is Hip?”, and “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”1.

The band was formed by tenor saxophonist/vocalist Emilio Castillo and baritone saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka in 19681. The band’s soul sound appealed to both minority and counterculture listeners1. The band’s name was changed to Tower of Power after they agreed that their original name, The Mots, would not help them play at Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco1.
Tower of Power has released 31 albums, including 15 studio albums, 5 live albums, and 11 compilations1. Their most recent album, “Step Up”, was released in 20202.

Here is a list of some of their most popular songs:

“You’re Still a Young Man”
“So Very Hard to Go”
“What Is Hip?”
“Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”
“Soul Vaccination”
“This Time It’s Real”
“Time Will Tell”
“Only So Much Oil in the Ground”

If you’re interested in listening to their music, you can check out their official website2.

“Song at Sunrise”

In 1974
When I graduated
From Berkeley High School
We went out to party
All night long.

We listened to our favorite band
The Tower of Power
The greatest funk band
Of them all.

Then at sunrise
Everyone went to Tilden Park
Inspiration point
A rare sunny dawn

The music blaring
On our radios

The song at Sunrise
Was “What is hip”

And ‘You’re Still a Young Man
the greatest “make out the song”
of all time.

No doubt babies
Were conceived
That night
To that song track.

For those who don’t know the TOP started in the late 60’s and is still going strong almost 5o years later. They are the best funk band ever, and they are the soul of the San Francisco East Bay area (Berkeley, Freemont, Oakland, Richmond, and towns in between). They were multicultural before that was a thing. They have the best horn section of any funk band, great guitar players, keyboard players, drummers, and of course great singers. Their best songs were the iconic “What is Hip”, and “You’re Still a Young Man,” one of the best make-out songs of all time. No doubt many babies were conceived to that song! The first song I ever slowly danced to, and a song I played to seduce my wife when we met.

Based loosely on the classic Tower of Power Song, “What is hip?”

What Is Hip Lyrics

[Verse 1]

So ya wanna dump out yo’ trick bag
Ease on in a hip thang
But you ain’t exactly sure what is hip
So you started to let your hair grow
Spent big bucks on your wardrobe
Somehow, ya know there’s much more to the trip

[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
[Verse 2]
You became a part of a new breed
Been smoking’ only the best weed
Hangin’ out with the so-called “Hippie set.”
Seen in all the right places
Seen with just the right faces
You should be satisfied, but it ain’t quite right

[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?

[Break]
Come on

[Refrain]
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Sometimes hipness is, what it ain’t

You’re Still a Young Man

Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time
You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time

Down on my knees
Oh, heart in hand
I was accused of being too young

But I’m not so young
I could make you happy
I’m not a bad man

You’re too young to love (If you and I could be together)
You’re too young to love (I’ll never leave you alone baby)
You’re too young Ooo Ooo (No I won’t sweet lady)
Don’t waste your time

The damage is done
You see that you were wrong
You wake up wondering just
How well I’ve done

Well I’ve done alright
Yes there are some girls but you know
I dropped them on sight

Just for you
Because I love you

You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time

(Someday you’ll understand just what it means when a man
Comes to you with his little heart in his hands
Just to love you)

Don’t waste your time

You better listen to me

Sayin that I’m loving you yeah hey now baby tryin to tell
You that it’s you you you you you you you you talkin to you
Baby, I’ll never never never never I’ll do you
No wrong no no lady if you would check my stuff out one time haha

Just to hold you, to squeeze you and all I wanna do is to
Get next to you and please please please you baby
See where I’m coming from!

Written by legendary sax players Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka, the song portrays a young man at the wrong end of a breakup. The situation is bleak because his lover pins the break-up on an age difference. In an interview with Songfacts Castillo said:

It’s based on a true story. I had a girlfriend that was six years older than me. I was 18, she was 24 and that’s actually what happened. She had kind of cut me loose because of the age difference thing and the whole plea in the story is the young guy’s saying, ‘I’m not too young, I’m not wasting my time and I do love you as a man can truly love a woman.’”

The song would go on to be the band’s first major hit defining their sound with a prominent horn section inspired by Curtis Mayfield:

“On that album, there’s a song called “A Woman’s Love” that starts with beautiful trumpets high. When we heard that we wanted to write a song with a great trumpet intro like that. – TowerofPower.com

“Street Party”

Many years ago
In the Berkeley and Oakland
In the East bay, back in the day
In the fabled 60s, early 70s.

There were often legendary pop-up
Flash mob type impromptu street parties
Where everyone gathered around
Digging the scene and each other.

Drinking, smoking weed
Jiving, flirting, dancing
Getting down to the sweet sound
Of Tower of Power and Motown.

Whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics
Men, women, and those in-between
Gays, straight
Young, old, middle age

It did not matter
Everything was everything
Everything was cool.
It was all good.

It was all cool back in the day
An interracial gathering
Of shared humanity,
Just celebrating life.

But this was before
Guns became so common
Before things got so violent
And evil s… became the norm

Back in the day
It was a peaceful happening
A true love fest
Those days are so yesterday.

Nowadays, people are afraid
A street party festival
Will end up guns blazing wild west style
The festival will end up with many people
Going to an early grave.

Happy Wednesday, all. We hope you’re having a fine beginning to the second half of April.

Our featured participant today is A Rhyme a Day, where the MC5/Jane Kenyon-inspired poem for Day Fifteen packs a lot of punch into six short lines.

Today’s resource is the Museum of Photographic Art, which is part of the San Diego Museum of Art. Through the museum’s online collection, you can explore a number of current and past exhibitions, including a series of portraits by Bern Schwartz (I rather like the one of Ralph Ellison) and a group of very painterly compositions by Lynn G. Fayman.

And now for our optional prompt! The Kay-Ryan-inspired prompt for Day Fourteen asked you to take inspiration from the sounds of the natural world. Today’s prompt twists that idea around a bit. Start by taking a look at this poem by James Schuyler.

FAURÉ’S SECOND PIANO QUARTET

On a day like this the rain comes
down in fat and random drops among
the ailanthus leaves—“the tree
of Heaven”—the leaves that on moon-
lit nights shimmer black and blade-
shaped at this third-floor window.
And there are bunches of small green
knobs, buds, crowded together. The
rapid music fills in the spaces of
the leaves. And the piano comes in,
like an extra heartbeat, dangerous
and lovely. Slower now, less like
the leaves, more like the rain which
almost isn’t rain, more like thawed-
out hail. All this beauty in the
mess of this small apartment on
West Twentieth in Chelsea, New York.
Slowly the notes pour out, slowly,
more slowly still, fat rain falls.

Like Kay Ryan’s poem, this one invites us to imagine music in the context of a place, but more along the lines of a soundtrack laid on top of the location, rather than just natural sounds. Today, try writing a poem that similarly imposes a particular song on a place. Describe the interaction between the place and the music using references to a plant and, if possible, incorporate a quotation – bonus points for using a piece of everyday, overheard language.

Happy writing!

Writer’s Digest April 16 Something Fantastic

Narnia Beckons Me Haiku Sonnet

Narnia beckons

it is real, lives in our dreams

where we can see it.

Old CS Lewis

wrote a true fairy tale

ripped from his dream.s.

so visit Narnia

battle the evil white witch

and meet Aslan

Narnia waiting

Go and be their King.

Wow! So many forms for poems yesterday. That was fun! And yay to Gary Crane for being the first to guess the inspiration for the acrostic in my sestina yesterday (click here to hear Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos” on YouTube). Forms are completely optional today.

For today’s prompt, write a “something fantastic” poem. As with all the prompts, you can come at this from any direction you’d like, but what inspired me to create this prompt are the fantastic works of magical realists and poems like Donald Hall’s “On Reaching the Age of Two Hundred.” So if you feel compelled to do the same, great; however, it is no small accomplishment to write any fantastic poem, even if it’s about finding an extra piece of pie in the refrigerator.

The basic premise of the haiku sonnet is simple: 4 3-liner haiku plus a couplet of either 5 or 7 syllables adds up to 14 lines, the same number of lines found in a sonnet. The only mention of this form that I’ve been able to find is a poet named David Marshall.

Note: I am a big fan of the CS Lewis Narnia Stories. Re-read the Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe in Spanish and have a Korean langauge version to read one of these days on my Kindle Wish list.

April 16, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Mike Dailey

A Thug Cinquain Poem

A thug

International

Started in Colombia

Murdering those he worked for

Really

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Mike Dailey:

Pick up the book nearest to you. Turn to page 77, 3rd paragraph and use one of those sentences as your opening or closing line.

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

Cinquain. Popular five-liner.

So I’m happy to share the cinquain, which is a nifty five-line poetic form from Adelaide Crapsey. Inspired by tanka, the cinquain is comprised of 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second line, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth, and 2 in the fifth. Plus, poets have the freedom to add or subtract one syllable from each line.

“an international thug who got his start in Colombia”

Source: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg The Job Page 77 3^rd paragraph

Dew Drop Inn April 16—Friends

Zoom Buddies

We have been having

A weekly zoom gab fest

For a number of years now

Everyone is someone

I have know for more

That 50 years

Re-united through zoom

Our weekly chats

Keep me sane

Alive and fills

Me with joy

Best Friend for 65 years

I have known Robert S.

Since the first grade

over 60 years

Sharing life’s journeys

Introduced me.

To demon rum

and weed.

Was there when.

I dreamt of my wife

and there during

my 14 operations

and will be

until the end.

My Memory Bank

Matt and I met

in Latin class

in the 9th grade.

He managed.

In my first election,

as BHS president.

He knows most of my secrets.

and reminds me of my past misdeeds,

Keeping me humble and alive.

Robert C

Robert C

And I have been friends

Since high school days

Lost touch for a while

Glad to reconnect

We still find each other

Amusing as hell

Mark K

Another high school classmate

Lost touch for a while

Reconnecting feels great

He is a tech guy

And I have learned

A lot from him

Wish I was in touch

with him

When I was doing

a tech support jog

at the State Department

We share the same birthday

But I am one year older

That does not matter

In the grand scheme

Of things

Tony R

Another high school friend

Went separate ways

Reconnecting on zoom

I find his wry sense

Of humor

Refreshing

Keeps me humble

And down to earth

Day Seventeen

NaPoWrMo Prompt

The Aliens Reveal their Secret Plans

Sam Adams retired in Berkeley
And opened a UFO theme bar near campus.

Where he put up a sign on the door
Space aliens drink for free provided they can prove it.

Because every night some joker tried
They would walk in, demanding a free drink or two.

One night his former bosses walked in
Maria Lee and mysterious Smith

Shadow warriors hush hush past
They lived in the shadow world, they were ghosts, spooks, spies.

They had retired from the government
To open the Cosmos Institute X-files.

Both of them had a pan-ethnic look
Both could pass for almost any ethnic group or race.

Maria Lee was vaguely Asian
Smith looked like he was an Eastern European man.

Both had a vaguely non-human look
And both spoke with a strange unusual accent.

Smith was only known by last name
No one knew his real name or his past history.

They refused to talk about their past life
Saying it was all classified top-secret need-to-know stuff.

But someday perhaps Sam would need to know it
Sam also worked with them before in their prior life

They said they were there for the free drink
And it was time for Sam to know the truth about them and the world

Sam told them well you have to prove it
That you are in fact space aliens can you show me that

Maria morphed into Donald Trump
And Smith morphed into Elon Musk and then men in black

Before shifting back to their real selves
Reptilian creatures from the planet Sirius

Maria was green color and Smith was red
And then back to Maria and Mr. Smith again

Sam smiled and gave them their free drinks
And they told him everything about their real past lives

They revealed many secrets that night
The end of the beginning the beginning of the end

Backstory

The fictional Cosmos Institute appears in a lot of my stories and poems. It was founded in Berkeley by Maria Lee and Mr. Smith, who were high-level former intel operatives. The mission of the institute was to investigate paranormal phenomena, usually to debunk the claims. They considered themselves the real X-files. They recruited Sam Adams to join them because they knew he was an expert on UFOs, having worked on the Majestic project and Area 51 – spoiler alert, there were no real aliens! Sam opened the fictional UFO bar with the famous sign “Aliens drink for free,” hoping that someday real aliens would reveal themselves to him. Then one day his former bosses, the mysterious Maria Lee and Mr. Smith, passed his challenge and told him the real deal over their free drinks.

For the challenge of the prompt, I picked a painting by Carrington, showing space aliens, and a painting by Varo, showing a shapeshifter.

The belief that there are secret shape-shifting reptilians living among us up to no good is a common theme in science fiction, and 10 percent of Americans believe it to be true. I have written a number of stories and poems about this theme. My aliens are descendants of the colonizers of Atlantis, who destroyed Atlantis and Lemuria in a world war over the question of what to do with humans. The red team wanted to continue to enslave them; the green team wanted to free them and civilize them, eventually granting them full rights. Their descendants continued to fight this battle in the shadow world.

Criteria

Landay. Poem comprised of self-contained couplets.Landay Poems

The landay is a variable length form based off a couplet, which means the poem could be as concise as two lines or run on for several pages. The form most likely originated with nomads in the area of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (read an article on Afghan landays here).

Here are the basic rules of the landay:

Poem comprised of self-contained couplets–as few as one couplet will do
9 syllables in the first line; 13 syllables in the second line
Landays tend to reveal harsh truths using wit
Themes include love, grief, homeland, war, and separation

Note: There is not a specific rhyme pattern for this form, though lines tend to end on the sounds of “na” and “ma” in the original Pashto. However, this is difficult to replicate in English. Keep in mind that landays are often sung.

Welcome back, everyone, for the seventeenth day of Na/GloPoWriMo.

Today’s featured participant is Words with Ruth, where the soundtrack-inspired poem for Day Sixteen uses repetition, along with simple and conversational language, to convincingly recreate a moment in space and time.

Chopin’s Prelude no 4 in E Minor

Posted byrubarbcough April 16, 2025Posted inPoems

You had a futon on your floor
A double futon on your floor
We lay a lot on that futon on the floor
Choosing sex over food
Like you do when you first discover sex
And you had a piano in your room
You’d play and look round out me
Sticking your tongue out a little, through your teeth
As if to say, “I want you,
And later, I’ll have you.”
And you did
We had a lot of sex on that futon on the floor
Then we’d go and chill with your mum and her boyfriend
And sometimes the dog would come in to see us too
Funny, I can’t remember much of your room
Other than the futon
The double futon on the floor
You taught me Chopin’s prelude in e minor
It took me months to nearly learn it
Not like you
Playing the piano like honey
Turning round to kiss me
And still playing
You showed me how to have sex
Not that I’d never had sex before
But I’d never enjoyed it
You showed me how to enjoy it
And it was good
Oh my God, it was good!
Being with you was so good
Orgasm after orgasm
Rolling through me
Rolling through us
I didn’t know that was possible
You said you could see them in me
They had different colours
That’s why it was so good with you
You could see everything
Too much maybe
Yeah, maybe that was it
You saw things that weren’t there
Like affairs I wasn’t having
With friends, colleagues, anyone really
And then it would go on and on and on
Me pleading with you
You calling me a liar
Hitting our heads against a brick wall
On and on
Until I couldn’t do it anymore
And then it got a bit scary really
But we don’t need to go into that
It’s ok
It was ok.
A therapist once said to me,
‘It’s not possible to have good sex
In a bad relationship’
But she’s wrong

Our resource today is Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, where you can find a smug ceramic pelican, a samurai’s ceremonial suit of armor, and a photograph of the French impressionist painter Camille Pissarro dressed as a Venezuelan herdsman.

And now for our daily optional prompt. The surrealist painters Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington moved to Mexico during the height of World War II, where they began a life-long friendship. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem themed around friendship, with imagery or other ideas taken from a painting by Carrington, and a painting by Varo.

Robert Brewer The Cities Light Up Beneath Our Plane Landlay

the cities light up beneath our plane
on the left as the sun retreats from us on the right

the moon appears in rivers below
& then disappears like our fragile first encounters

we both flinched at our first touch but then
crashed back together as if that’s what held us aloft

i’m not sure why some cities still burn
while others dissolve quietly into the darkness

Writer’s Digest – Seoul New Queen City of Asia

Seoul New Queen City of Asia

Now one of the hip go to places

Top tourist spot in all of Eurasia

Seoul New Queen City of Asia

A place for any occasion

A city with many faces

Seoul New Queen City of Asia

Now one of the hip go to places

Triolet. 8-line French form.

Here’s a diagram of the triolet:

A (first line)
B (second line)
a (rhymes with first line)
A (repeat first line)
a (rhymes with first line)
b (rhymes with second line)
A (repeat first line)
B (repeat second line)

For today’s prompt, write a city poem. The poem can take place in a big city, medium-sized city, smaller city. Heck, towns, villages, hamlets, etc., all work as well. Ghost towns? Why not! I’m not going to break out a census on your poeming. Just write!

Poetry Superhighway April 17, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Wynne

The Door Opens

In Tilden Park high in the Berkeley Hills

a Door

ancient redwood with a sign above it

opens

The sign reads for Madmen Ony

East Bay

Sam Adams wondered where it went

portal

only one way to find out

Jumped through

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Robert Wynne:

Describe a specific door, real or imaginary. Be detailed enough that the reader will have an inclination why you chose this door, but don’t say why directly. Let them find their way.

Waltmarie. Candace Kubinec invention

10 lines
Even lines are two syllables in length, odd lines are longer (but no specific syllable count)
Even lines make their own mini-poem if read separately

Poetic Form Fridays are made to share various poetic forms. This week, we look at the Waltmarie poetic form invented by Candace Kubinec, along with two of her examples.

This week, a Poetic Asides member shared a poetic form she created. While I don’t usually share nonce forms, I’ve tried this one myself, and I think it’s a lot of fun. So without further ado, I’m introducing Candace Kubinec’s form, the Waltmarie (which is itself a nod to PA members and Poetic Bloomings hosts, Marie Elena Good and Walter J. Wojtanik).

Here are the guidelines for writing the Waltmarie:

10 lines
Even lines are two syllables in length, odd lines are longer (but no specific syllable count)
Even lines make their own mini-poem if read separately

No other rules for subject or rhymes.

Here are two examples of the Waltmarie by Candace Kubinec:

Building a Snowman, by Candace Kubinec

They waited for the world to turn white –
frozen
Rolled balls of snow, bigger and bigger –
child-size
Broken twigs from the apple tree for arms, two hands –
mittens
He stood, smiling his pebble smile, until the warm sun appeared –
dripping
Then slowly disappeared, until only a memory remained –
stories

*****

On the Bench at Night, by Candace Kubinec

I sit as still as a human can –
patient
The sun has set and dusk has settled –
quiet
I try to match my breath to the gentle breeze –
calmly
Small creatures emerge from daylight hiding places –
searching
And my heart sends out a quiet message –
for you

.

April 17—Teeth

Dental Torture Blues

Sitting in the dental chair

Undergoing dental surgery

While the dentist probes

And tortures me

With his instruments of pain

The Frank Zappa song

plays over and over in my head

“The torture never stops

The torture never stops”

And I think of the mad dentist

In Little House of Horrors

The Jack Nicolson character

Who screams Pain is good

As he assaults his patients

Doing root canals

Without anesthesia

And so I endure the torture

Of the dentist

In the vain hope

I can save my teeth

Until the next time

I undergo dental torture

The song faces away

And I slowly recover

Then as I leave

I am confronted with the bill

And the song roars back to life

“The torture never stops

the torture never stops”

Day Eighteen

NaPoWrMo April 18 Prompt

Driving while Listening to Tower of Power’s “What is Hip?”

One day, while I was driving in Oakland

I listened to the Tower of Power

Funk Band

The radio, playing the song “What is hip?”

I sang along with the refrain, “What is hip?”

Funk Band

That night at a party in Berkeley

Slow danced to “You’re Still a Young Man”

Funk band

Note: third Ode to my favorite band East Bay’s Own Tower of Power

We’re three Fridays down, with just one left to go in this year’s National/Global Poetry Writing Month!

Our featured participant for the day is Poems by Sidra, where the surrealist-inspired poem of friendship for Day Seventeen rocks some fantastic similes — it’s all about those teeth!

And Then— And Then—

And then we will sit at a table with floating fruit
and share inside jokes so layered
in innuendo and self-reference
that they grow their own teeth.

Yes, and then I will paint, and you can draw,
and we will feed our work the secret blood
of our hearts and we will tell each other,
“Make it weirder. Make it stranger.”

And then I will become a ghost
and you will become an owl
and we will fly together in the dark night.

Yes, and then I’ll be a lady of fire
and you can be a lady of stone,
and we can frighten away the men who try to talk to us.

Yes, exactly, and then together we will be
animal-people on the prowl, red
and dangerous and beautiful, never growing
old, never growing tired.

And we will protect each other?

Yes, we will protect each other.

Note: This poem is inspired by the works and friendship of Surrealist artists Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo.

Today’s resource is a virtual visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Gardner, who died in 1924, was a devoted and very wealthy art collector who built a Venetian-style palace (in Boston) to house her treasures. The museum building is beautiful and well known for its gorgeous courtyard. But the Gardner is also well known for having been the unfortunate site of one of the greatest – and still unsolved – art heists of all time. If you can figure out whodunnit, there might be $10 million in it for you.

And now for today’s (optional) prompt. Like our villanelle prompt from a week ago, this prompt plays around with song lyrics, but in a very specific context – singing while riding in a car. Take a look at Ellen Bass’s poem, “You’re the Top.” Now, craft your own poem that recounts an experience of driving/riding and singing, incorporating a song lyric

Ellen Bass

Last night I get all the way to Ocean Street Extension, squinting through the windshield, wipers smearing the rain, lights of the oncoming cars half-blinding me. The baby’s in her seat in the back singing the first three words of You’re the Top. Not softly and sweetly the way she did when she woke in her crib, but belting it out like Ethel Merman. I don’t drive much at night anymore. And then the rain and the bad wipers. But I tell myself it’s too soon to give it up. Though the dark seems darker than I ever remember. And as I make the turn and head uphill, I can’t find the lines on the road. I start to panic. No! Yes—the lights! I flick them on and the world resolves. My god, I could have killed her. And I’ll think about that more later. But right now new galaxies are being birthed in my chest. There are no gods, but not everyone is cursed every moment. There are minutes, hours, sometimes even whole days when the earth is spinning 1.6 million miles around the sun and nothing tragic happens to you. I do not have to enter the land of everlasting sorrow. Every mistake I’ve made, every terrible decision—how I married the wrong man, hurt my child, didn’t go to Florence when she was dying—I take it all because the baby is commanding, “Sing, Nana.” And I sing, You’re the top. You’re the Coliseum, and the baby comes in right on cue.

The Dixdeux appears to be one of many forms developed as an alternative to the Japanese Haiku. In this case, there are three lines with syllable counts of 10, 10, 2. When written in multiple stanzas, the third line becomes a refrain, as described and demonstrated in the following links:

Writer’s Digest April 18 Gogyohka. 5-liner developed by Enta Kusakabe.

Deportation Blues Gogyohka

Every day, there is sad news about deportations

People legally here are told to leave in seven days

People deported to El Salvador based on having a tattoo

Foreign students snatched off the streets

Foreigners are afraid to visit the US – this will not end well.

For today’s prompt, write a response poem. In many ways, every poem is a response poem as it’s a response to something, even if it’s that hard-to-explain sense of inspiration many poets feel. For the purposes of this prompt, your poem could respond to a story in the news (or just a fictional story, for that matter), a conversation you overheard in public (also called eavesdropping), or another poem (written by you or another poet).

If only a poetic form existed that could be both concise and free. Oh wait a second, there’s gogyohka!

Gogyohka was a form developed by Enta Kusakabe in Japan and translates literally to “five-line poem.” An off-shoot of the tanka form, the gogyohka has very simple rules: The poem is comprised of five lines with one phrase per line. That’s it.

*****

So it’s a little loose, which is kind of the theory behind gogyohka. It’s meant to be concise (five lines) but free (variable line length with each phrase). No special seasonal or cutting words. No subject matter constraints. Just five lines of poetic phrases.

Robert Brewer “Halloween”

Ghosts hang
from the willow
as the children run
from one door
to the next.

PSH Prompt April 18, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Lail

When Lightning Strikes Ghosts Zappai

When lightning strikes

Ghosts, being dead, do not die

Immortal spirits?

This poetry writing prompt submitted by Robert Lail:

Write a poem that answers the age-old question: What happens when a ghost is struck by lightning?

If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.

Zappai poems are like haiku, but not. Or maybe more appropriately, they’re like senryu, but not (or maybe they are). This poetic form definition may sound kind of wishy-washy, but zappai are poems that have a 5-7-5 syllable pattern that do not contain the seasonal reference expected of haiku.

In other words, zappai are all those haiku people write that haiku poets recognize as not being haiku. Again, senryu could fit this definition as well, but senryu also can have a looseness with the syllables, much like haiku, so that 17 syllables are not mandatory.

Zappai should still be poetic, but they’re 5-7-5 poems that don’t include the seasonal reference. Final answer. I think.

April 18—Good Friday

Trigger warning: this could be considered offensive to some people. That was not my attempt, and I apologize to anyone who does take offense. The point of the poem is to express why I am not a Christian, although there are elements of Christianity that I admire, I reject all the supernatural rigamarole associated with the faith, and I reject the idea that the Bible is the work of God. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, this is mine. It is important that we all remain open to dialogue with others of different faith traditions. Freedom of religion means that people are free to believe or not believe in religions as they see fit.

Why I am Not A Christian

On Easter Sunday, I often think about Christianity

I don’t understand why anymore

would believe such nonsense

The essential story makes no sense

An imaginary all-powerful deity

that no one has ever seen or heard

Except for psychotic patients

Or drug users

Comes down to earth

and impregnates a married woman

Who has never had sex for some reason

And her husband is okay with that

Believes her wild story

And still does not have sex

Until after the baby is born

Then there is total silence

Nothing about Jesus’s childhood

30 years later, he emerges

Preaching love, peace, and brotherhood

And denouncing the corrupt temple leaders

And the Jewish leaders as well

The miracles also don’t make any sense

In the real world, you can’t turn fish into bread

Can’t walk on water

Can raise the dead etc. etc.

Just does not happen

In the world we live in

And has not happened

since those ancient days

Then the last supper

makes some sense

Jesus knows he is

about to be betrayed

But he does not

confront Judas

Does not run away

Does not encourage

his disciplines

To run away with him

The whole Jesus Mary M story

Also, does not make sense

Jesus must have been married

Or he was gay

There is no doubt

Either way,

the story makes no sense

The crucifixion

is the only part of the story I buy

Jesus was put to death

because he was a rebel leader

And the Romans

tolerated no dissent

To the Roman’s right

to conquer and rule

The rising from

the dead stories

All contradict one another

And Jesus was either walking

as a normal human being

Or was a ghost

The door was rent open

as if by lightening

Or not

Finally, we have been waiting

over 2,000 years for his return

You would think

if the story is remotely true

He would have

turned up by now

Except he has

As many lunatics

claim to be Jesus

in the flesh

including sadly

My college roommate

Who thought he was Jesus Christ

returned to earth

After he fried his brain

on LSD

all delusional of course

and that is what

I think of Christianity

nothing but fairy tales

and mass delusions

surrounding a kernel of truth

Love one again

Treat each other right

Don’t be consumed with greed

But couldn’t that message

Be made simpler

Without all

The associated nonsense?

And the Bible

Needs serious editing

Way too long

Too many begets

Pages and pages of them

Who cares?

Too confusing,

Too many contradictions

sexist too

Too violent

Too unforgiving in spots

And too many

onerous rules

That don’t make

a lot of sense

Who gives a flying f?

Just saying

So, on this day

I say

Open your minds

And discard

The nonsensical elements

of Christian thought

And follow the

True teachings of Jesus

Love one another

Be kind to strangers

Don’t be greedy

Commit a random act

Of kindness every day

Even if you don’t believe

in the imaginary man in the sky

Commentary from Fan story writers

Review For Poems for April 18 2025
Chapter 19 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Jake, this is a fascinating mosaic of poetic entries-each with its own flavour, yet clearly coming from a consistent voice that blends scepticism, social observation, and playfulness.
The Tower of Power piece is a groovy micro-memoir, succinct and grounded in musical nostalgia. The Seoul entry reads like a tourism jingle with a fun, rhythmic echo-clever in how it loops back on itself to reinforce the point.
Your zappai is short and sharp, toeing the line between playful and philosophical-“Ghosts, being dead, do not die” is the kind of dry humour I enjoy in these forms.
Then there’s Why I am Not A Christian, which shifts gears entirely. It’s long, raw, and provocative-structured more like a stream-of-thought monologue than a polished poem.
It’s unflinching in its critiques, full of personal disbelief, and though it risks alienating some readers, there’s no denying the clarity of conviction. It could use some trimming for focus and flow, but the honesty hits hard.
A bold, eclectic set.
Tim

~Dovey

13 hours ago

Review For Poems for April 18 2025
Chapter 19 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Hi Jake!

I am glad to see that you are keeping on track with NaPoWriMo. I hope you are enjoying the poem a day as much as I am.

Although, my belief is in Christianity, I appreciate your poem stating your stance.

Kim

Review For April 17 2025 Poems
Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Jake, this was a joyride through conspiracy, comedy, and sci-fi noir, all told with a straight face and a wink.
The Aliens Reveal their Secret Plans has the cadence of a beat poem mashed with pulp fiction and served in a UFO bar run by someone who’s absolutely seen things.
The repeated use of line breaks and staccato sentences creates a rhythmic, almost spoken-word quality-fitting for a tale that reads like it’s being told over shots of something green and glowing.
There’s brilliant absurdity here: Maria morphing into Trump, Smith into Musk, the reptilian reveal, and that perfect deadpan closing: “The end of the beginning the beginning of the end.”
It’s self-aware without becoming cynical. And it’s surprisingly grounded by the image of Sam-a retired man running a theme bar-being the steady anchor in this cosmic unraveling.
The accompanying pieces-your Narnia haiku sonnet, the redwood portal in The Door Opens, and the grim hilarity of Dental Torture Blues-form a surreal triptych around it.
They’re all laced with that same blend of the mythic, the mundane, and the slightly unhinged.
Outlandish, deadpan, and wildly original-Jake, your poems don’t just bend genres, they build bonfires out of them.
Tim

Kahlani

Review For April 17 2025 Poems
Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

I was intrigued by the “Alien” story and was pleased when you clarified things in your notes. The synopsis for your books sounds very intriguing. Are you selling them on Amazon? Thank you for sharing.

Michael Ludwinder

Review For APril 16 2025 Poems
Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Thanks for sharing so many poems at once. It was like flipping through a journal full of good music. I love your deep thoughts and how you shared old pals.

Tim Margetts

Review For APril 16 2025 Poems
Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Jake, this is a full-on poetic mixtape-part musical history, part memory reel, part experiment station.
The Tower of Power tribute sets the tone perfectly: pulsing, playful, and unapologetically funky.
You don’t just describe the music-you celebrate it, and that joy comes through loud and clear. The jump from that into sharply political reflection (What fresh hell is this?) gives the whole set depth and range.
I really liked the blunt edge of the thug cinquain-minimalist but brutal-and then the emotional turn in the Zoom and memory pieces hit nicely.
There’s something quietly beautiful about lifelong friendships surviving into the digital age, and you honour them without sentimentality.
The casual tone masks just how much ground you’re covering here-musical legacy, personal history, poetry forms, political unease-all in one go.
If I had a 6 left, I’d be tempted, but I’m all out.
Tim

Tim Margetts

Review For April 15 2025 Poems
Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Good

Jake, this collection of prompt responses has a candid, conversational tone that feels very you-there’s humour, honesty, and a kind of grounded directness that works well across the different pieces. Let’s break them down briefly:
“Are you ready, America?”
This one is raw and confrontational in a good way-topical and emotionally charged. It reads like the start of a larger political poem. My one suggestion: push for more specific imagery or language beyond the rhetorical questions. Right now, it’s a solid call, but grounding it in something visceral-an image, a moment, a symbol-would really elevate it.
“Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul”
There’s real warmth and personal pride here. The pacing is steady and reflective, and the ending-“And nail it!”-is joyous and affirming. It’s casual in tone, but that suits the subject. If anything, consider expanding on the emotional impact a bit more. What does the piano save you from?
“April 15 Death and Taxes”
Witty and very much in the spirit of the prompt. The shift to cyborg immortality is unexpected and fun, and the punchline about taxes still finding us is classic. You might consider adding a stanza break or two to help the humour land more cleanly, but overall this one’s charming and memorable.
In all three, your voice comes through clear as day-earnest, clever, and unafraid to mix reflection with lightness.
A few tweaks for rhythm and depth, and these will sing.
Tim

View 1 Reply

Michael Ludwinder

3 days ago

Review For April 15 2025 Poems
Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

I really enjoyed your poems today! Your poem “Are you ready, America?”
made me stop and think. Then your “Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul” felt warm and personal. I loved the part about nailing that Mozart Sonata, that was awesome! The bit about death and taxes made me smile. Your poems were all different but enjoyable. Keep writing – you’re rocking this challenge!

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Dolly’sPoems

4 days ago

Review For April 13, 2025 Poems
Chapter 14 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Amid this madness, I hope we can see a little light at the end of the tunnel Jake as our ever changing world seems more complex than ever these days. As we age I think we grow out of the challenges and want things to stay the same, but they never do. The world seems to be only for the young at heart, a poignant post, love Dolly x

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Michael Ludwinder

4 days ago

Review For April 13, 2025 Poems
Chapter 14 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

I really enjoyed how your poem shares the relationship between humans and nature. The way you personify the trees is so well done. It’s clear you’ve put a lot of heart into this poem- great job!

I really enjoyed your poems – each one felt like its own little journey. Your ghazal for Angela Lee was so sweet. I could feel how special she is to you. The Alouette was full of heart. I liked the way you played with the rhyme. Your “Good and Evil” poem had a thoughtful message. And your blood type poem made me smile – that line about being both a fool and a genius was great!thanks for the commentary. can i include them in my blog posting?

thanks a lot as always -thanks for the commentary. can i include them in my blog posting?

Dolly’sPoems

Review For 2025 APril 7th Poems
Chapter 8 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

I am the champion of living in the moment Jake, it is the only way to live as the past has gone and we don’t ever know if we have a future, I enjoyed this philosophical post, love Dolly x x x

Dolly’sPoems

Review For APril 2025 Poems
Chapter 9 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

I am glad you met the girl of your dreams and you are still happy Jake. We have to accept that good and evil exist but we don’t have to tolerate evil and we should always promote the good, a poignant post, food for thought here, love Dolly x

~Dovey

10 days ago

Review For 2025 APril 7th Poems
Chapter 8 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Hi Jake!

It is lovely to see your selection of poems today. The so ata was my favorite of your pisted pieces.

Keep writing! That’s what it is all about!! Creating poetry in our rash world today.

Kim

Tim Margetts

Review For 2025 April 6 poems
Chapter 7 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

You’ve put together a lively mix here, Jake.
Each piece is distinct, but sharing that playful, slightly off-kilter tone that seems to be becoming your trademark.
The snarling cup of coffee was my personal favourite-something about the wheeze and sneeze as the spices hit just cracked a grin.
The “Trumpian Trade War” rispetto is a neat take on the form-solid structure with a bite of satire-and “Sam Adams” reads like it belongs on late-night comedy, in the best way.
The Death CafÃ© poem closes the set with a flourish of surreal black humour, landing just the right blend of absurdity and irony.
If I had a small suggestion, it would be to consider posting these kinds of poems separately-each one has a different rhythm and mood, and giving them space might help readers engage more deeply with each in turn.
Still, taken together, this was a fun and varied showcase.
Tim

Michael Ludwinder

11 days ago

Review For 2025 April 6 poems
Chapter 7 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Excellent

Nicely done again. I loved the humor in your “snarling cup of coffee” – I could almost taste the spice! Your Trumpian Trade War poem was interesting- great how you packed so much in just a few lines. Sam Adams being the “worst poet ever” was hilarious – I laughed at the idea of him going viral for terrible poetry. And your Death Cafe story was wild – I really liked how it took a strange dream and turned it into something so unexpected. You really know how to keep things interesting!

Michael Ludwinder

Review For 2025 April 5th Poems
Chapter 6 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Nicely done. Your poems felt full of heart. The way you told us about your many roles – Peace Corps, teacher, diplomat, poet – was interesting. I especially liked how you said marrying the girl of your dreams is what made you who you are – that line gave me a big smile. I liked how you tied those Russian stories to today. Great job sharing both your life and your thoughts!

Tim Margetts

11 days ago

April 2025 Poetry Madness April 13 to April 18 Poems

April 2025 Poetry Madness April 13 to April 18 Poems

audio clip

You can find my prior April Poems here:

April 13 to April 12 poems

April 13 Day Thirteen

NaPoWrMo

World in turmoil

Writer’s Digest Prompt

Full Moon Madness

Here’s my attempt at a Full (blank) Poem:

Bonus Full Moon Poem

Pink Moon Lunar Madness Overcomes Old Man

Poetry Superhighway Prompt

Driving, Walking or Travel Poem

Walking Along the Fake Venice Canal

Dew Drop Inn

April 13—Greenery

Green Trees Don’t Make It

NaPoWriMo

Florida Criters that can kill you

Crustacean Island

Writer Digest April 14

How to Lose Weight

Here’s my attempt at a Losing Poem:

“What I’ve Gained,” by Robert Lee Brewer

PSH April 14, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Eric Nicholson

May the Force be with You

Dew Drop Inn April 14—Sky

Living under a Martian sky

April 15 Day Fifteen

NaPoWrMo Are you ready America?

Writers Digest What Fresh Hell is this Nonet Poem

April 15, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from John Dorroh

Ode to My Piano Savior of My Soul

April 15—Death and taxes

April 16, 2025

NaPoWrM0

On April 16, 2025

What is Hip? Tower Of Power Wants to Know!!!!

Tower of Power Palindrome

Our Musical Street

“Song at Sunrise”

What Is Hip Lyrics

You’re Still a Young Man

“Street Party”

FAURÉ’S SECOND PIANO QUARTET

Writer’s Digest April 16 Something Fantastic

Narnia Beckons Me Haiku Sonnet

April 16, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Mike Dailey

A Thug Cinquain Poem

Dew Drop Inn April 16—Friends

NaPoWrMo Prompt

The Aliens Reveal their Secret Plans

Landay. Poem comprised of self-contained couplets.Landay Poems

Chopin’s Prelude no 4 in E Minor

Robert Brewer The Cities Light Up Beneath Our Plane Landlay

Writer’s Digest – Seoul New Queen City of Asia

Here’s a diagram of the triolet:

Poetry Superhighway April 17, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Wynne

The Door Opens

Here are two examples of the Waltmarie by Candace Kubinec:

On the Bench at Night, by Candace Kubinec

.

April 17—Teeth

Dental Torture Blues

And Then— And Then—

Writer’s Digest April 18 Gogyohka. 5-liner developed by Enta Kusakabe.

Robert Brewer “Halloween”

PSH Prompt April 18, 2025: Poetry Writing Prompt from Robert Lail

When Lightning Strikes Ghosts Zappai

April 18—Good Friday

Why I am Not A Christian

Review For Poems for April 18 2025 Chapter 19 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For Poems for April 18 2025 Chapter 19 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 17 2025 Poems Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 17 2025 Poems Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For APril 16 2025 Poems Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For APril 16 2025 Poems Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 15 2025 Poems Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For Poems for April 18 2025
Chapter 19 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For Poems for April 18 2025
Chapter 19 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 17 2025 Poems
Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 17 2025 Poems
Chapter 18 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For APril 16 2025 Poems
Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For APril 16 2025 Poems
Chapter 17 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 15 2025 Poems
Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 15 2025 Poems
Chapter 16 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 13, 2025 Poems
Chapter 14 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 13, 2025 Poems
Chapter 14 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 14 2025 Poems
Chapter 15 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For April 14 2025 Poems
Chapter 15 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 APril 12 Poems
Chapter 13 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 APRIL 11 Poems
Chapter 12 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 APRIL 11 Poems
Chapter 12 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 APril 12 Poems
Chapter 13 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 April 10 Poem
Chapter 11 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 April 10 Poem
Chapter 11 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 April 9th Poems
Chapter 10 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 April 9th Poems
Chapter 10 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For APril 2025 Poems
Chapter 9 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For 2025 APril 7th Poems
Chapter 8 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness

Review For APril 2025 Poems
Chapter 9 of the book APril 2025 poetry madness