April Poetry Madness 2021 Poetry from the Mad Cosmos

April 25 to April 30 2021 Poems

This is the fifth and perhaps final time I am doing the April poetry challenge. The goal is to write at least one poem per day. I am averaging about eight per day and posting four reserving four as “unpublished”. I am basing the poems on prompts from “Writing com Dew Drop Inn”, “Writers Digest”, “Poetry Superhighway” and “NaPoWrMo” prompt daily prompts and on “Pensively Prompt’ et all daily prompts. I am combining prompts where possible. I will post these here in batches every five days or so. Each poem will have an image that helped inspired the poem. All postings will be podcasted a few days later on Spotify and elsewhere. Each posting will be a separate posting, but the index will be cumulative. The final posting will have the complete list of all poems written whether posted or not. Comments welcome but please keep it civil. Some of my poetry tends to be a bit “in your face” or “political” from a “leftwing perspective.”

If it offends you in some way, please accept my apologies in advance. That is never my intent.

I am writing some other poems per day but not posting them as I need to reserve some “unpublished” poems. There will be a podcast version shortly on Spotify, Public Radio, and elsewhere.

These are my poems from April 25 to April 30.

Pre-April Writer’s Digest Warm-Up Poems

Let’s Resolve Writer’s Digest Prompt Resolutions
There Are Many Moments Spirit of The Stairs Moments-Writer’s Digest Prompt, Writer’s Digest
Old Man Reflects Upon Universal Truth, Writer’s Digest Prompt
Almost Died 22 Times Writer’s Digest Cheating Death

Thursday, April 1, 2021

Posted

Coffee Pot Blues Poetry Superhighway Prompt
Who Is Jake Cosmos Aller? Writer’s Digest
Good Golly, Miss Molly Writing com Drew Drop Inn
Sam Adams Woke Up Dead NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Cat Thoughts – Pensively
Gingerbread Men Christmas
Demons Invade My Head, Pensively
Angry, Fierce, Deranged, Unpalatable Wild Things Wild Things
3 Am Blues Nightmares
Marjorie Taylor Green on Vaccines as Mark of The Beast Found Poem
Orange country Shooting Fridge

Friday, April 2, 2021

Posted

Stranded on Mars PSH SF
Falling in Love with My Dream Woman, Roads Not Taken NaPoWrMo
April 2—Voila! (Remember Something in A Short Lyric Burst) Drew Drop-In Writing Com
Love at First Sight
The Future Is Here Writer’s Digest

Not Posted

Avoid Bad Things Pensively Bad Things
The White Rabit Bekons Sam Adams
We Should Avoid Bad Things
Who Cares?

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Posted

Life as a Retired Expat in Korea PSH
Modern Connections Writer’s Digest Communication
Modern Connections Writers Digest
Surprise Haiku Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Personal Universe Deck Superman on Mars NaPoWrMo Cross-Post Writer’s Digest April 4^th! NaPoWrMo
Cat People Cross-Post Weather Poem Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Not Posted

Cats They Offer Pensively
Tucked in Eating Dinner Pensively
Georgia Voting Bill Fridge
Cat Conference

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Posted

Error Poem Errors in My Life Pensively Homophone Set Homophone
Little Houses on The Hill-Side NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Life Fair? Pensively Meaning of Life
The Din of The News Pensively

April 5

Posted

First Time I Saw Her Writer’s Digest Love at First Sight
Not Alone NaPoWrMo
Potential Mistake Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Not Posted

Slogans for Chonnam’s Kombucha
Future Adventure Looms Pensively
Sam Adams Had A Bad Day Pensively
How Many Angels Can Dance on A Pin?
Swanky Meddlesome Fridge Music
Bad Product Design Bad Product Design

April 6

Posted

Only One Command in Life Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn and PSH Mythical Animal – Conversation with Bigfoot Cross Post PSH
It is true I am a Madman! NaPoWrMo
The One Thing I Would Never Change Writer’s Digest Change, Don’t Change Poem Prompt Change the One The Poetry of the Visa Line Poetry Superhighway Prompt Consular

Not Posted

Women contemplating post-Covid travel Pensively
Sam Adams Nightmare Pensively

April 7

Posted

Villains Whose Name Will Not Be Spoken Writer’s Digest
COffee Shadorma NaPoWrMo
Coffee Fib NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Korean Restaurant
Ghosts Pensively
Taking in the Morning’s Crisp Springtime Breeze Pensively
Bah, Warriors Off Fridge
Visions of the Future – Republican Led Christian States of America Political

April 8

Posted

A Poem Based on a Typo or Misreading Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Typo
Real Meaning of Declaration of Independence PSH

Not Posted

Memories of the Past Haunt Me today Memories
Tri Fall Early morning Sunshine Tri-Fall Poem Writing Com Poets Corner
Things Settled Down, Then…. Writing com prompt, prose poem
Their Love Began Pensively
More Guns Diminished Hexaverse Writing Com Poetry Corner
Combative Cantankerous Fridge

April 9

Posted

Cosmos Woke Up A.I. Poem Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Bad Robot

Not Posted

The Adventures Began Pensively
The Voyagers Were a Bit Absorbed Fridge

April 10

Posted

We are Living in SF World
Life is a Dream of Chocolate Covered Trees Writer’s Digest
Memories of JC Write About an Eccentric Character PSH
Mary’s Tales from the Grave NaPoWrMo Ghosts
God’s to Do List NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Imprisoned for a Crime He Did Not Do Pensively
They Both Giggled All the Time Pensively
It Only Takes A Little Bit of Lace to Ruin A Marriage, Pensively
Raining Verbal words Pensively
Coffee Obsession Pensively
What is Love? Writing Com Poets Corner Lai
Tucker Carlson Fridge

April 11

Posted

Get Your Shot Writer’s Digest COVID
I’d Rather Lazy Afternoon PSH
More Trouble Every Day, While Looking for My Car Keys NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

There was a big Fuss Pensively
Freedom Looms Pensively
There are Signs All Around Us Pensively Revelations
Mischievous, Romantic, Heterosexual, Fridge

April 12

Posted

Poem with Transgression in Form and Content Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Transgressions
Every Morning Cherita PSH Cherita
Prime Number Love Writers Digest
Letters to Frank Zappa NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Just Another Black Dude Pulled Over Driving While Black BLM
The Earth Abides Much Pensively Earth
BHS Rocks on Music
The Dude Abides for Now Dude

April 13

Posted

Coffee Obsession Pensively, —Excess or Obsession Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Coffee

Not Posted

Spaceship Buried in The Snow, Deep in The Mountains Writing Com SF
Snobby, Frantic, Sorority Sister Fridge

April 14

Posted

Great Dismal Dark Play Writer’s Digest Sestina
Superman on His Morning Patrol PSH
Tower of Babel Past and Future NaPoWrMo Time Travel

Not Posted

Just Another Day in the Land of the Free Guns

April 15

Posted

The Robots are Coming Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Robots
The Mountains of My Love Describe Yourself as Landscape Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Not Posted

Fake Things All Around Me Fake Things
Three Tea Haiku for Teaku Competition Haiku
April Madness 2021
Welcome to My World, Pilgrim Writing Com Grim Reaper
Well, Hey, Big J and J Vaccine Fridge

April 16

Posted

The Wit and Wisdom of Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller -“There’s Method in Her Madness” dedicated to my mother who passed on July 31, 2005.
Lucky/Lucky Poem Writer’s Digest Lucky
Headlines I’d Love to See NaPoWrMo News
Narnia Beckons PSH
My Home Office Writer’s Digest Home
Cosmos Aller NaPoWrMo Bio

Not Posted

Impromptu Pensively
Sam Adams Grew Up Poor
Ecstatic Feelings Pensively
Appealing Award
Transporting the Stone
Dignified, Walking by the Sea
Traveling Down the Road
Sam Adams Three Wishes Pensively

April 17

Posted

Caregiving In this Day and Age Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Dinosaur Story Writer’s Digest
Coffee Cup Dreams PSH
Coffee Inheritance NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Teacup Dictionary Poem Writing com
Foxy, Girlish, Fridge
Huffing and Puffing Pensively
Words Fail Me Pensively
My Transport Awaits Pensively
Swank, Individualized Fridge
Broken Down Souls Pensively
All Abide
FedEx Shooting Indianapolis Fridge

April 18

Posted

Morning Rituals PSH Morning
Ode to Berkeley City Poem Writers
Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Mash Pensively Food
We Talk All Day Same but Different
Our Wealth is Our Health Pensively Wealth
Uprecedented FedEx Shooting Indianapolis Fridge

April 19

Posted

Tree of Life Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
There is No Such Place Writing Com Do Drop-in
Waiting for the End Writer’s Digest
Life-Changing Dream PSH Dream Girl
Unhinged Lunatic howling at the Moon
Howling at the Moon
Pink Super Moon Inspires Lunanacy

Not Posted

Ann Coulter is a disgusting depraved Piece of work – a found poem
Dealbreakers Pensively Prompt Relationships
Uncanny 39 Words Poem Pensively
Power Goes Out Pensively Prompt

April 20

Posted

Sounds Writing Com Do Dew Drop Inn

Writer’s Digest When Sam Adams Met God, An Ekphrastic Challenge Writer’s Digest
Eating Live Octopus in Korea in 1979 A Menu Poem PSH Food
Dream Sense NaPoWrMo Dreams

Not Posted

As I Kiss Her All Over Pensively
As I sit on Furniture Pensively
Snarling Cup of Coffee Writing com Poetry Corner

April 21

Posted

Writing Com Do Drop Inn 65 Years —acting your age (or not!)
If the Moon Could Tap Dance PSH Lunatic
Anti-vapers, anti-masks and other covid Idiots Poetic Rants NaPoWrMo
Cats are Aliens Writer Digest

Not Posted

Canned Foods Delights Pensively
Sometimes I left it
Dinner for Two at Country Inn

April 22

Posted

A Million Ways to Say I Love You Writer’s Digest Love
An Angel in My View the Backflip Poetry Prompt: Imagination’s Reversal Strategy PSH Reversal
On That Date NaPoWrMo Sijo 1

Not Posted

Justice at Last – Take That Ann Coulter
Life as an Ant SF

April 23

Posted

Poem based on a question Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Love
Uncle Sam Wants You
Make Love to Me as We Used to Writers Digest
My Life Began NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Two Lovers Walking in the Evening Light Writing Com – Other Prompt, Revised Stormy Lady Prompt Rain
Eagle Soaring Above Her Secret Nest, Revised Stormy Lady Prompt, Writing Com Eagle
A Kind of Madness Pensively
It was Different Pensively
Blue Lights, Pink Lights Light Up the Night Sky Pensively
A Young Blond Woman

April 24

Posted

Met My Fate That Date Free will (or not?!) Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Fate
When I Was A Young Man, She Came to Me When I Was A Young Man, She Came to Me Shakespearean Sonnet About Shakespearean Sonnet PSH Shakespeare
Ode to Kimchi NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

The Grim Reaper Gathers His Posse Writing Com Dark Dreamscapes Grim Reaper
Visiting Mother’s Grave Pensively Ghosts
Visiting Father’s Grave Pensively
A Serene morning
Late for a Date
Philosophical Musings Black Out Poem with Commentary
Tucker Carlson Says that Dereck Chauvin Verdict Seals Devil’s Bargain Between America and BLM
Frank’s Launch Flames Out Black Out Poem

April 25

Posted

Romeo And Juliet Fantasy Love Poem based on a play (It’s Shakespeare’s birthday, but any play!) Appointment with the Grim Reaper Appointment Poem Writer’s Digest Grim Reaper
Blue Blues PSH the Blues
Not Alone – response to Alone by Edgar Allen Poe

Not Posted

Coffee Ziggurat Writer’s Digest Poets Corner
Affordable Travel Pensively
Left Options on the Table Pensively
The Rat Ran and He Chased Pensively
Wild Animals in Korea
Beware of Fire Season Writer’s Digest Poets Corner
Rainy Days Just God’s Tears Writer’s Digest Poets Corner

April 26

Posted

Watching Movies with Subtitles Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Movies
Wild Animals in Korea NaPoWrMo
If China had Discovered Europe Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Not Posted

Restless 19 words Pensively
Spies snoop Opp – Loop Rhyme Pensively Rhyme
Gone in The Moment Pensively
Serene Thoughts in The Air Pensively
American Dreams Consular

April 27

Posted

Morning Thoughts Writers Digest
To Those Who Have Gone on PSH
Occasional Poem Advice to Those Getting Married NaPoWrMo
The Night of the Affair with A Shape-Shifting Alien PSH SF
Itty Bitty Bio Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Bio
Parody of Alone Writers Digest Edgar Allen Poe
Cosmos’s World Writer Digest Bio

Not Posted

Reasons for Admission
Around the World, Pensively
Writing Com, A Culinary Disaster?
Lonely Farm Pensively
Italian Ancestry Based on internet usings by William Walton
The Kindness of Her Love Pensively

April 28

Posted

Why I Don’t Believe in Christianity
Rafting at The End of The World PSH End of The World
Wytai Blues – Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows NaPoWrMo
Florida School Fires Vaccinated Teachers NaPoWrMo Florida

Not Posted

Writing Com First Trip to Korea
Political Rants
Giving Way to Passion Pensively
JC’s Descent into Madness Define Insanity Pensively Insanity
Bad Teeth Poem Bad Teeth Bad Body Poems
Bad Ears Poem Bad Body Poems
My Father’s Bad Ear and Eyes Body Parts
Bad Eyes Poem Body Parts
Bad Hair Bad Hair
Bad Nose Poem Body Parts
Bad Feet Feet
Angela Superpowers Poem
The Lonely Lighthouse Stands Guard Over Empty World Lighthouse Photo Pensively End of the world
Which Would You Rather Throw Away: Love or Money? Pensively Love
Which Would You Rather Throw Away: Love or Money? Pensively Money
Tight-Lippy One Leg Women Pensively Terrorist Victim

Wednesday, April 28

Posted

Hump Day Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Remix Howling at the Pink Super Moon Writing Digest
Left Hands Blues PSH Left Hand
NaPoWrMo Unanswered Questions

Not Posted

Winter Dreams of Barbados, Pensively
Joy in Morning Sun Sunrise

April 29

Posted

Rain Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Evening Delights Writer’s Digest Evening
Kombucha Glass PSH
The Window of Love NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Sam Adams Sees Death All Around Pensively
The Pink Super Moon Pensively
I Met My Fate That Date Dream Writing Com Poets Corner
A Witch, A Zombie, Ghost and Elvis, and Witch
Bad Rabbit Runs from Wolves
Life in Rocky and Bullwinkle Universe Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

April 30

Posted

Catharsis Writing Com Dew Drop Inn
Goodbye Writer Digest
Reimagine Your Days
Directions to Narnia NaPoWrMo

Not Posted

Hamper My Fears Pensively
Lonely Lake at The End of The World Pensively End of The World
Birds Flying Over Dead City
Another Letter to Microsoft
Fridge Shy Matt Gaetz Cheers Lady Gaga

Poetry Counts for 2021

Total YTD 860 as of May 2, 2021
January 180 7 per day
February 200 7 per day
March 206 7 per day
April 269 9 per day
May 3

If I continue at this pace, I will have over 3,000 new poems by the end of the
year. I will be editing all my poetry and post a total count to date by the end of the year.

Begin Poems

April 25

Appoitment With the Grim Reaper Writer’s Digest

For today’s prompt, write an appointment poem. My first thoughts with appointments conjure up visions of doctors, dentists, and parent-teacher conferences. But there are also business meetings and romantic dates. For the most part, people are very appointment-centric, because it gives people a reason and opportunity to come together (kind of like my annual appointment to poem daily on this site).

Appointment with the Grim Reaper

Sam Adams
One day received a summons
From the Grim Reaper

The note read
“Your appointment
For final status determination (FSD)
Is confirmed for midnight Saturday

A driver
Will come for you
Be prepared
Be Afriad

Tell no one
This appointment is high
Q level classified.”

Discourser to non-authorized people
Will be severely punished

Sam got up at 11:30
And waited for the courier

While his wife slept
There was a knock on the door

He went out
The courier was dressed
In a black uniform
But did not look entirely human

He had a blank face
No hair
And horns on his head

He said
I am your driver today
After your hearing
I will drive you
Either to Hell,
Or to heaven

Or back here
If you are given a reprieve
Of your FSD

They drove off
In his black SUV
The plates read, 666 hell

They drove through the night
Entered highway 666
The road to Hell

They soon entered
A dark forbidding forest
The road ended

They got out
And walked

Found themselves
In a large field

They walked
To a large black tent

A demon attendant
Barked

Name and DOB
Sam Adams
10-30-195

The demon waved
a hand held device
over his head

said
You have an appointment
With Mr. GR himself

Proceed to door number 2
For your FSD

Good luck

He entered the room
Mr. GR dressed in black
Wearing cool Ray-ban glasses
Looked up from his computer

Sam Adams
He growled

You have been given a reprieve
From Hell
For five years

Your next FSD will be final
Probably Hell but maybe Heaven
That decision is beyond my pay grade

You may go back home
My driver will drive you
Go!

The driver took him home
He went to bed
Woke up convinced
It was all a dream

Later that day
A letter arrived

Appointment with Mr. GR
For final status determination (FSD)
Has been confirmed for
Five years from today’s date

We advise you to get
Your affairs in order
Do the right Thing
There is no appeal
From the final FSD

PSH Blue Blues

Use color to spark your imagination. For starters, I suggest you brainstorm /green/! Consider green with envy; green around the gills; green grass of home; eco-green; and finally, all the myriad shades of green in the landscape. Use the word /green/ in your poem or imply it through your word choices. If you don’t care for green, try another color that adds poetry to the rainbow!

Here’s an example that is both implicit and explicit based upon green: a traditional 5/7/5 Haiku: Shamrocks greening now/after winter dormancy/one white bloom for luck.

Blue Blues

Once in a while
I wake up
Feeling the blues
Singing the blues
Being the blues

Then I lookout
At the bright blue sky
And the dawning sun

And at my wife
Wearing a blue shirt
And blue jeans

She smiles
The blues fly out the window
Joining the Blue sky

I go for a walk
As the fog of blues fade
Away in the morning sun

Not Alone – Response to Alone by Edgar Allen Poe NaPoWrMo

Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that responds, in some way, to another. This could be as simple as using a line or image from another poem as a jumping-off point, or it could be a more formal poetic response to the argument or ideas raised in another poem. You might use a favorite (or least favorite poem) as the source for your response. And if you’re having trouble finding a poem to respond to, here are a few that might help you generate ideas: “This World is Not Conclusion,” by Peter Gizzi, “In That Other Fantasy Where We Live Forever,” by Wanda Coleman, “La Chalupa, the Boat,” by Jean Valentine, or “Aubade: Some Peaches, After Storm,” by Carl Phillips.

Not Alone – Response to Alone by Edgar Allen Poe

Sam Adams
Was a bit of a loner
Lost in his inner world
Filled with dreams
Nightmares
Poetic fragments
Short story ideas

Always felt like he was living
he Edgar Allen Poe poem,

“Alone

From childhood’s hour, I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source, I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I loved—I loved alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ‘round me roll’s
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—”

But then one day
He met the girl
Of his dreams

She walked off a bus
Into his life
Became his wife
And he was alone
No more

When I was a young man, she came to me, Sonnet about a Shakespeare Sonnet PSH

When I was a young man, she came to me

When I was a young man, she came to me
She came to me one day while I dreamed
I met my fate that date, our love came to be
I saw her there, who are you I screamed?
She just smiled, filling my heart with love
I did not know what I should do or say
As she entered my life, became my wife
I will never forget for on that day
When she walked off that bus became real
I saw here there standing love in her eyes
I did not know what right then I should feel
I looked at her my heart began to rise
Just like in a famous Shakespeare poem
My heart began just like a poet

April 26

Morning Thoughts Writers Digest

For today’s prompt, write a thoughtful poem. Of course, my first thought (maybe like yours) is, “Aren’t all poems thought poems?” Well, I guess, but I’m thinking of a poem that captures a thought or random ramblings running ’round your cranium. It doesn’t have to be a rambling poem, but that’s one thing. Another possibility is having two people share their thoughts and/or NOT share them. Think about it a moment, and then unleash your thought poem.

Morning Thoughts

Every morning
I sit and think
Deep thoughts
Writing down my dreams
My hopes, my fears
My nightmares
But more important
Than anything
I record my happy thoughts
Of my life
With the love of life
My wife

Those Who Have Gone On PSH

Consider writing a poem to or about someone who has died or is no longer in your life. This could be in the form of a letter, a description of the person, a list of things you miss about the person, or just tell them about your day. Show emotion through concrete objects and actions. Try not to tell. I look forward to reading your words.

To Those Who Have Gone On

I am 65 years old
And as I get older
I recall with fondness
All those who have gone on

So many people
Have passed on
To the other lands
Leaving us with their memories

My father died in 1985
My mother in 2005
My sister in 2007

My friends have also passed on
My HS debate friend
Demel T died from AIDS
I lost my college roommate
Jon W
David C my Peace course
Language student
I lost my visa line colleague
Paul S
I lost my second and third bosses
In the foreign service
Julian in a terrorist bombing
Ted H who I worked with twice
Dead of a heart attack
Chris my boss in Bangkok
Also, dead from a heart attack
Judy my artistic friend
From Bombay days

And so many others
Have gone on
I only hope wherever they are
That they are thinking of me
As I think fondly of them

Advice to Those Getting Married An Occasion Poem NaPoWrMo

Our prompt for today (optional, as always) is to write an “occasional” poem. What’s that? Well, it’s a poem suited to, or written for, a particular occasion. This past January, lots of people who usually don’t encounter poetry got a dose when Amanda Gorman read a poem at President Biden’s inauguration. And then she followed it up with a poem at the Superbowl (not traditionally an event associated with verse!) The poem you write can be for an occasion in the past or the future, one important to you and your family (a wedding, a birth), or for an occasion in the public eye (the Olympics, perhaps?).

Advice to Those Getting Married

Often when I go to a wedding
I am asked for some advice
To pass on to the newlyweds
Advice, words of wisdom
Based on my almost 40 years
Of being a happily married man

What can I say to them?
I don’t know the answer
Other than this
The most important thing
For a married man to realize is this
There are two rules of marriage
Rule number one
Your wife is always right
Rule number two
See rule number one
That advice has worked
For me for almost 40 years

April 26—Sijo (Korean poetic form) NaPoWrMo

3 lines of 13-17 syllables each, sometimes divided into 6 lines.
Write two sijo poems: 1 of 3 lines, 1 of 6 lines…
My info on sijo comes from a wonderful children’s book.
More info: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/sijo-poetic-form

Manifestations of Deep Love

Manifestations of deep love, such profound thoughts all around me
Dreaming dark dreams, of other worlds, filled with a deep love
I see it, all around my heart, manifestations of my love

Corona Sijo

Coronavirus fears erupt, all around us, fear stalking us
All around us dark fears, fears of the end, end of the world
Death stalking, filling the world, filling it with fear, death is near
General corona unleashes his viral army, on the world
Everyone is afraid, nonsense in the media, antivacers lie
People don’t wear masks, masks that would save their foolish lives

Why I Don’t Believe in Christianity

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’t 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 disciples
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 it 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 my college housemate
Who after taking too much LSD
Proclaimed he was the messiah
Come back to earth
To save us all
From Impending doom

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 each other
Treat each other right
Don’t be consumed with greed

but couldn’t that message be made simpler
Without all the associated nonsense?

So, on this day I say
Open your minds
And discard the nonsensical
Elements of Christian thought

And follow the true teachings of Jesus
Even if you don’t believe
in the imaginary man in the sky

Rafting at The End of The World End of The World

Use the Fritz Perl’s-inspired -analysis technique of setting an empty chair beside your chair; mentally put your poem topic (or a dream you want to both analyze and write a poem about) into the other chair and ask it questions. To answer the question, get up out of your chair and move over to the other chair and answer it as your topic or as your dream. While you are in the second chair if you just let what wants to come out of your mouth come out, the second chair, that will probably be your subconscious mind talking to you.

Based this on a recent dream yesterday, or tonight

Rafting at the End of the World

One day Sam Adams
Woke up and found
His bed had been transformed
Into a raft

And they were being swept away
Down a flooded river
after a great flood
had destroyed the city.

The raft floats down
a river filled with broken-down buildings,
Dead bodies, dead cats, and dead dogs
and debris all over.

Sam Adams looks up
At the distant banks
On the left bank
He sees wolf-like creatures prowling
about looking to eat any survivors.

On the right side
There are alien creatures
in silver space suits
shooting at any survivors

The raft is careening
Out of control
Towards a huge cataract
Of impending doom

April 27

Florida School Fires Vaccinated Teachers NaPoWrMo Florida
Cops Open Fire on a Black Man Sitting in His Car in his Driveway

In today’s (optional) prompt, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem inspired by an entry from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The entries are very vivid – maybe too vivid! But perhaps one of the sorrows will strike a chord with you or even get you thinking about defining an in-between, minor, haunting feeling that you have, and that does not yet have a name.

wytai

n. a feature of modern society that suddenly strikes you as absurd and grotesque—from zoos and milk-drinking to organ transplants, life insurance, and fiction—part of the faint background noise of absurdity that reverberates from the moment our ancestors first crawled out of the slime but could not for the life of them remember what they got up to do.

Random Wytai Moments

Florida School Fires Vaccinated Teachers

In Florida, a private school
Going out all anti-COVID Vaccine
Has banned teachers who are vaccinated
What’s next banning masks
Declaring COVID a hoax
As part of their school policy?

Tucker Carlos Forcing Children to Wear Mask is Criminal Child Abuse

Tucker Carlson says Cops should be called to prevent mask child abuse
Really? Tucker?
That is what the police should be doing?
Forcing a child to wear a mask
To protect themselves and others
Is now felony child abuse?

Cops Open Fire on a Black Man Sitting in His Car in his Driveway

Five Cops converge on a black man
Who is sitting in his car
With his hands on the steering wheel
waiting for them
To come up to tell him
Why he was pulled over

Instead of approaching the vehicle
To talk to him
they do not say a word
They open fire
Shooting 40 shots

His crime
Alleged drug dealing
History of running away from the cops

But his real crime?
Who knows?
Other than driving while black
When will this madness end?

April 28

Hump Day Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Time

Half the week is done
Halfway to the end
Another week in paradise
With the love of my life
By my side

Remix Howling at the Pink Super Moon Writing Digest

For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. This has become one of my favorite prompts because it asks us to look over what we’ve written this month and pick something (or many somethings) to poem out in a new way. Maybe your free verse becomes a sonnet, or your sestina transforms into haiku. Or take a line or phrase from each of your poems this month and work it into a cohesive new creation.

Howling at the Pink Super Moon

On a moonlit late night
The Pink Supermoon
Casts a baleful light
On the world below

While inside
Sam Adams sat drinking
In a depraved bar
In a den of iniquity
In an evil part of the city
On the left side
Of society

Drinking up a storm
With his buddies
Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels
Jim Beam, and Mr. Evan
And Old Granddad looked on
His buddies Encouraging him to drink
One scotch, one bourbon, and one beer

He was just an unhinged lunatic
Dreaming of howling at the full moon

Watching the world walk by
Looking at all the fine-looking babes
Walking by the street

Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
Of endless wild libertine passions

He looked up
At the naked dancing ladies
Dancing up a storm
With an attitude

A Z tude
That could kill
An elephant in heat

When into the bar
on the highway to hell

Walked the most beautiful women
In the Universe
So wild, so free
So wonderfully alive

He did not know what to do
As this vision of carnal delight
Sauntered through the bar
In skin-tight leather pants
Looked so fine
That his eyeballs hurt

Finally, he had to say something
he gathered up my manly courage
He walked up to her

She looked at him
Instantly bewitched his soul
With a devilish grin

He lost all reason
And became a raving lunatic
Unhinged lunatic

Under the lunatic light
Of the full Pink Supermoon
Of the blood-red lights of the moon

Full of wild passions
The lustful beast stirs again
And starts running and running
Howling at the moon

Riding into the new dawn
On a demented Harley Davis cycle
With two naked babes on his back
Riding into the Moon
90 miles per second

At the speed of thought
He disappears into the lunatic light
Of the full moon

Sam Adams woke up alone,
In his bed
The naked babes
Having disappeared
with all of his money
as his wallet was gone

He woke up from
From his demented dreams

Saying,

“Man, that was quite a night
I better not go there again”

The wild beast
Laughs

He has heard that before
And joins Sam
In howling at the moon

In the fading light
Of the lost night
of the newly damned

Source poems

Howling at the Moon

On a moonlit late night
I sat in a bar
Drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
Just an unhinged lunatic
Dreaming of howling at the full moon

Watching the world walk by
Looking at all the fine-looking babes
Walking by the street
Thinking wild, erotic thoughts
Of endless wild libertine passions

When into the bar
Walked the most beautiful women
In the Universe
So wild, so free
So wonderfully alive

I did not know what to do
As this vision of delight
Sauntered through the bar
In skin-tight leather pants
Looked so fine
That my eyeballs hurt

Finally, I had to say something
I gathered up my manly courage
I walked up to her

She looked at me
Instantly bewitched my soul
With a devilish grin

I lost all reason
And became a raving lunatic
Unhinged lunatic
Howling at the moon

Foaming at the mouth
A wild, free werewolf
Howling at the lunatic light
Of the full Moon

Howling at the Moon

I stood outside
Between the trees
In a field
On the outside of town

Beneath the lunatic rays
Of the blood-red full moon
The lunatic lights of the moon
Casts a wild primeval glow
On me

The hormonal chemicals are unleashed
The wild beast within
Escapes it chain

And I howl with delight
A werewolf
Free at last

To run amuck
Free of its civilized restrains
Throwing off its clothes
Stripping naked

Running wild
Naked and free

A wild man
Enjoying his freedom

As I sit
Under the lunatic light of the full moon
Of the blood-red lights of the moon
Full of wild passions

The lustful beast stirs again
And starts running and running
Howling at the moon

Riding into the new dawn
On a demented Harley Davis cycle
With two naked babes on his back

Riding into the moon
90 miles per second
At the speed of thought

He disappears
into the lunatic light
Of the full moon

And I wake up
Alone,
In my bed

Saying,

man, that was quite a night
I better not go there again

The wild beast
Laughs
He has heard that before
And I join him
In howling at the moon

The Pink Moon Inspires Lunacy

On a moonlit night
The Pink moon
Shone casting a baleful light
On the world below

A man sat drinking
In a depraved bar
In an evil part of the city

Drinking up a storm
With his buddies
Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels
Jim Beam, and Mr. Evan
And Old Granddad looked on

Encouraging him to drink
One scotch, one bourbon, and one beer

He looked up
At the naked dancing ladies
Dancing up a storm
With an attitude
A Z tude
That could kill

He stood up
Stepped outside

And howled
At the Pink Moon
Who smiled at him

Left Hands Blues

Write a poem using your nondominant hand using “My head is a..” as your first line of the poem.

Left Hands Blues

My head hurts
As I type these words
Using my left hand
Reflecting upon my past
As a child
Forced to write
With my right hand
Even though
I was Left-handed

NaPoWrMo Unanswered Questions

Our prompt today (optional, as always), is to write a poem that poses a series of questions. The questions could be a mix of the serious (“What is the meaning of life?”) and humorous (“What’s the deal with cats knocking things off tables?”), the interruptive (“Could you repeat that?”) and the conversational (“Are those peanuts? Can I have some?”). You can choose to answer them – or just let the questions keep building up, creating a poem that asks the reader to come up with their answer

Unanswered Questions

I have so many questions to ask
First how and why I dreamt
Of meeting my wife.
How did she haunt my dreams?
How did she come to life?
What was our past life like?
Why Do I fall in love with her every day?
What does love at first sight mean?
Why did that occur to me three times?
What does hate at first sight mean?
Also, three times in my life,
what does that mean?
What is this thing called love anyway?
Will we meet aliens in my lifetime?
Will I live to see humans on Mars?
Will I live long enough?
to walk on the moon.
When will we develop new body parts?
When can I get new teeth?
Finally, when I die
will there be a heaven or hell?
What will my judgment be?
Finally, will people remember me after I die?

April 29

Rain Writing Com Dew Drop Inn

Rain
Are God’s tears
Crying over the mess
His creatures
Made of his creation

Evening Delights Writer Digest Evening

For today’s prompt, write an evening poem. The evening can be a quiet and contemplative time, a stressed or fearful time, or, well, party time. Evenings can be lonely or romantic, cool, or humid, inspirational, or numbing. And today (or tonight, depending on when you consume your poetry prompts), the evening is the time for poeming–even if you’re doing it in the middle of the afternoon.

Evening Delights

wine

My favorite time of day
Is early evening
Cocktail hour
When I sit down
To dinner
With my lovely wife
The love of my life
Either at home

Or at a restaurant
After our evening walk

As we eat dinner
We salute the end
Of the day
With a glass of wine
Or a cocktail
Or Soju
As the day fades
Into an evening
Filled with Love

Kombucha Glass PSH Kombucha

This prompt is inspired by 1.) the moment in The Octopus Teacher when she attaches herself to his chest and he muses about not knowing it would be the last time they made contact. (hmmm, like what would he do differently if he knew?) And 2.) the difference between straight descriptive/instructive language (like directions for Microsoft) and the sublime, artistic language of tenderness.
First you have to see the movie. Highly recommended for all sentient beings anyway, so I don’t feel bad about the added homework. You will thank me if you haven’t seen it. I promise. If you have, you will surely remember this stunning moment in the film. Feel into its tenderness and gentle communication. Recall tenderness in different parts of your body. Its scent and texture, colors, and sensation. Look around your writing area and select an item that holds a feeling of tenderness, or gentleness, either because of the way it is used or with whom you associate it. Write two… three to four-minute free writes. The first is simply, a perfunctory, clinical, if you will, description of the item you selected. The second is a treatise on its tenderness, in the voice of the object.Finally your mission, should you decide to accept it….is to write a poem that takes the material from both free writes and shuffles them together to make a single poem. How would you communicate if you knew it would be the last communication remembered forever? That said, I wish you communications you will always want to be remembered by. After all, we know how significant the last line of any poem is to its entire experience.
You may change tenses or syntax if necessary, in the final poem. And you may eliminate anything that no longer fits…. but trust that everything you need for your final poem is already there.

Kombucha Glass

Every day I start my day
With a glass of home-brew
Kombucha that is
Made with tea
Flavored with fruit juices
Fired up with Turmeric
But most importantly
Made with love
By my wife
The love of my life

The window of Love

And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). This one is called “in the window.” Imagine a window looking into a place or onto a particular scene. It could be your childhood neighbor’s workshop, or a window looking into an alien spaceship. Maybe a window looking into a witch’s gingerbread cottage, or Lord Nelson’s cabin aboard the H.M.S. Victory. What do you see? What’s going on?

Window of Love

Every morning
I step outside
Do my morning thing
While my wife
The love of my life
Sleeps peacefully
I look through the window
From the balcony herb garden
And watch her sleeping
My heart filling with love
As she sleeps away
The early morning
When she wakes up
She fills me
With the sunshine
Of her love
Driving my blues
Away
With the dawning sun

April 30

Catharis

Finally, the end
Has been reached
Of this annual poetry
Marathon
April poetry madness
Has consumed my soul
And in the end
A sense of accomplishment
The ultimate catharsis

Goodbye Writer Digest

For today’s prompt, write a goodbye poem. Whether leaving for a holiday or going to get groceries, many people find themselves in positions of saying goodbye to each other. So, this feels like an appropriate way to close out this year’s challenge…until we meet again.

Good-Bye
To all those who
have passed on
to another,
hopefully better world

I say goodbye
So many people
Have died this year
From COVID
From Gun violence
From the aging
Of the baby boomer generation

Many musicians
Actors and writers
Have played their last songs
And we will remember them all

Walter Mondale VP, Ambassador, Good guy
Prince Philip ultimate husband
DMX great rapper
George Segal great actor
Vernon Jordan ultimate power player
Norman Jester the phantom tollbooth is closed
Lawrence Ferlinghetti one of my favorite writers
Chick Corea one of my favorite musicians
Mary Wilson just supreme
George Schultz my First big boss
Christopher Plummer the Actor
Larry King final interview
Hank Arron greatest baseball player ever

And so many others
Will soon joins them
As the coronavirus marches on
And guns continue to kill thousands
And cancer
Traffic accidents
And the aging boomer population
Fades away due to old age

I am 65 years old
And as I get older
I have had to say goodbye
To so many people
I am losing count
But I will miss them all
They live on in my memories

My father died in 1985
My mother in 2005
My sister in 2007
My friends have also passed on
My HS debate friend
Demel T died from AIDS
I lost my college roommate
Jon W
David C my Peace course
language student
I lost my visa line colleague
Paul S
I lost my second and third bosses
In the foreign service
Julian in a terrorist bombing
Ted H who I worked with twice
Dead of a heart attack
Chris my boss in Bangkok
Also dead from a heart attack
Judy my artistic friend
From Bombay days
And so many others
Have gone on
I only hope wherever they are
That they are thinking of me
As I think fondly of them

Reimagine Your Days:Ramen Today PSH Ramen Reimagine Your DaysRamen Today PSH Food
a poem about yesterday that uses the word “possum” or write a poem about today that uses the word “ramen” or write a poem about tomorrow that uses the word “orthopedist”

Today is a Good Day To Eat Ramen

Today is a good day
To sit down
And eat a simple bowl
Of ramen
With an egg on top
Koreans call it ramyeon,
라면
Ramyeon
The Japanese call it ramen
ラーメン
Ramen
Chinese call it
拉麵
Lāmiàn

But it is the same thing
No matter where you are

When I first lived in Korea
I ate a lot of ramen
To stretch my Peace Corps budget

There are many new variations
Coming on the market
Even cheese ramen
But in the end
My favorite
Is the basic ramen
With an egg on top
And a side of Kimchi

Directions to Narnia NaPoWrMo

And now for our final (still optional!) prompt. Today’s prompt is based on a prompt written by Jacqueline Saphar and featured in this group of prompts published back in 2015 by The Poetry Society of the U.K. This prompt challenges you to write a poem in the form of a series of directions describing how a person should get to a particular place. It could be a real place, like your local park, or an imaginary or unreal place, like “the bottom of your heart,” or “where missing socks go.” Fill your poem with sensory details, and make them as wild or intimate as you like

Directions to Narnia

The land of Narnia exists
But the entranceways
Are hidden in secret places
All over the world

To get to Narnia
First, you have to believe
That Narnia exists

Then you have to travel
To spirit-filled places
Like the top of a mountain
Go to the sacred mountain
In China, Japan, Korea, or Thailand
Hike behind the Buddhist temple
Find a cave hidden under a waterfall
Chant five times
Narnia exists Narnia exists Narnia Exist
A portal to other worlds
Will open up
Step-through
And you will find yourself
In Narnia

The End

Please follow and like us: