Thursday 30 April 2020

Return of the...

On this final day of Na/GloPoWriMo 2020, we are challenged not to write a farewell poem, but one of something that returns, as I will to this blog at the same time next year. Until then, happy writing and enjoy!


Dandelion

Even if I pull your roots
from the earth,
you'll appear elsewhere –
yellow heads gazing up
and soft white puffs 
bobbing on the breeze

I could pick your delicate seeds
before they spread,
but you anyway manage 
to appear elsewhere

So, I'll leave you be
to tell the time with each
blow of my breath,
to spread your joy
so you may appear elsewhere


Andrea Vermaak © 2020

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Man's best friend

On this penultimate day of Na/GloPoWriMo, our prompt is to write a poem which acknowledges a pet. As I no longer have any of my own, I shall write one to my sister's dachshund, Lilo.


Queen Lilo

Her majesty would rather lie in,
enrobed in fleece blankets
upon a giant pillow

When Queen Lilo does rise,
her nose emerges before paws,
her head before body

She refuses to walk on wet grass,
but will weave between plants,
hunting lizards and birds

Yet, will sit on your lap
with wide, innocent eyes –
it's her right as queen of the household!


Andrea Vermaak © 2020

Tuesday 28 April 2020

A room somewhere...

Today's prompt is two-fold. First, we are to read Martha Dickinson Bianchi's (Emily Dickinson's niece) description of her aunt's room. The Emily Dickinson Museum then prompts us to write a poem in which we describe a bedroom from our past.


Safe haven

A shade of winter morning
caressed the walls,
a beach-coloured carpet underfoot
and denim curtains drawn open
to welcome the sun

Posters of teenage dreams 
clung to once empty spaces,
and music lifted the downtrodden
while I stayed up late 
in the silence of my haven –
listening, reading, writing –
away from outside world


Andrea Vermaak © 2020

Monday 27 April 2020

Review

Our challenge today is "to write a poetic review of something that isn't normally reviewed."


Online catch-up

It was good to see your faces,
be they two-dimensional,
sometimes blurred 
or frozen in place,
and our conversation
b r ok e    n on occasion

It is good to know 
that you are just moments away
without the drive
or flight –
the journeys we so want to take

It is good that we can still catch-up
over coffee and cake,
though we can never 
steal a taste of each others' treats

But it was good to see your faces
through the broken connections
and blurry lenses
of a new world


Andrea Vermaak © 2020

Sunday 26 April 2020

Time

Today's prompt is to write  poem based on our responses in the given "Almanac Questionnaire." My answers and the poem to follow:

Almanac Questionnaire

Weather: Cloudy, but warm
Flora: Inca lily
Architecture: Tuscan
Customs: I'm not big on customs
Mammals/reptiles/fish: dogs, cats and lizards
Childhood dream: To live in the mountains
Found on the street: 20c
Export: Fruit and wine
Graffiti: on Edinburgh's streets ("Down with London rule")
Lover: Whahahahahaha
Conspiracy: Is China trying to sink the world's economies?
Dress: Black swing dress with white polka dots
Hometown memory: Riding bicycles in the street
Notable person: Passenger (Mike Rosenberg. He is notable to me)
Outside your window, you find: a herb box
Today's news headline: "SA's COVID-19 death toll hits 87, infections rise to 4546"
Scrap from a letter: "eat marshmallows on the moon" (from a birthday card)
Animal from a myth: dragon
Story read to children at night: Little Red Riding Hood
You walk three minutes down an alley and you find: a view of a sunset
You walk to the border and hear: silence
What you fear: needles
Picture on your city's postcard: the Union Buildings


Never the same

Will I ever walk the streets of Edinburgh again,
trying to hide a smile at her graffiti,
shouting "Down with London rule"?

Will I ever ride a bicycle again
like when I was a kid
or dance again in
my black swing dress 
with the white polka dots?

Will I ever get to live in the mountains,
eat marshmallows on the moon,
or meet a dragon?

The world looks different,
yet –
the herb box beneath my window,
my salmon pink Inca lilies,
and the silent sunsets
remain

But
it will never be the same


Andrea Vermaak © 2020

Saturday 25 April 2020

How's the weather?

Today's challenge (and it certainly is a challenge), was developed by Hoa Nguyen, a poet and teacher. We are to use James Schuyler's poem Hymn to Life as a guidepost for our poetry. However, it is not as simple as it seems, as you will discover when viewing the entire challenge here.

Were it not quite so deep into the evening and had I more energy, I may have jumped for joy at the challenge (which I certainly will do if I remember it at an hour when I am more alert). However, I am usually winding down at this time of day. Therefore, I choose to be inspired by a few of the recommended inclusions without reading Schuyler for about 24 minutes (apparently).


The storm

The red, orange, yellow, brown
leaves quiver
in the unusually warm wind

The once clear sky,
now shrouded in thick darkness
threatens to tear apart

A bright flash singes
a trembling horizon
followed by rumbling sky drums 

The leaves, 
terrified
fall


Andrea Vermaak © 2020

Friday 24 April 2020

Fruity

Today's prompt is to write a poem about a particular fruit of our choosing, but we should describe the fruit as closely as possible.


Pineapple

Queen of the tropics,
I stand tall,
crowned,
shielded in golden armour

If anyone dare 
dig beyond 
my prickly countenance,
they'll find I'm pleasant
for I too bleed sweet nectar


Andrea Vermaak © 2020