Easily confused words

We are almost halfway through Na/GloPoWriMo! April seems to have flown by like a flock of swifts!

Our challenge today is to incorporate homophones, homographs and homonyms into our poems, or make 'productive use of English's ridiculously complex spelling rules and opportunities for mis-hearings and mis-readings.'

As I am teaching just this to potential English home language educators, the above shouldn't be too much of a challenge, right? Wrong! However, I will do my very best! Either way, this should be fun and quite possibly ridiculous. I ask for forgiveness in advance for bad poetry...

The row

The present couple

bought a present

and a had raucous row

beside a row of can

'Can you try not to bump the cans?'

she shouted as if she'd already won

at the one she thought she loved

'Why can't we offer to take dessert?'

'Because ice cream melts in a desert

and I will desert you 

and your sticky mess

within the army's mess!'

Their peers peered at them

and separately tried to separate them,

trying to reason 

and find the reason

for the row

beside the row

of cans

A good mystery

We are challenged today 'to write a poem about something mysterious and spooky.' I know exactly what I am going to write about!

Sleight of hand

We watched 

as closely as we could,

but could not see

His dexterity

manipulated minds

His adroitness 

left us wondering:

How could fingers

be so nimble?

How could hands

and mouths

and tables

deceive us so?

Smoke and mirrors

could never be so deft

There is only one reason left:

Magic

The importance of dull things

Today's prompt is...interesting. We're challenged 'to write a poem about a dull thing' that we own and why (and how) we love it.

Alternatively, we could write about what it would mean to us to give away or destroy a significant object.

I could write volumes on the latter subject, but I am drawn to the former for some reason. I suppose I'm drawn to it because it seems to be more challenging, but it also evokes sentimentality over objects that could never mean anything to anyone but us. I know, my statement seems contradictory in terms, leaning more towards the latter prompt, but perhaps that is exactly what today's challenge is all about...

The ticket

Faded and torn,

dusty and worn,

I hold my ticket 

to my chest

When I close my eyes,

I still hear the sound

of the crowd's cheers,

and merry singing along

to our favourite songs

No photos were taken,

No recordings either;

we just enjoyed it

All I have is my ticket;

faded and torn,

dusty and worn,

holding it 

to my chest

Origins

Like yesterday's challenge, I love today's challenge! We are challenged 'to write a poem of origin'. We are prompted to write about from whence we came and where we are now. Our poems need not necessarily be geographical. This is a fantastic idea!

Me

I was molded

by a stubborn streak

and large bouts of anxiety

I grew to be meek and mild

and silenced

and boxed in,

yearning to break free

Once free,

my wings grew large

and I fluttered about,

tasting the sweet nectar of life

I grew legs

and ran away 

across the sea

and hills

to discover my history

and my future

I came back,

stronger,

independent, 

having proved myself

But someone trampled on my wings

and broke my legs,

and tried to crush me

But I am of my mother's courage,

I am of my father's sense of adventure,

of my grandparents' faith

I will not be whom others want me to be

I will stand firm,

I will run free

I am me

Lingo

I love today's challenge! We're to 'write a poem that starts from a regional phrase, particularly one to describe a weather phenomenon.' I think I'm going to have fun with this one...

A monkey's wedding

Patches of blue

peaked through

heavy clouds;

bright blue 

against darkness

Showers of blessings

poured from the sky

alongside beams of sunshine

'Ah, it's a monkey's wedding,'

someone would say,

and I'd imagine

their vows

taken under a tree somewhere

beneath the black and blue sky,

and they'd run away,

laughing in the rain and shine.

Things

Today, we're challenged to take inspiration from Sei Shōnagon's journal, The Pillow Book, in which she includes various lists. Our challenge is to write our own list of things in her style. We may decide on what to include in the list. Mmm...

Things that delight me

A cool morning breeze

and birds singing

Roses of all shades and hues,

and trees heavy with fruit

The salmon pink sky at sunset

and the silence of twilight

The overwhelming scent 

of frangipani at night

A home-made meal

that sticks to your ribs

The wild display 

of Highveld thunderstorms

The softness of my pillow

beneath my weary head

Argot

Today's challenge is really challenging to say the least! We are challenged 'to think about the argot of a particular job or profession' and try to 'incorporate it into a metaphor that governs or drives' the poem.

I have chosen to use a phrase doctors usually use as code to indicate that a patient is expected to pass away soon. However, I want to use this phrase in a tongue-in-cheek manner, presenting it as a pun.

Circling the drain

The eight-legged critter

stood its ground

as the shower 

poured over it

It clung to 

the shower curtain,

but I did not give up either

It slid –

a victory!

No, its stubborn 

feet gripped

the bath's peeling enamel

Surely one last blast

of hot water

would send it swimming?

A pummelling 

of torrents

– at last! –

sent it spiralling,

circling the drain