Today’s response to MURI’S 2020 CHALLENGE FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH. Like the 2019 challenge, this consists of 13 prompts, one for each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in April. They can be completed in any order. If you are interested in participating, click on the above link for the prompts and posting guidelines.
Prompt #13 is “Get extra points and bragging rights by writing a poem using the following words – basil, candle, ink, tub, bread, lace.”
A strange grouping of words, no doubt… They painted a picture in my mind of a long soak in a clawfoot tub with a few tealights burning, the window open, lace curtains fluttering in the breeze. On the vanity lies
a longhand letter half-tucked into a matching envelope. But the bread did not materialize. Neither did the basil. Even if they had, how would
I write a poem about a scenario I know zilch about? I can’t sit still long enough to enjoy a bath and neither of my bathrooms have a window, not to mention nobody in their right mind brings a treasured piece of correspondence into a space full of puddles and poo molecules.
Writer’s rule #1 is “Write what you know.” When one of my crowns fell out, I had a story to tell. But how would I get all the compulsory words to fit? Poets are masterful at finding ways to break the rules while still operating within them. They might even throw in a rhyme scheme just for shits and grins.
Yuge thanks to Muri for hosting this NPM challenge and providing the prompts. I don’t know which was more fun, writing my own poems or reading the other submissions.
UH-OH
An upper crown
fell out of place
and left behind
an empty space
A jack-o-lantern
sans the candle
chewing things
it cannot handle
A trap for dough
and basil shreds
from Italian subs
on crusty bread
Off to Drug Mart
I boldly went
for a jar of DIY
tooth cement
The fix felt weird
My bite was off
It proved no match
for dental floss
The options suck
A vexing wobble?
Or a tender stub
to mollycoddle?
I’m on the brink
Should I endure it?
Or have an expert
resecure it?
Despite the risks
of COVID’s scare,
I guess I’ll brave
the dental chair
Have a comment? Click HERE to share it!