Poetry month -- Day 30 -- sort of

For poem #30, I wrote a Tanka, although not necessarily a true Tanka. A true Tanka would be about nature/seasons and would convey a strong emotion. Mine is a about a cat's nature and only conveys annoyance. :)
The syllable count is: 5, 7, 5, 7, 7, for 31 syllables.

30 – Tanka

Is it possible
That one skinny, scrawny cat
Can spread herself out
Over an entire bed?
Such an act defies logic.

Poetry month -- Day 29 -- sort of

For today I chose a Triolet. It is an eight-line poem; lines 1, 4 and 7 are the same, as are lines 2 and 8. (So really, it is only five lines of poetry.)


29 – Triolet

Gold of eye, lavender of ear,
Chloe cat, where are you hiding?
Under the bed searched, you’re not there,
Gold of eye, lavender of ear.
Strange scratches are emanating
From inside the reclining chair.
Gold of eye, lavender of ear,
Chloe cat, where are you hiding?

Poetry month -- Day 28 -- sort of

A Tercet is a three-lined stanza. The meter is not important, but the line endings should rhyme.

28 – Tercet

You two kittens, look at this house!
Did you think you were chasing after a mouse?
Wait! – Is that my torn blouse?

Poetry month -- Day 27 -- sort of

Today's style was an Onomatopoeia poem, which makes for a poem that is fun to read out loud.


Scurry, scurry, scurry
Clack, clack, clack
Clatter, clatter, clatter
Crash!
Hiss, hiss, yowl
Yowl, hiss, hiss
Clatter, clatter, clatter
Clack, clack, clack
Scurry, scurry, scurry
Shred, shred, shred
Rip!
Yowl, hiss, meow
Meow, hiss, purr
Two kittens fighting --
The furniture loses.

Poetry month -- Day 27 -- sort of

I moved way ahead in my story, but I just could not resist writing a Shape Poem.

Poetry month -- Day 26 -- sort of

Here is my poem for today. I wrote a "Carpe Diem" poem, about living in the moment.

26 – Carpe diem

Kiss the kittens while you may,
Their downy heads are delightful.
The little cats unloved today,
Tomorrow could be frightful.

Kiss the kittens, mind the claws,
You’re lucky just to hold them.
Full-grown cats may give pause
When you try to scold them.

Kiss the kittens, mind the teeth,
Watch your cheeks and nose.
When cats take position underneath
Your chair, they’ll bite your toes.

Kiss the kittens, tomorrow grown
Do not your love defer.
For the cats that make you their own,
Cats to kittens I prefer.

Poetry month -- Day 25 -- sort of

Today, I continue Chloe's story with a Quatrain -- a poem in four line stanza with a rhyming scheme, usually lines 2 and 4.

25 – Quatrain

Our new kitten needs a name.
Should we name her for her speckles?
Should we name her for her stripes?
Should we name her for her freckles?

How about her amber eyes,
Or the color of her fur?
How about her lighter feet,
Or the way she loves to purr?

Her markings are quite distinct.
Have you ever seen a kitten
That had a face quite like hers?
She looks like she’s Egyptian.

We should call her Cleopatra
After the Queen of the Nile.
It may not seem quite right now,
She’ll answer after a while.

Cleopatra is a name to long
For a scrawny cat, so we
Can call her Cleo for short.
Still wrong. How about Chloe?

Poetry month -- Day 24 -- sort of

This is an "I wish" poem, consisting of ten to 18 lines, all beginning with "I wish".

24 – I wish

I wish I knew what I know now when I was twenty
I wish I had the physique I had when I was twenty

I wish I hesitated more before speaking unkindly
I wish I hesitated less before speaking kindly

I wish I had laughed more often at life
I wish I had cried more often at life

I wish I were more spontaneous, but
I wish I were more organized

I wish I could rewrite the past where I failed
I wish I would live fully in the present

Poetry month -- Day 23 -- sort of

My challenge today was a letter poem, which is pretty much what it sounds like -- a letter in poetic form. I took a break from the cats and wrote to my son.

To My Darling Son –

I loved you before I knew you,
When you were as fleeting as a thought,
As small as a second.
You grew where nothing
Was supposed to grow –
So I was told.
You grew in an imperfect vessel that
Was supposed to crack –
So I was told.
You arrived in a way most dramatic,
And everyone who knows your story
Marvels at the miracle you are.
But what you are is not just a miracle.
Every time you smile,
Which is often,
My heart melts.
Every time you hug,
Which is often
My heart melts.
Already, you have enriched my life.
Everyday I love you more.

-- Your Loving Mother

Poetry month -- Day 22 -- sort of

My poem for the day was an Alexandrine -- twelve syllables per line and usually a rhyming scheme.


Today we found and brought home another kitten.
She is in this box with eyeholes. She can see you.
Listen, Buster. She sweetly sings. She wants a friend.
Stop hissing at the box. We know you’re lonely, too.

Poetry month -- Day 21 -- sort of

Back to Buster and Chloe's story -- now it is Chloe's turn. I choose Alliteration. I did go a bit (well, a lot) overboard with the alliteration. Read out loud, the poem sounds like a bunch of hissing cats, but given the subject matter, that is not a bad effect.

21 – Alliteration

Spied
Amid a sea of scampering cats
Striving to be seen
At the city shelter,
She sits in shadows,
Separate.

She sounds a sweet, yet soulful, song
That pierces the discord
Of the shuffling others.
Spotted, speckled and striped,
And scrawny.

She stares with striking topaz eyes.
She is scooped up and snared.
She settles softly,
Snuggling my shoulder.
Still she sings.
Sold!

Poetry month -- Day 20 -- sort of

Today I was given the challenge of writing a Headline Poem, i.e, taking today's headlines and turning them into a poem. Alas, I did not do very well -- maybe yesterday was a slow news day. Anyway, here it is:

20 – Headline poem

Sand artist
Stampede park
Traffic
Chief happy
Experts urge
Wits
Scrutinized
Inspection under way
Fire damages
Father with a knife
Duck help
Alleged threat delayed
Boosts
Swift derision

Poetry month -- Day 19 -- sort of

I'm still working ahead, so today isn't really the 19th. My poem #19 is an instructional poem. Now I'm getting into Chloe's story.

How to choose a cat:

Drive to the pound.
Remember, you cannot take them all home!
Enter the pound.
Remember, you cannot take them all home!
Observe the cats in the cages.
Wash your hands.
Pick out one that is especially beautiful.
Hold him.
Will leaving him here
Break your heart?
No?
Put him back.
Remember, you cannot take them all home!
Wash your hands.
Pick out one that is especially funny.
Hold her.
Will leaving her here
Break your heart?
No?
Put her back.
Remember, you cannot take them all home.
Wash your hands.
Pick out one that is especially loud.
Hold him.
Will leaving him here
Break your heart?
No?
Put him back.
Remember, you cannot take them all home.
Wash your hand.
Pick out one that sings sweetly.
Hold her.
Does she hold you?
Does she sing even more loudly and sweetly?
Will leaving her here
Break your heart?
Yes?
This is your new cat.
Remember, you cannot take them all home.

Poetry month -- Day 18 -- sort of

Today I wrote a Cinquain.

Line 1: One word subject
Line 2: Two adjectives about subject
Line 3: Three action (ing) words about subject
Line 4: Four word statement about subject
Line 5: One word synonym


Shelter
Noisy, smelly
Barking, meowing, depressing
Place of last chance
Pound

Poetry month -- Day 17 -- sort of

I thought I'd be having surgery this week; instead my mother is. Rhyming couplets tell her story.


Yesterday, around ten ‘till ten
My mom was working in her kitchen.

She was baking cookies for my brother.
Batch finished, timer pinged, and my mother

Rushed to the cookies before they burned
She grabbed the tray, and then she learned

My dad had opened the dishwasher door.
Mom and cookies fell to the floor.

The kitchen’s hard tile did much harm –
She broke two bones in her left arm.

Poetry month -- Day 16 -- sort of

This poem is actually a lullaby that was born out of necessity. My young son is teething and was up most the night. His mobile plays a lovely Mozart tune that had no words. Now it does.


Softly the moon
Breathes a clear tune.
The oceans and seas will roar with delight.

Softly the breeze
Rustles the trees.
They sing to the earth a lullaby bright.

Softly the earth
Awaits a rebirth
That comes with the sun and the morning light.

Soft, your eyes close.
How fair your repose.
May sweet dreams and peace attend you tonight.

The stars of the heavens glimmer and shimmer,
Over the sleeping world they shed their pure light.

Softly the moon
Breathes a clear tune.
The oceans and seas will roar with delight.

Softly you sleep.
My prayers with you keep.
You’re my child forever. I love you. Good night.

Poetry month -- Day 15 -- sort of

Again, I'm still working ahead to make up for a time when I may not be able to write. Today's style was a Fibonacci poem. I first heard of it on Katie Davis' blog last year. It uses Fibonacci numbers for the syllable count: 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ...

Hey!
Why
Do you
Claw and bite?
Can you be lonely?
Do you need another kitten
To claw and bite and play with? We will find one for you.

Poetry month -- Day 14 -- sort of

In anticipation of not being able to write for about a week or so, I'll be doubling up on the poems this week, so technically, this would be Day 14's post. It's a limerick -- not a dirty one -- no further explanation is probably needed.

There once was a kitten named Buster,
Whose black and white coat had a luster.
He would bat with his paws
While extending his claws
And shredded a new feather duster.

Poetry month -- Day 13

I'm back on Buster track with today's poem. It is a two word poem. Think of a object -- that is your title, then write five lines of two words describing it.

Buster:

Black, white
Cranky, sweet
Kisses, bites
Cuddles, claws
Suckles carpet

Poetry month -- Day 12

Today's challenge was Repeating Line Poem. It doesn't have to rhyme or even follow a meter, but it does have to repeat a line in every verse. Again, I took a break from Buster's story in honor of the holiday.

A golden sun
Paints the morning sky.
Happy Easter

Robins twitter
And sing a new song.
Happy Easter!

Freshly rained on
Grass pops a bright green
Happy Easter!

A stuffed rabbit
Hides in a basket.
Happy Easter!

Little baby
Chews the rabbit’s ears.
Happy Easter!

Poetry month -- Day 11

Yesterday I was given the challenge of writing an altered nursery rhyme, so I decided to take a break from Buster's story and do something different.

Drive, drive, drive your car
To the grocery store.
Warily, warily, warily, warily
Cellphone-drivers everywhere.

Poetry month -- Day 10

Today's style evolved a bit by accident. I wrote down the names of all pets that lived with me -- excluding fish and siblings ;) -- and a little about each pet. Before I knew it, I had a modified list poem. I did try to keep the meter, but not the syllable count, fairly regular and I deliberately did not use rhyme, but assonance.

Smokey the cat was the first, and was gone
Before I turned one.

Honey the dog came much later,
And died of distemper.

Frisky the dog ran circles around the yard,
And she didn’t go to live on a farm.

Toby the cat a day of grey snow
Slipped out the front door and never came home.

Oliver the cat was perfection --
We all wanted a cat just like him.

Tabitha was pregnant when we lived with her,
She gave birth to Buffy and Solitaire.

Psyche lived with me until we found a better home:
We never found one.

Jareth the hamster lived in a glass box,
Until his heart stopped.

QB the dog never grew into her name –
QB she stayed until her last day.

Monte the rabbit lived a life that was fleeting.
Within a month, Rasputin replaced him.

Gabriel the cat stayed with us briefly.
When he left the carpet was stinky.

Demetrius and Lysander the cats
Were in a pet store next to some snakes.

Morpheus the cat chased everyone,
Until he went to live on his own.

Mario and Peter the cats sought shelter
In the outside unit of an air conditioner.

Tessie the cat had a long life before me,
But she died three months after Psyche.

Outside a church we found a cat named BUSTER.
(Chloe and Sophie won’t arrive until later.)

Poetry month -- Day 9

A style that works well for conversations is the two-voice poem. It's pretty much exactly as it sounds. It is written in two columns to designate two speakers. It doesn't have to rhyme, although I thought it would be fun to make mine rhyme.

Do you like Boots?
What? To wear with a hat?
No, I was thinking of
a name for the cat.--
Too dull, don’t you think?
What else have you got?--
I’ll have to sit down
and give it some thought.
Her front paws are white.
We could call her Mittens. --
That is the name of
ten million kittens.
How many cats will respond
when you call her?--
Not a one. No cat
answers a holler.--
Andromeda and Persophine
are fun.--
Look at her face –
She likes neither one.
She has a mustache.
We could name her for that--
Mustacha might be a
great name for a cat.
Tacha for short -- the name
suits her – we’re done.--
It wasn’t so hard to
settle on one.
Our cat has a name.
We’re finished – oh joy!
Wait a sec… --
What now?--
Our cat is a boy.

Poetry month -- Day 8

More than a quarter of the way through the month. Today's style was Terza Rima (a style of Dante). It is three lines with 10 or 11 syllables each. Rhyming scheme is ABA, BCB, CDC, etc. I kept mine much simpler than Dante's.


Little cat, you must eat, if not from a bowl
Then perhaps from a saucer or a small plate,
Perhaps from a cup that to the brim is full

Little cat, I know not when you last ate,
But your not eating now causes distress,
And my constant fussing makes you irate

Your claws have entangled the skirt of my dress,
Cries most piteous escape with a howl.
Eyedropper in open mouth brings success.

Poetry month -- Day 7

Today completes a full week of poetry, and continues Buster's story. The style for today was a three word poem -- three words per line, the last two words are repeated on the next line.

box cats hands --
cats hands lift --
hands lift cuddle --
lift cuddle pass --
cuddle pass choose --
pass choose one --
choose one left --
one left take --
left take car --
take car drive --
car drive house --
drive house sister --
house sister hold --
sister hold pee --
hold pee skirt --
pee skirt funny --
skirt funny basket --
funny basket meow --
basket meow home --

Poetry month -- Day 6

Buster's story continues in Etheree form. An Etheree is made of one syllable for the first line, two for the second, and so on for ten lines.

Scooped
From a
Soggy and
Messy death, the
Tiny tuxedo
Cat shakes his head and licks
His paws. White rivulets stream
From his ears and coat his once-black
Fur. He treads, milk-blinded, leaving a
Path of miniature prints in his wake.

Poetry month -- Day 5

The poetry style for today was Synonym. You had to use three synonyms and the last two lines were supposed to rhyme.

Here is my effort:

Nourishment, sustenance, a bowl of milk to drink,
Four kittens advance and teeter on the brink.
Four kittens lap, forming a rim-full of nose.
The fifth kitten approaches but in he goes!

Poetry month -- Day 4

Today I chose a Nonet. It is another mathematical poem.
Line 1 -- 9 syllables
Line 2 -- 8 syllables
Line 3 -- 7
until reaching Line 9 -- 1 syllable


Five kittens in a plastic box writhe
with life, twisting and clambering,
climbing and straining to reach
the top, to be the first
to snare a soft heart
and to charm his
way into
a new
home.

Poetry month -- Day 3

Today's style of poem was an acrostic. Again, I'm sticking with the same subject in an effort to tell a story with the finished poems. Here was today's entry:

Black coat of fuzz, white bib
Under chin, nearly invisible
Stripes like a
Tiger’s,
Eyes half-closed –
Runt of the litter.

Poetry month -- entries 1 and 2

I've decided to try to write a poem and day, and tell a story in the process. Yesterday's poem form was haiku.

Late spring, beating sun,
Green bush wails with life -- meow! --
Five skinny kittens.


Today's form was a list.


Found under one green bush:

Grey, striped kitten
Yellow eyes
Very loud

Striped, bibbed kitten
Green eyes
Slightly loud

Grey, socked kitten
Blue eyes
Slightly quiet

White, blotched kitten
Grey eyes
Very quiet

Black, bibbed kitten
Milky eyes
Silent.