Do stop me now

Tonight I'm gonna have myself 
 a real good time
  I feel alive
   and the world 
    I'll turn it inside out
     floating around in gentle bliss

     slow yourself down
    and join me in my good time
   I'm having a ball
  slow yourself down
 if you want to have good time,
just give me a call

I slowed myself down
 'now I'm having a good time
  I slowed myself down
 yes I'm havin' a good time
I don't want to stop at all

Do slow down
        slow down
	         slow
	          down 

hush
		hush
					hush

Do slow down
			slow down
							I like it
have a good time
 good time
  do slow down
	slow down
					alright

	don't stop me now
	 I'm having such a good time
	  I'm having a ball
	   don't stop me now
	    if you wanna have a good time
	     just give me a call
	      don't stop me now
	     'cause I'm having a good time
	
            do slow me down
           yes I'm havin' a good time
         I don't want to stop at all

西漢 彩繪陶舞俑

Title: Female Dancer
Period: Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 9)
Date: 2nd century B.C., Culture: China
Medium: Earthenware with slip and pigment
Dimensions: H. 21 in. (53.3 cm); W. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); D. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Classification: Tomb Pottery
Credit Line: Charlotte C. and John C. Weber Collection, Gift of Charlotte C. and John C. Weber, 1992
Accession Number: 1992.165.19

“Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a parody” was our prompt at napowrimo.net. I wanted to use this beautiful piece of art I found on The Met, so I took that as a starting point. But how to find a poem or song to use as the base for my parody? I realised how beautifully this sculpture expresses concentration, subtleness, balance. So I looked for a song on speed that I could work with.

I thank Queen for their beautiful song Don’t stop me now, which is a wonderful expression of excitement. My best life would have both queen and this dancer.

STEADFAST

WHEREIAMHEREIAMW
A______________A
L______________L
L______________L
S______________S
T______________T
O______________O
T______________T
H______________H
E______ME______E
L______________R
E______________I
F______________G
T______________H
O______________T
F______________O
M______________F
E______________M
STUCKINTHEMIDDLE

To my own surprise I made a concrete poem today, which was the prompt for day 9 on napowrimo.net: to write a “concrete” poem – a poem in which the lines and words are organized to take a shape that reflects in some way the theme of the poem.

Today’s prompy, on day 19, was to write a “walking archive” – the physical instantiation of a walk. Where I live, I’m lucky enough that I coould have gone out for a real walk (and I did, albeit a short one). But last year I spent about six months being immobile due a a broken foot (long story). So I mainly saw my own walls for a long time.

I never knew the song that inspired the poem had an official video. But here it is:

Off the road

Don’t know where I am going
Don’t know where I have been
I’m on a road to nowhere
No destination to be seen

Don’t see a speed sign when there is one
Don’t know how to slow down
I’ve been on the road to nowhere
From the day I left our town

When I wake up in the morning
I get myself a beer
I know the future is uncertain
But the end cannot be near
I’m on a road to nowhere
living in high gear

I know what I am knowing
I can’t say what I have seen
It make me take this road to nowhere
I’m not who I have been

Here on this dark desert highway
If I ever see a shimmering light
and I smell the smell of colitas
I will stop for the night

If they dance in the courtyard,
then – and only then
I will stay off off this road to nowhere
And I’ll never get back again

 

 

 

 

Airborn

Oh lord
he could
feel it
in the air
that night

Oh lord
a song
coming
through the air
that night

Oh lord
a #1 hit
he knew it
it was in the air
that night

Oh lord
he was right
it will be on air
tonight

Sometimes I like a prompt so much I need to share my #NaPoWriMo entry before I can seriously go for it. Today’s recommend poem totally blew me away, so I’m embedding it here:

The prompt I still want to have a go at is this one, on napowrimo.net: “Following Dargan’s lead, today we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that incorporates at least one of the following: (1) the villanelle form, (2) lines taken from an outside text, and/or (3) phrases that oppose each other in some way. If you can use two elements, great – and if you can do all three, wow!”

 

Neat love

Let me sleep on it, he said
I’ll give you an answer in the morning
but he could tell she’d heard
that line before

She walked away and said
don’t forget
two out of three is sad

This was written as an epilogue to a poem called At the crossroads. I never added it to the poem, I think I thought it was too cheesy 🙂 But I enjoyed it when I found it today and I have plans for this evening. So today is life first, poetry later…

For those of you who don’t know the songs of Meat Loaf by heart, I’m adding one of the songs that this poem refers to.  Many of his songs fit todays prompt of betrayal well I believe. Here’s to  #OctPoWriMo day 22!

 

Two festivals of me

If I was to organise a festival of me
I’d be playing in all the bands
The line up in random order
– surprises solicit creativity

Dropdancing
Best Leftovers
Patient no More
For Fun’s sake

A get-together like you’ve never seen before
leading up to six days of exhaustion
– a seventh day for cleaning up

There’d be drug-free drugs
healthy vibrations
letting go

dragoncorns

If you were to organise a festival of me
you’d let me watch all the bands
The line up carefully chosen
to have a desired effect

Cook Daily – It’s no joke (ska)
Shoes Weren’t Made for Lying in the Room – Revolation (blues)
To do To do To do – Rest for the Crickets (doowop)
Freaky Fuckin’ Fun Fest – Anonymite (metal)

There’d be craft beer and great snacks
Toilets with no queue
Ear plugs for free
A secret room for throwing paint at walls
A pottery shatter barn (all shards to be recycled)

Both would make me cry

For those of you who don’t know him, I’d like to introduce you to David Ellis from Too Full to Write. He’s an incredibly hard working and generous poet, and on day 1 he took guilty pleasures to a whole new level!

On a side note: I wanted another picture for this poem, but I haven’t painted or drawn anything with the right vibe. A more festive vibe.

I could work on that today, but on my business blog I’ve openly promised to work on my administration this week… I’ll start working on that in 15 minutes, and will make reading your #NaPoWriMo poems a reward. So administration, reward, administration, reward, administration, reward it will be. And maybe celebrate my accomplishment with a happy blog on the business site 🙂

I wanna thank you

How do you say thank you
to people who’ve given so much
when you’re supposed to poet
but get stuck on gratefulness?

How do you say thank you
for all the prompts
words, images, forms suggested
and the invitation to ignore them at want?

How do you say thank you
for the poems you got to read
that touched your heart
touched your soul
made you smile?

How do you say thank you
for darkness bared
hopelessness shared
feeling shaken
and stirred?

How do you say thank you
for being read, receiving comments
feeling appreciated, feeling valued
feeling connection?

How do you say thank you
to people
for being different
for being the same?

How do you say thank you
for showing up
for trying
for being a witness
for creating a spark?

This ‘you’ turns to music
Thank you!

If you weren’t participating in the #OctPoWriMo challenge yourself, you may not know about all the wonderful participants out there. I’d like to recommend some, in random order. I’ll introduce you to a specific poem if I can, but I recommend you to read many more on their blog, since the prompts led to many different writings.

because #metoo is just too much by Wanda Olugbala – a poem about growing up where harrassment seems to be the norm, not the exception

Ghouls by Pat R – a lovely short and claver take on modern ghouls

My mind on arts by my friend Dawn – she’s written an ode to her own mind, without leaving out the darkness

Reflection by Jenni Astramowicz – a poem about missing your mum, not being allowed to cry and not having a face

Don’t buy the bullshit by Cara H – who tells busiebodies who like to talk about people’s bodies what she thinks of them

Fighting the urge to vomit by Annis Cassels – a poem about desperately wanting to share your knowledge for the benefit of others and doing that by not doing it

Rings by Michele Vecchitto – a Fibonacci poem about the mother of her stepchildren

Fear of unfeeling by Jennifer Patino – about the lure and dangers of feeling and breathing

be like them by Annie R. Ray – a punchy poem about walking your own path

https://kryptic.blog/ –> a beautiful combination of collage and words

I want to add more, but at the moment I’m cross-eyed from reading more than I can handle.

A special shout out to the people who’ve made this month possible for all participants:
Morgan Dragonwillow at Wild Woman Mysteries
Amy Phelps McGrath at The Rabid Artist
Beverly Tan at @BeverlyTanFilm
Tamara Woods at Pen Paper Pad
Annis Cassells at Poems by Annis

Leave me this way

He’s late again
My imaginary friend
Sitting on a park bench
Waiting for the sun
I wonder why the clouds
Never leave me this way

Being late is his way
Of showing me, again and again
I needn’t be worried by clouds
Each one an imaginary friend
Never blocking the sun
Just aiming for this bench

They are drawn to this bench
Because in their peculiar way
They consider me their sun
And when I escape (again)
Tears, because their friend
Is lost without her clouds

I wonder why the clouds
Don’t just sit on the park bench
Talk to my imaginary friend
Explain that this way, his way
Is not helping me – again
I am waiting for the sun

I doubt if the sun
Hides behind the clouds
On purpose – again
Scared of the park bench
Searching for a way
To connect with my imaginary friend

Not realising my friend
Will never wait for the sun
Will always leave me this way
He befriended the clouds
One time, on a park bench
When I was late again

He’s late again, my imaginary friend
I’m waiting on a park bench, sitting in the sun
I’ve told the clouds to leave me alone today

I’m so excited I tried my hand at a #sestina! It fits today’s prompt I believe, in being inspired by art. When the first song line entered my mind (waiting for the sun, Jethro Tull) several other ones popped up later – my brain works like that. I’ve included all of them I think.

Their are more poems inspired by art or artists on my blog, either music or visual arts. I’ll see if I can find them and link them to this post. I know if you click on ‘song’ in the tag cloud, you can find a number of them.

For perfectionists: I changed the last word of the poem on purpose, outside the rules for a sestina. Poetic liberty 🙂

I secretly gave up on you

I secretly gave up on you
Sure, I still go through the motions
“My name is Sue, how do you do?”
But I secretly gave up on you

I secretly gave up on you
These fleeting fragments of now
Together cannot create a future
You’re stuck in my past
So I secretly gave up on you

If we were to meet like we once met
What would I say to you?

Censored (strike through font)

Hello, how do you do?
I secretly gave up on you

If you don’t have a clue with how much emotion the sentence “My name is Sue, how do you do” can be spoken, you probably don’t know this Johnny Cash song:
Safe to say that in this poem, that sentence is meant as a metaphor for saying one thing and meaning another.

How I wish

How I wish you weren’t here
too many lost souls
swimming in this small bowl

Silently screaming, awkwardly appealing
to my sense of saviour

See me, feel me, touch me, hear me,
write me a song, pen me a letter,
tend to my needs, make me feel good

How I wish I didn’t hear
your lost soul
echoing in this fish bowl

I know you want to be found
but I’m not searching

Yesterday’s prompt was to use overheard conversation. In this case it’s an overheard song, Pink Floyd’s Wish you were here. And I’ve added a bit of The Who.