Adventures in NaPoWriMo

So.

As is always the case, I've decided to put myself at the mercy of the "One-A-Day" challenge for the month of April. That's right folks:, I am promising that,  starting this Friday, one poem, every day, for the next thirty days, will appear right here on this blog for your reading pleasure.

Now.
We know what this meant last year.

Last year you got 1.5 poems....one of which wasn't written entirely (or even mostly) by me. By the second week I found myself churning out some pretty crappy (even for rough drafts) pseudo-poems in the hopes that I'd stumble upon something to share....which I didn't. And that ultimately meant that I threw myself into a state of random despondence because I was not living up to my word....which I can't afford at the moment.

So. I have counteracted the coming madness by creating....

Milli's Big List of NaPoWriMo Rules

Rule #1: I'm allowed to work on unfinished po-ems. I will be honest when posting something that isn't brand new to April....but you should be able to tell, based on its non-suckiness as compared to the other po-ems written in a day.

Rule #2: I'm allowed the occasional haiku. And I know that there's nothing in the "official" NaPoWriMo "rules" about not doing haiku...and I know that there aren't actually official NaPoWriMo rules...but I would generally consider haiku as being against the spirit of those rules if they existed. But. I'm saying that some haiku are ok. It is also ok to write one haiku as the po-em for the day. None of this WriMo Nazi 8 haiku surrounding the same theme business.

Rule #3: You are not allowed to ask "how are the po-ems coming?" All other comments about how the great the po-ems are...and how much you've been inspired are welcome....but none of this...you're five days behind business. This goes hand in hand with

Rule #4: Let's be serious. My real aim is to counter the Writer's Block i've been contending with for the past forever, and maybe come up with 7 or so complete po-ems...3 or so decent ones. And maybe 1 that can be taken to Southern Fried. And finally,

Rule #5: Above all else, we're going to enjoy words and have some fun. To do this, you should check out other people who are playing. There are some names on the list that I know, many more than I don't... but I'm sure there'll be some great po-ems for us all to read.

Peace Be

Adventures in Coerced Blogging

So.

We find ourselves in a dilemma.

I haven't posted anything in almost a month...which...in certain circles is unacceptable. I find myself, however with nothing to say. I don't know...I'm just bored with the particular state I'm in. It's like come on - we get it...sad, frustrated, scared, lonely - update us when you have something we don't know.

But.

In the spirit of sharing....here's a po-em that I started awhile back...still not quite finished I think....but I'm done with it for awhile. So. Enjoy.
---
1.
it's another day in and the general consensus is that i am made up of walls
the bedroom i never leave
in apartment no one comes to
near a phone no one calls
because there are never words
when another voice beckons
"i see that you are breaking
come clean"

2.
my name
has always been jericho

3.
a wall is never easy to the crumble
all a wall will ever do is beg you let it stand

4.
"i love you"
is a trumpet to the heart wall
it's noise like a shatter of glass against brick
its weight
heavy in the center of my breastbone
press harder
you can already feel the break

5.
did they not know
this nation was coming
with a God so bad-ass he'd shake their city with a sound?
did they not know
their only fight was another wall of silence?
did they not know
you cannot let a people change you with their noise?

6.
i do not know how to tell you i am hurting
or why
how much
how to make it go away
these days
i know how to break
rebuild
break again
turn heart muscle back into stone
press those stones back into bricks
pile those bricks back into walls
i know how to keep you away

7.
exhale
the breath will not break you
its the trumpet
that knows how to bring a house down

8.
i can hear you from the inside of my heart wall
i hear you
come clean
come clean

---
Peace Be