#NaPoWriMo 2022 Day One

A Chance Encounter

He met her at a friend's birthday party.
She was not invited but sat in a corner, pretending to read. 
He would call it serendipity and claimed 
it was love at first sight. 
He couldn't take his eyes off her. 
His determined course of action - to know the mysterious girl 
reading alone in a corner. 
So he called the hostess of the party. 
She, in turn, set him up on dates with her friends.
Being a nice guy, he obliged despite the fact 
they were not
the girl he longed after.
Then one phone call, he became emboldened;
"Don't you have a sister?"
"Oh, yeah! Roni, someone wants to talk to you."
The sister looked up confused as she was handed the phone;
"Hello?"
"Hi, would you like to go out?"
Since she had never actually been on a date, 
the mysterious girl answered, yes. 
Once the details were worked out,
the girl was curious - 
who would be interested in dating her?
She asked her sister.
"He is one of my boyfriend's neighbors. 
He saw you at the birthday party."
She could not recall what the boy looked like, 
so before their date her sister drove her over to the boy's house. 
His mother informed them he was at track practice. 
Her sister knew where the track was, and they
drove over to get a glimpse of the strange boy 
who asked a crippled girl out on a date.

The strange boy and mysterious girl 30 years later

NaPoWriMo Prompt – And last but not least, our optional prompt! I got this one from a workshop I did last year with Beatrix Gates, and I’ve found it really helpful. The prompt is based on Robert Hass’s remarkable prose poem, “A Story About the Body.” The idea is to write your own prose poem that, whatever title you choose to give it, is a story about the body. The poem should contain an encounter between two people, some spoken language, and at least one crisp visual image.

Good morning readers and welcome to the first day of NaPoWriMo 2022. Where I write about my crazy husband. Once upon a time, when we were both still in high school, the boy saw me and decided he was going to ask me to his senior prom. First he had to figure out how to officially meet me. I know my long time readers know I’ve written poems about my sister and me watching Shawn at his track practice. This poem has taken up enough of my time this morning. I need to clean my house to get ready for our company this weekend. Thank you for reading my attempt at day one’s prompt.

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#NaPoWriMo 2021 Day Ten

Engagement April 1992

Please Forgive Me

First date in April
say goodnight without a kiss
still getting closer

Attend senior prom
get engaged one year later
can’t stop loving you

Thirty years later
accumulate odds and ends
it’s getting better

NaPoWriMo Prompt – Finally, here’s our daily prompt (optional, of course!). It’s called “Junk Drawer Song,” and comes to us from the poet Hoa Nguyen.

• First, find a song with which you are familiar – it could be a favorite song of yours, or one that just evokes memories of your past. Listen to the song and take notes as you do, without overthinking it or worrying about your notes making sense.
• Next, rifle through the objects in your junk drawer – or wherever you keep loose odds and ends that don’t have a place otherwise. (Mine contains picture-hanging wire, stamps, rubber bands, and two unfinished wooden spoons I started whittling four years ago after taking a spoon-making class). On a separate page from your song-notes page, write about the objects in the drawer, for as long as you care to.
• Now, bring your two pages of notes together and write a poem that weaves together your ideas and observations from both pages.

Good afternoon and welcome to day ten of #NaPoWriMo where I am wooing my husband with poetry. I started with Bryan Adams – Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman? because Don Juan Demarco is one of Shawn’s and my favorite movies; but I ended up using Please Forgive Me.

This all started yesterday when my FaceBook memories pulled up an old poem Shawn wrote to me for #NaPoWriMo

She was love and light
Her golden hair shining bright
Ah…was love at first sight
© Shawn Hosking 2015

Me – Shawn’s Senior Prom June 1991

And I replied with the #haikuchallenge word –

Write new love poems
Do not let romance bitter
Six years is too long

Thirty years ago
New romance tastes sweet in youth
Age does not bitter

Me at 17 – Thirty years later and still getting better despite the lack of poetry this year. Although I was told, I’m renovating your house what more do you want? Poetry, haven’t I made that clear. 😉

#NaPoWriMo Love Poem

Date night selfie celebrating Shawn’s 48th birthday

The Little Things

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
When early morning breaks and my coffee
sits at the bedside, arousing night’s haze
How do I love thee

I inhale its sweet aroma and see
a wonderful man who can still amaze
me with little things after twenty three

Years of marriage our passion set ablaze
and my heart flutters when he is near me
Content to live out the rest of my days
How do I love thee?

NaPoWriMo Prompt – Rather than encouraging minimalism, today we challenge you to write a poem of over-the-top compliments. Pick a person, place, or thing you love, and praise it in the most effusive way you can. Go for broke with metaphors, similes, and more. Need a little inspiration? Perhaps you’ll find it in the lyrics of Cole Porter’s “You’re The Top.” (Scroll down at the link for the lyrics and an annotated explanation of them).

Good morning readers and welcome to day sixteen of napowrimo.  I didn’t exactly go for broke as I focused on a small gesture to write my love poem from after borrowing the first line from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Maybe I was trying to combine minimalism with over the top feelings? Anyway this is the piece my mind turned out today.

For those you want to read more about the roundel form.

Buffalo Day 716

Tuesday was Buffalo Day because the area code for Buffalo, NY is 716. Since Buffalo is called the queen city of the great lakes, I thought it was rather appropriate I attended the Queen & Adam Lambert concert in Phoenix, AZ. Yes, I live far away from the town I grew up in. We have been enjoying the Arizona sun for twenty years now.

Seven one six day
Celebrate Love of My Life
Indeed a great date

Date Night Selfie

Last week I was reading a rejection email for one of my poems, feeling bummed and as I scanned down my list of unread emails I saw one from 95.5 the mountain. I clicked on it and read, Congratulations, you’re a winner! Yes, we were able to go to the Queen & Adam Lambert concert for free. Both Shawn and I loved the concert. Everyone involved put on a great show. Today’s #haikuchallenge word is indeed. I’m a little rusty on the haiku front; haven’t been writing much this summer.