Day 7  ! – Hard to believe it has already been a week already! Which is great news if you are participating in any Poem-A-Day Challenge; it means, by now, poeming everyday is setting in as a habit.

If you can, find a way to reward yourself! Have an extra dessert. Go for a road-trip. Buy that new poetry journal you’ve been eyeing. You’ve earned it! As for me, my reward was last night – Salem Poetry Project & an open mic. I unfortunately missed the main event (flat tire!) – but it was a great turnout and still I got to hear seven other poets in two languages.  One delightful observation I noticed at these events – the Willamette Community latino community is very supportive of their poets!  And then when I came home, there was creme brule.

Prompts for today:

Robert Lee Brewer’s AprPAD 2017 challenge prompt is to write a discovery poem.

NaPoWriMo‘s featured participant today is Smoke words every day, and the poet’s  Apr 6 poem. The featured poet is Li Young Lee, author of poetry books Behind My Eyes, Book of My Nights, The City in Which I Love You, and Rose.

NaPoWriMo/GloPoWriMo’s did something interesting with their prompt – luck and fortuitousness – today; they suggest a fun way to construct it.

As for the 30Day Poetry Challenge – they post their daily prompt late in the day – I’ll snag it and paste it here when it’s available.

I  am including a new PAD Challenge here that I came across yesterday:  Gina Welds Hulse is doing a Haiku Poem-A-Day for this April. She does not seem to have a prompt each day; the goal is just to write a haiku each day. If you are fond of japanese forms, this may be one for you. (Personally, if I’m having writer’s block, I find the terse form of haikua great way to start writing again.)

As for my personal Poem A Day Challenge , today’s PAD is … the spacebar.

Let me share yesterday’s “in a breadbox” poem draft.  This was based on an actual conversation …

white bread

as you deny doing so,
your words place me in a breadbox
with “dear” “sweetheart” “miss”
and a hand that cuts up in the air signaling me to quiet
as you over-talk my attempts
so you can talk, inform, educate me

forget for the moment you are only half my age
and living in my house,
forget for the moment, as you talk about a women’s experience
that I am a woman … and you are not
forget that you never asked about my studies, my experiences
as you insist yours is twice in size and scope as mine

do not let any of these factors dissuade you
in man-splaining the world out there
as you inform me what a feminist you crafted yourself to be;
do not let any of these power-plays stop you
from proving what a compassionate ally you are,
how worldly … an advanced citizen!

because they won’t dissuade you.

you are too busy talking – having others hear you – to hear;
too busy posturing to realize people do not fit in a grocery cart
the thing about putting people in a breadbox
is they are larger than a loaf of processed, pre-sliced bread.

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