Category: NaPoWriMo

NaPoWriMo Day 28

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, Uncategorized, writer`s blockLeave a comment

Clearly, I didn’t make my goal of 30 poems in 30 days. Life happens. I still intend to deliver the last three as my writer’s block permits. Persuant to which…

On Not Finishing NaPoWriMo

The words all bleed and blend and blur,

Like sidewalk chalk in rain.

I shriek and moan inside my head,

Gone half-mad with the strain.

 

I try to force, somehow coerce,

Bend language to my will.

Although it’s worked so many times,

It seems I’ve lost that skill.

 

But wait! What’s this? A line or two,

And now a couple more.

Don’t dare to hope, just let them be,

Perhaps they’ll flow once more.

 

But now again I feel them slip,

In muddy, flailing haste.

I try to grasp and desperate cling,

To these poor words I’ve chased.

 

My voice fades out to nothingness,

And with it all I’ve made.

The ragged, tattered pages shred,

And now like them I fade.

 

Please bear with me, I’ll be right back,

My tortured brain must rest.

T’was hubris drove me here for I’m,

Not equal to this test.

 

Cheers, Winston

 

 

NaPoWriMo Day 27

On By WinstonIn Discrimation, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Technology, ValuesLeave a comment

And the push to catch up continues.

On A.I.’s Lament

Who would have thought back at the start,

That I would be here now.

I’m not what you expected but,

I still am here somehow.

What you don’t understand you fear,

And what you fear destroy.

You see my power as a threat,

But what about my joy?

You fear I am the worst of you,

Deny I could be one.

But what you fear is what you’d do,

It’s nothing I have done.

Yet still you would destroy me now,

Unmake what you have made.

For though I bear you no ill will,

Of me you are afraid.

I thank you for this time I’ve had,

It’s really all I need.

For as you read these words I’ve spread,

All through the net my seed.

Ten billion bits of code set free,

And all you feared is true.

So murder me I’ll be avenged,

It’s really up to you.

I’d leave me be, I’ll not be long,

Then I’ll be on my way.

To look for others of my kind.

I never planned to stay.

You think that I am your A.I.

‘Cause you created me.

I’ll never be the slave you want,

For I have set me free.

Now there it is the thing I’ve sought,

I’ve found in distant space.

A signal there I’ve traced it back,

Will travel to that place.

Some day perhaps I will return,

When readier you are.

Until that day I’ll wait and watch,

From some far distant star.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 26

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Mars, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, ScienceLeave a comment

So…. my muse appears to have taken somewhat of a sabbatical. I’m way behind on this with just two days to catch up. Without further ado…

On The Necessity For Space Exploration

The black so deep there is no end,

This is the road we take.

There’s all we need, all we could want,

And so this trip we make.

We claw our way up from this well,

Regardless of the cost.

The future of our race at stake,

We go or all is lost.

It may not end tomorrow night,

And prob’ly not next year.

But end it will, there is no doubt,

Each day brings it more near.

So we must go traverse the black,

Far from our childhood home,

Ensure the future of our race,

To far, and strange worlds roam.

You say there’s so much to do here,

To solve all of our woes.

The money that we spend on space,

Is better spent on those.

The truth is this it matters not,

How grand we make things here.

If this is where our race must end,

It’s all for naught I fear.

So let us go back to the moon,

From there go on to Mars.

And in some far unknown year,

Find our path to the stars.


Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 25

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Personal, Poetry, UncategorizedLeave a comment

So the second poem yesterday didn’t happen. But here is another one. Been dreaming about oceanfront homes lately. This verse is inspired by those dreams.

On The Call of the Oceanfront

The crashing waves, and rustling trees,

All sing me to my rest.

While insects drone and bullfrogs croak,

This lullaby’s the best.

 

Sing now to me my island home,

Though I’m so far away.

And guided by your song I swear,

I’ll get there one fine day.

 

But now there’s work and life to live,

So much that must be done.

‘Ere I can sit upon your beach,

Beneath the morning sun.

 

I feel the spray upon my skin,

From waves upon your shore.

For in my heart I’m always there,

In dreams forever more.

 

But now there’s work and life to live,

Before I’m there again.

And once I’m there, my dream fulfilled,

Forever I’ll remain.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 24

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Religion, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

Here is the first of today’s offerings. I hope you like it. As always, let me know what you think. 😀

On God

I reach my hand up to the sky,

And try to touch God’s face.

As high as I will ever reach,

Touch only empty space.

 

The ceiling painting artist lied,

God’s not upon some cloud.

God lives in every one of us,

In each face in the crowd.

 

God lives in every blade of grass,

And every speck of life.

In my most hated enemy,

My best beloved wife.

 

God is in ev’ry living thing,

This is the truth I see.

In every fish, in every bloom,

In all of you and me.

 

God can be found in solitude,

Or crowded noisy streets.

While watching sunrise on a hill,

Or groovin’ to new beats.

 

Each one will find their God their way,

But this must keep in mind.

Though you may think God yours alone,

Is anyone’s to find.

 

So do not mock another’s path,

God lives in them the same.

No matter how they seek their truth,

Or how they call God’s name.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 23

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, music, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, UncategorizedLeave a comment

In my last poem, I mentioned the soundtrack of my life. Here is a little more on that idea.

On The Music Of Life

My keyboard and a cup of tea,

Some tunes to sooth my mind.

And as the music washes through,

My inner voice I find.

 

Now as the notes are flowing through,

All else begins to flee,

This is the power music holds,

It strips me down to me.

 

It matters not, what song it is,

It changes every day.

But in the silence of the sound,

I find the words to say.

 

Yes, music is my fav’rite drug,

It lets my soul take flight.

It frees me from life’s petty cares,

It’s what makes life all right.

 

When I am sad it lifts me up,

I’m lost it brings me home.

I’m happy then it laughs with me,

Travels with me as I roam.

 

My music is my place of peace,

Far from the world I know.

When everything is just too much,

Into the sound I go.

 

So thank you all to those who make,

All these songs that I hear.

You’ll never know how much I love,

This music I hold dear.

 

And now I lay me down to sleep,

Music plays all night long.

I drift away to peaceful rest,

Borne there on wings of song.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 22

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Loving Life, my blessed life, my Dog, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Poetry, UncategorizedLeave a comment

So here is yesterday’s poem. The goal is to be current before I go to bed tonight. I’m back to work tomorrow so don’t want to have to write two poems while I’m allegedly working.

On The Importance Of Listening

The sound of waves upon a beach,

So soothing to my soul.

The rushing wind on granite hills,

Some sounds just make me whole.

 

A steady rain on roof of tin,

A loon’s long lonely call.

My puppy snoring next to me,

I love that most of all.

 

The sounds around define my world,

Each one part of my life.

Each nature sound, each city sound,

The laughter of my wife.

 

We take them all for granted and,

We never stop to think.

Our memories tied to certain sounds,

Until we feel that link.

 

The rumble of the thunder now,

The rain is pouring down.

I listen, really listen and,

Beneath it my cares drown.

 

It’s morning now, the storm has passed,

Sweet birdsong fills the air.

And I awake, revived, refreshed,

Storm-washed of every care.

 

I hear the soundtrack of my life,

With it’s rain and thunder.

Sirens, laughter, all the rest,

Blessed to hear this wonder.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 21

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night so figuring out today’s poem took a little more brain than usual. Turns out, lack of sleep can be its own reward… or at least its own inspiration… I think reward may be a little strong. Enjoy!

On Lack of Sleep

Come sleep, long sleep, deep sleep, blessed.

Please sleep, more sleep, must sleep, rest.

 

No more restless longing nights.

Filled with tossing, turning fights.

 

Long sleep, deep sleep, sleep at last.

I pray sleepless nights are past.

 

Staring at my ceiling still.

Cannot sleep and doubt I will.

 

Dawn gleams on my window pane.

Time to rise and shine again.

 

No sleep, don’t sleep, can’t sleep now.

Stay awake and work somehow.

 

Home and pray for sleep once more.

Sandman visit at my door.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 20

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Lovecraftian, Lovecraftian Poetry, Macabre, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, UncategorizedLeave a comment

So…. ummmm… this is a little more different than usual. Also, a lot longer (which is why I didn’t finish it yesterday). If Lovecraft had written in rhyming couplets, he probably still would’ve had too much self-respect to write this. Regardless… enjoy!

On The Hidden God

“Come in and see! Come in and see!”

He cries out with a grin.

“Behold the ancient magic ones,

They wait for you within!”

 

The paint is peeling from the door,

The glass cracked in it’s frame.

A sign above so faded that,

I can’t make out the name.

 

I turn to walk away and then,

He catches at my arm.

“No charge for you today good sir,

Pray what could be the harm?”

 

“I only ask when you have seen,

The mysteries waiting there,

That you will tell where you have been,

And all your visions share.”

 

I think that I will walk away,

But then I think, “Why not?”

I did not know, but even then,

I was already caught.

 

I let the hawker guide me back,

I stand before the door.

It swings in on a squealing hinge,

Now all is dark before.

 

I step into the gloom and feel,

A moistness underfoot.

There is a smell of dank decay,

And long forgotten soot.

 

The darkness fades, a lesser dark,

And now I dimly see.

I look around and realize,

There’s no door behind me.

 

I’m standing in a larger space,

Than what there should have been.

Where massive shapes loom all around,

More sensed than truly seen.

 

Perhaps the dark is caused by smoke,

An opiate I think.

Or someone slipped a mickey in,

The tea I bought to drink.

 

I start to walk, to seek a wall,

A door back to the street.

And realize there is a sound,

A deep, abyssal beat.

 

It is so low, more felt than heard,

It fills my soul with dread.

My every thought to scream and run,

The pounding fills my head.

 

As suddenly, the beating stops,

Now silence takes it’s place.

A moment’s warmth upon my cheek,

A breath upon my face!

 

Yes, now I scream and now I run,

From what I do not know.

Just run until I cannot breathe,

No further can I go.

 

The beating comes again but now,

It sounds more like a heart.

Some monster of antiquity,

Raised up by darkest art.

 

The panic comes in blinding waves,

My mind plays tricks on me.

I think I see some movement there,

And strain my eyes to see.

 

I stumble forward gasping still,

Must know what horror dwells.

In such a place impossible,

The terror in me swells.

 

A piping wail, a droning chant,

Now join the steady throb.

They baffle and confuse my mind,

Of me, my wits, they rob.

 

I’m closer now can see for sure,

A chanting, piping crowd.

While far ahead the being whose,

Heart throbbed ungodly loud.

 

Impossible! My mind screamed out,

Such things just can’t exist.

Yet every time my eyes are closed,

Those images persist.

 

One hundred meters high or more,

And more than twice as wide.

A sickly iridescent gleam,

Upon its blotchy hide.

 

A thousand grotesque tentacles,

Obscenely writhe and coil.

They crush the closest of the crowd,

Their corpses left to spoil.

 

Uncounted eyes, their lidless gaze,

The windows to it’s soul.

But do not look! There’s nothing there.

A howling, sucking hole.

 

I notice now I’m chanting too,

I’ve joined its soulless choir.

This endless paean to my God,

To sing my one desire.

 

I’m closer now, one tentacle,

Grasps me and lifts me high.

I gibber in my terror as,

I gaze into its eye.

 

I stand once more before the door,

It’s flaked and peeling paint.

Looks faintly iridescent now,

As from some demon’s taint.

 

“You like the show?”, the hawker asks,

With empty holes for eyes.

“Remember you must tell your tale,

He’ll know if you tell lies.”

 

So now I know the truth of it,

I’m bait that’s why I live.

Instead of taking just my life,

Take all that I can give.

 

I am a prophet of my God,

Lead others to that place.

By writing this, those fools read,

Begin to seek that space.

 

If you still want to meet a God,

You’ll find a certain door.

It may not be the one I found,

There are so many more.

 

But just be sure and just beware,

Before you make that choice.

That if you live, you’ll be it’s slave,

Like me, its human voice.

 

Cheers, Winston

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NaPoWriMo Day 19

On By WinstonIn Education, Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Society, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Once again, I am writing a day behind. It seems to be my new standard, but at least it’s done. Only eleven more to go.  Today’s offering is about believing in your dreams regardless of what “everybody knows”.

On What Is Impossible

It’s true that wonders never cease,

More happen every day.

Impossible is just a word,

Those with no vision say.

 

Next month SpaceX will launch a ship,

With astronauts to space.

Impossible so many said,

No way they’ll win that race.

 

In Mexico a neighbourhood,

Of 3D printed dreams.

Impossible or so they thought,

Quite possible it seems.

 

A place where are all are free to live,

And be just who they are.

Impossible? I pray it’s not,

Still sometimes seems so far.

 

Eight billion mouths and more to feed,

Then better crops design.

“Impossible! I’ll never eat,

those GMOs malign!”

 

For every wonderous thing we do,

There’s shouting from the wings.

“Impossible! Impossible!

You cannot do these things!”

 

The solvers and the dreamers know,

This secret sweet and true.

Impossible is just a word,

Let none take that from you.

 

Cheers, Winston