National Poetry Month (The End)

We did it!

It was a challenge, but we did it. I went 30 for 30 during National Poetry Month.

Much of last year was spent writing a lot of new poetry, so the process of many poems in a month isn't new to me. The output of 30+ poems in 30 consecutive days definitely is though. Especially with the array of prompts, styles, topics, and visions that I tackled all while balancing a pretty busy April in many aspects of my life.

Rough patches and all, I even got sick of my handwriting.

The Daily 30 will live here on my blog. They're also on my Instagram profile with a dedicated highlight so you can scroll through them at your leisure. If at any point you have questions about a line, a poem, or the process, reach out to me!

I'm definitely taking at least a week off from writing anything new unless inspiration punches me in the mouth. Just excited to revisit all these and see which I can evolve into performance pieces or maybe even make their way into a future book.

Here are the poem titles for this final week in order along with the prompts they came from:

4/24: Under The Sea.

Free write. Wasn't feeling the best mentally and I think social media was talking excessively about a UFC event in which the main event ended in a knockout.

4/25: iN*Sync.

Free write. I randomly thought of my old CD Player after some *NSYNC came to mind because it's gunna be MAYYYYY.

4/26: Quest.

Free write. After being inspired by music the day prior, I figure I'd carry the theme for the rest of the week. ATCQ's "Electric Relaxation" came to mind so I spun it a bit. Felt good about it.

4/27: Face.

Free write. Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You" was the inspiration here. Also got a haircut so felt like focusing a bit on my gorgeous face.

4/28: Hypnic Jerk.

Free write. Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" came to mind much after I started writing. Honestly, I didn't have much time to think (I was startled out of sleep at 11:40 pm and hadn't written a poem yet), so I just let words fly. All I could feel was a nightmare forming before I woke up and kind of went from there.

4/29: Time-Time Fruit On A Poet's Workdesk

Free write. Seal's version of Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle" hit me (also much after writing like with "Hypnic Jerk"). Before that, I was just working on my descriptive chops without a title or an end goal. It eventually tied together in the end.

4/30: Capsaicin And California Pinot.

Free write. Prince's "When Doves Cry". Like the previous two days, the song didn't come til the poem was almost finished. Fun fact, he had pet doves and gave them songwriting credits on a song. Anyway, I wanted to lightly paint a scene and my thoughts during moments like that. I'll probably end up getting oysters this week now because of it.