National Poetry Writing Month Day 18

Create Art Podcast

What is National Poetry Writing Month?

Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.

The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:

NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.

Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today

And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else, and explains why. Two possible models for you: Natasha Rao’s “In my next life let me be a tomato,” and Randall Jarrell’s “The Woman at the Washington Zoo.”

Poem for Today

The Name Tattooed on My Arm

18 April 24

Looking down at my right arm

Seeing the skull and the fu-man-chu

With a fedora and sunglasses

And the name scrawled there

Is the person I wanted to be

I gave him a name

And a tortured history

And a dismal future

Just on the right side of destitution

He was my voice for decades

When I didn’t know what to be

He sat there under my skin

As a reminder

As a warning

That I may become him one day

Parts of me desired that ending

It was so poetic

So romantic

He'd be someone I’d give up my sweet ass to in a heartbeat if he’d have me

He was dark and dangerous

Mysterious and stoic

Nothing could touch him

Feelings could not sway him

He was comfortable in his own skin

He is the things I am not

I created this phantom

To fight the nightmares

To fight my weaknesses

Naturally he doesn’t have any

He was my hero

Like Bukowski or Kerouac

Until I became a father

And thought that if he tried to date my daughters

He’d be carried out in a pine box

I so wanted to be him

But he is not real

He is not sustainable

He would not be able to do what I do

Live the life I live

Be a father

Be a partner

Be supportive

He is selfish

He is all the bad qualities that I don’t need

And yet

At times I want to be him

This tattoo on my arm

This mark I gave myself

This Frankenstein's monster I created

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