Small Treasures (2022 NaPoWriMo #21)

With a little digging I found another series of poetry prompts being provided by NaPoWriMo – 30 Poems in 30 Days. I’m starting in the middle and I’ll see how it goes as to whether I work to catch-up with the prior prompts or just carry on forward.

Prompt 21

Write a poem in which you first recall someone you used to know closely but are no longer in touch with, then a job you used to have but no longer do, and then a piece of art that you saw once and that has stuck with you over time. Finally, close the poem with an unanswerable question.

NaPoWriMo.net

What an “interesting” prompt. I’m trying to think how I would tie each of these elements together to make something that feels cohesive. Well, I guess we will find out. Let’s get poetic!

Small Treasures

This is twice today that you come to my mind. We spent 10,000 miles together. Intimate in proximity if not emotionally. I’ve so many treasured memories of our time together. Firsts for me. Firsts for you. Firsts for both of us. What a joyous adventure we shared — then never to meet again.

How funny, this memory is back so soon. I was just writing about you not more than a moon ago. Laughing at the memory of bouncing up and down as I tried to break down the concrete slab below. I should have called the story “the boy and the jack-hammer”. It was a comedy.


I hadn’t thought of you for years until I sat down to contemplate this poem. You were my first creation that I thought was actually kinda cool. I loved your curves as you balanced upon your drift-wood surfboard. I lost you in one of my many moves. You’d already lost an eye and arm by then.

I wonder what other treasures are hiding within my mind?

What do you think? Without the context of the prompt, do you think this poem can stand on it’s own. I tend to think so.

Be well,

Monty

• Salting the Earth
  Salting the Earth Torrents of tears flow down streaky cheeked hillsPuddling into overflowing pools under footSalting the earth barrenStripping soil of it’s soulHis body nowContinue reading “Salting the Earth”
• Portrait in Blue
  Be well, Monty
• Under the Earth’s Shadow
  I lay awake under the earth’s shadowGentle breathing curled at my feetA companion in this darknessHolding guard against The cold reality and coming lightFor I’mContinue reading “Under the Earth’s Shadow”
• Blue Heron
  Be well, Monty
• Endure Me
  Endure meEndure my cold feet under the sheetsEndure my rough breaths sawing through the night’s airMy tossing and turningMy hogging all the blanketsMy nightmare kicksMyContinue reading “Endure Me”
• Departing
  Be well, Monty
• Scenes from Today
  These are untouched photographs from today’s walk on Bainbridge Island, Washington (just applied a simple frame). Be well, Monty
• Perched in the Moonlight
  Be well, Monty
• Playing with Time
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• How Did I Get to This Beautiful Place?
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• Birds in Flight
  Be well, Monty
• Rising Sun
  Be well, Monty
• Forest Moon
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• Blessed
  Be well, Monty
• Snowy Scene
  Happy snow day! Be well, Monty
• Peek-a-Boo
  Poking my head up after a spontaneous hiatus. I hope you are all well – happy and healthy. I’m on holiday visiting my mom inContinue reading “Peek-a-Boo”
• A Return to Patterns
  Be well, Monty
• Quiet
  He’s been quiet lately. The voice in my head. The voice that is, quite frankly, a bit nuts. Often compelling me toward darkness. Vacillating betweenContinue reading “Quiet”
• Today
  Today’s a gorgeous weather day. Cool with a light breeze. Bright and sunny aside from my spot in the shade of the tree above me.Continue reading “Today”
• Shine On
  Shine on, shine on, shine on meShine your light on meLight me up, cast away my doubtsLift me out of these shadowsI’m ready, I’m ready,Continue reading “Shine On”
• Here I Go Again
  Here I go again. Interrupting this negative space with some generic typeface. No particular intentions. Just wanna release built-up tensions. It’s coming out in dripsContinue reading “Here I Go Again”
• A Test of the Heart
  I’m wearing a Holter heart monitor today and I can’t help but wonder if it can see past the irregular beats and witness how whollyContinue reading “A Test of the Heart”
• An Observation and a Query
  A fly walks by. S t r e t c h i n g Its legs, I guess? Be well, Monty
• A Gentle Drizzle Sets the Scene
  A gentle drizzle sets the scene;The last of the season’s persimmons hang-on,Half-concealed behind leaves shimmering underA quiet concert of pitter-patter percussion. In quick succession aContinue reading “A Gentle Drizzle Sets the Scene”
• The Birds
  The birds are watching me from the wire above. What are they thinking? Do they see my sadness?Or are they too busy balancing in theContinue reading “The Birds”
• Mired in Mud
  Mired in mud.I don’t like this feeling, but I appreciate the alliteration. Mired in mud, mud, mud.Stuck in repetition. Mired,So tired — In mudOf sinsContinue reading “Mired in Mud”
• Let Me Be (Note to Self)
  Let me be angry. Without good reason.Let me be lonelyEven if not alone.Let me be sadJust because I am.Please, Let me be. Be well, Monty
• Morning Cocktail
  Morning Cocktail 3 parts Zoloft 1 part AbilifyMix meditatively and pray for help with my unbeliefDilute to taste and swallow (along with my pride)Assume PeacefulContinue reading “Morning Cocktail”
• Rhyming Inventories
  A Rhyming Inventory of Things I’ve Not Been Doing Because They Would Make Me Feel Better (and I Don’t Deserve To)1. Prayer or meditation2. TakeContinue reading “Rhyming Inventories”
• Poetic License
  I applied for my poetic license today;It was rejected due to a grammatical error.Oh, The irony. Be well, Monty
• REDACTED
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