Category Archives: challenge

April is here again and that means its National Poetry Writing Month and for my second year I’ll be joining the 30 poems in 30 days challenge hosted by napowrimo.net. For this challenge, a poetry prompt will be provided daily during the month of April and if I can keep on track I’ll achieve the 30 poems in 30 days goal. So enough chatter…let’s go! It’s time for NaPoWriMo!

In the interest of educating myself I went into our garden and took the below photograph and then did research to identify what I was looking at (i.e., I asked my wife and together we checked with the translator to get the English name).

Dear Pi Pa

Dear Pi Pa,
My how you have grown since baba planted you years ago in the back corner of our garden; where the sun and shade seem to partner perfectly to provide the right amount of light to bare fruit. Baba isn’t around this year to delight in your abundance. Will we taste the bittersweetness in you?

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)

In celebration of National Poetry Month @murisopsis from A Different Perspective is once again hosting a poetic scavenger hunt. This year’s theme is “nonce” form poetry. What is nonce form poetry? Well, it’s basically a form that was created by a poet for their own use. What’s interesting about a nonce form is that if it is adopted by other poets and used more often it will no longer be considered a nonce form, but rather become recognized as a “valid” poetical form.

The scavenger hunt features thirteen nonce form challenges all to be completed within the month of April. I highly encourage you to check out the prompts and participate here.

Ok, now onto the thirteenth (and final) challenge…The Zig-Zag Sonnet

The End Has Come

Once again we have come to a sweet end
This time we have learned the art of the Nonce
With a Mouse, a Tail, and a fun Whimsey
And the Trioku of haikus as the fifth

We wrote DoReMiDo’s full of singsong
And Inside Outs, not to forget the Dizzy
Colored brightly with our Interspersed words
And American Paragraphs were heard

We also read the words of each other
And borrowed the Silver ones all for free
Repetition occurred repeatedly
But never were we in competition

Nonce forms are fun, like Zig-Zags and He-
Lipads, they deserve a try at least once.

Well there you have it! Another fantastic challenge in the books! A big thanks again to @murisopsis for creating and hosting this wonderful celebration of poetry. I’m looking forward to continuing to read everyones contributions. Happy poetry month!

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)

April is here again and that means its National Poetry Writing Month and for my second year I’ll be joining the 30 poems in 30 days challenge hosted by napowrimo.net. For this challenge, a poetry prompt will be provided daily during the month of April and if I can keep on track I’ll achieve the 30 poems in 30 days goal. So enough chatter…let’s go! It’s time for NaPoWriMo!

Hmm, what shall I not write about?

Uncool
(but quite cool!)
Not  heavier  than  air 
(unless there’s a big  tear)
Never  get sad or even elated
(although  sometimes   deflated)
Rarely fast  or   super  speedy
(except  when it’s very windy)
Take a ride if your not wary
(but I find it quite scary)
It won’t take you too far
(I’ll wait at the bar)
|               |
|            |
|         |
| Let’s |
| watch |
| from  |
|_there_|

Look at that! A concrete poem all about what it isn’t! I’m feeling awfully clever about myself in this moment (especially since “concrete” could be considered an opposite of a hot air balloon)! Just for fun (and because WP formatting is so difficult to work with to get just right) I also created the illustrated version below.

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)

In celebration of National Poetry Month @murisopsis from A Different Perspective is once again hosting a poetic scavenger hunt. This year’s theme is “nonce” form poetry. What is nonce form poetry? Well, it’s basically a form that was created by a poet for their own use. What’s interesting about a nonce form is that if it is adopted by other poets and used more often it will no longer be considered a nonce form, but rather become recognized as a “valid” poetical form.

The scavenger hunt features thirteen nonce form challenges all to be completed within the month of April. I highly encourage you to check out the prompts and participate here.

Ok, now onto the twelfth challenge…The Helipad

I never realized how many words end with H! I cheated a little bit on the spacing to make the line lengths work, but it was worth it to make the visual just right.

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)

April is here again and that means its National Poetry Writing Month and for my second year I’ll be joining the 30 poems in 30 days challenge hosted by napowrimo.net. For this challenge, a poetry prompt will be provided daily during the month of April and if I can keep on track I’ll achieve the 30 poems in 30 days goal. So enough chatter…let’s go! It’s time for NaPoWriMo!

This prompt is conspicuously specific! No one is coming directly to mind, I’m going to have to contemplate how to handle this one.

Ode to Me

Oh! The genius of me!
Have you seen my tweets?
My popularity amazes even the likes of me!

Have you met my rocket scientists?
I’ve hired more then a few…
And forced them to pay $8 for Twitter Blue.

Speaking of rockets…
I’ve got one in my pocket
It works I assure you (here, let me show you)!

I went to Stanford for a day or two
It was too boring for me,
I was more interesting in starting a Boring company.

I’m a self-made man,
Aside from my daddy’s emerald mines
The rest of my riches are all mine!

Speaking of riches…
I’m not the richest,
Only second in the world, you poor ass Bitches!

— Elon

Well, actually that wasn’t so hard after I figured out the subject of my poem.

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)

In celebration of National Poetry Month @murisopsis from A Different Perspective is once again hosting a poetic scavenger hunt. This year’s theme is “nonce” form poetry. What is nonce form poetry? Well, it’s basically a form that was created by a poet for their own use. What’s interesting about a nonce form is that if it is adopted by other poets and used more often it will no longer be considered a nonce form, but rather become recognized as a “valid” poetical form.

The scavenger hunt features thirteen nonce form challenges all to be completed within the month of April. I highly encourage you to check out the prompts and participate here.

Ok, now onto the eleventh challenge…Silver Lining

How exciting for my own nonce form to be featured here. Much thanks for giving this form more visibility. Now I’m off to find a WP poet’s poem to work with. The key is to pick one with particularly interesting choice of words.

I’ve decided to chose the work of another poet participating in this challenge and this poem that features some intriguing word choice: Monuments by saintvi. I hope I can do it justice.

Lady of Stone
from Monuments by saintvi

Lily
of white,
Lady of stone,
En-shrines
Her lovers, once erected,
To remember the past
And tend
To her till they crumble;
Be it fast or slow,
Through the years of progress,
And years
Of decline, they tell the truth;
Once concealed
Behind curlicues;
Now forever standing tall in glory;
Functionally carved;
Preserved in stone;
Monuments
To vigor, never to disintegrate;
Never to fade in their aged years;
Never to leave;
They now stand side-by-side; a dozen and a few;
Only to her they tend;
Her passions cultivated,
Insatiable and storied;
Her lovers of the past
Greet the new ones now —
Soon to also be overgrown
By kudzu
Vines
Concealing the truth.

I loved working with this poem (Thanks saintvi for a wonderful word pallet to play with).

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)