A Poem a Day?

Countdown to National/Global Poetry Writing Month (Na/GloPoWriMo) begins.

Will you challenge yourself to take part? Don’t tell me you don’t write poetry. This is a challenge, a chance to step out of our comfort zones, a chance to stretch our little gray cells, an opportunity to improve our prose.

I’ve participated in tandem with CampNaNoWriMo for the past three years. What a workout! With two novels to wrap up in the next month plus, I’m NOT doing both challenges this year. (She says as the possibilities swarm in her mind.)

The idea behind Na/GloPoWriMo is to write a poem every day in April. My friend, an old curmudgeon who hangs around the coffee shop (virtually these days), writes poetry every day, and he writes pretty good stuff. So, why am I hesitating to sign up for Na/GloPoWriMo? After all, I enjoy reading and writing poetry. Easy peasy: Let’s do it. But wait: I have good excuses to not participate.

Do any of these excuses sound familiar? 

• I can’t write when anyone is around me.
  • Wrong: We write in a coffee shops/libraries/restaurants/at the office when no one is looking. 
• I’m not in the mood to write a poem. 
  • Mood has nothing to do with writing. We’re hired to work certain jobs at certain times. Don’t do the work – don’t get paid. True, we’re not getting paid to write poetry. Or are we? Words are how we connect with our ourselves, with other people, and our surroundings. Writing makes us feel good. 
• The muse must strike to write well.
  • Balderdash! Muses are nice, but let’s face it. They keep their own schedule and don’t need to pay the rent. We must and can work well without them.
• It’s too much work to write a poem.
  • Seriously? You can’t take five minutes to put a few words on a page? 

Hanging head in shame. I can write a poem a day. I want to write a poem a day. Let’s promise to write a poem a day in April. I’ll sign up for Na/GloPoWriMo, and maybe I’ll post what I write each day. How about you? I’m not asking you to post your poems. Take the time to write them. Let’s turn ourselves into poets.

Peace,

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