Ah, it's that time of year again I see. As many of you in the poetry community are probably aware, National Poetry Writing Month has come around once more. This has become something of a tradition on this blog. For those unfamiliar with NaPoWriMo, the premise is very simple; write a poem a day during the month of April, from the 1st to the 30th. These poems can be based off prompts provided by the NaPoWriMo website, or you can use your own prompts and improvise poems on a daily basis.
The first time I attempted NaPoWriMo, back in 2015, I made it to day eighteen before crashing out. Due to having a busy schedule I didn't attempt it in 2016, but last year I not only took part in NaPoWriMo but somehow managed to reach the end. I'm hoping to replicate that run this year. Finding inspiration for unique poems on a daily basis is the most challenging aspect of it for me, but I'm more hopeful this time given the successful run last year.
To all of you poets out there about to take on the challenge, I wish you the best of luck. It will be tough at times no doubt; by day fifteen there is some relief in passing the half-way stage, but there isn't a better challenge out there to help aspiring poets write poetry. It remains to be seen what poetic concoctions I will end up with this time, but if this sounds like your kind of thing, join me as I plunge headfirst and keyboard-first into NaPoWriMo 2018!
Saturday 31 March 2018
Thursday 29 March 2018
Hell's Daffodils
A short time ago in a valley of snow
lived a man on a bike with nowhere to go.
He wanted to ride on the valley roads
but in his garden a flower started to grow.
A daffodil was sprouting despite the cold,
and it grew much faster than a blob of mould.
The man watched it bloom next to a garden gnome.
while the blizzard still threatened to bury his home.
A strange thing happened in the flowerbed;
two daffodils sprouted their bright yellow heads
next to the first above the settling snow,
but it was never foreseen how many would grow.
Ten times ten times ten the daffs all emerged,
before the man knew it the flowers converged
on his small house with strangling roots and stems,
at twelve feet tall, all of the daffs followed this trend.
The man was trapped in a nest of roots.
He remembered when he saw those fresh young shoots,
their brand new petals, their sumptuous glow.
Now he panicked as they burst in through the window.
And so it was that the man met his end
in the worst snowstorm he could comprehend.
When the blizzard cleared the house was still there,
entombed in the tendrils of the daffodils' snare.
lived a man on a bike with nowhere to go.
He wanted to ride on the valley roads
but in his garden a flower started to grow.
A daffodil was sprouting despite the cold,
and it grew much faster than a blob of mould.
The man watched it bloom next to a garden gnome.
while the blizzard still threatened to bury his home.
A strange thing happened in the flowerbed;
two daffodils sprouted their bright yellow heads
next to the first above the settling snow,
but it was never foreseen how many would grow.
Ten times ten times ten the daffs all emerged,
before the man knew it the flowers converged
on his small house with strangling roots and stems,
at twelve feet tall, all of the daffs followed this trend.
The man was trapped in a nest of roots.
He remembered when he saw those fresh young shoots,
their brand new petals, their sumptuous glow.
Now he panicked as they burst in through the window.
And so it was that the man met his end
in the worst snowstorm he could comprehend.
When the blizzard cleared the house was still there,
entombed in the tendrils of the daffodils' snare.
Wednesday 21 March 2018
Happy World Poetry Day!
Hi guys. Once again it's World Poetry Day and poets across the world are no doubt celebrating with verse and all that goes with it. Meanwhile I'm aware that there has not been much poetry on this blog at late, but I can tell you that a new poem, rather ominously titled 'Hell's Daffodils', is nearing completion, so keep an eye out for it in the next couple of days.
In other news, Frynwys has recovered from the recent snowstorms and apart from a couple of smatterings on some of the hills, it seems that spring is finally on its way. The next installment of Frynwys Features is half done, so hopefully it won't be much of wait before that gets posted. Also on the subject of things in a queue, the next installment of Slam Poetry on the Spot, focusing on slam champion Harry Baker, is getting underway. I'll try not to take as much time writing it as I did with the first one, so keep an eye out for that.
Other than that, it's pretty much business as usual at Tiger Verse. I have a few ideas for new features on this blog, and I'll let you know what they are when I have a more concrete template to share. I can't say too much of what 'Hell's Daffodils' will entail, other than it's exactly what it sounds like; mildly amusing insanity. It's a shame it's not quite ready for World Poetry Day, but it'll be worth the wait I'm sure.
Enjoy all the verse out there, and see you again soon!
In other news, Frynwys has recovered from the recent snowstorms and apart from a couple of smatterings on some of the hills, it seems that spring is finally on its way. The next installment of Frynwys Features is half done, so hopefully it won't be much of wait before that gets posted. Also on the subject of things in a queue, the next installment of Slam Poetry on the Spot, focusing on slam champion Harry Baker, is getting underway. I'll try not to take as much time writing it as I did with the first one, so keep an eye out for that.
Other than that, it's pretty much business as usual at Tiger Verse. I have a few ideas for new features on this blog, and I'll let you know what they are when I have a more concrete template to share. I can't say too much of what 'Hell's Daffodils' will entail, other than it's exactly what it sounds like; mildly amusing insanity. It's a shame it's not quite ready for World Poetry Day, but it'll be worth the wait I'm sure.
Enjoy all the verse out there, and see you again soon!
Thursday 1 March 2018
Happy St. David's Day!
So it's St. David's Day here in Wales, and for the first time in about ten years it's snowing. There's a red warning in place from the Met Office for most of Wales, and I can tell you that Frynwys is snowed under. My plan of action is to wait for it to pass, but judging by the forecast it appears I won't be going anywhere until Sunday at least. To pass the time, here's some updates on what will be occurring on this blog in the near future.
For those of you who've recently joined us, I release the first installment of Slam Poetry on the Spot yesterday, analysing a poem by Suli Breaks. It took me a while to get that article together after numerous delays, so it's a relief to have it finished. Next up in the frame is Grand Slam poetry champion Harry Baker, so look out for that (I can't put a specific date on when that will come out, but hopefully I won't do a George R. R. Martin and take six years to write it). In a similar vein, I'm working on the next installment of Frynwys Features, and judging by the whiteout going on at the moment I suspect there will be more than a few new developments.
Poetry wise, I've got a couple of new poems close to being finished, one of which was meant to be for today but didn't make it in time. With a few adjustments it should be posted in the next couple of days. On that note, the animal poems (especially the tiger themed ones) have not gone anywhere, so expect a few more of those as we head into March. Otherwise, it's pretty much business as usual here. I'm going to try and keep things fairly consistent and post more often, because it's been a long wait between posts at times. Hopefully I can shorten the waiting times and all will be well in the world of verse.
Anyways, those are the updates as they stand. So wrap up warm if you're going out, enjoy those Welsh cakes if you're not and look out for slumbering dragons if you're doing both!
For those of you who've recently joined us, I release the first installment of Slam Poetry on the Spot yesterday, analysing a poem by Suli Breaks. It took me a while to get that article together after numerous delays, so it's a relief to have it finished. Next up in the frame is Grand Slam poetry champion Harry Baker, so look out for that (I can't put a specific date on when that will come out, but hopefully I won't do a George R. R. Martin and take six years to write it). In a similar vein, I'm working on the next installment of Frynwys Features, and judging by the whiteout going on at the moment I suspect there will be more than a few new developments.
Poetry wise, I've got a couple of new poems close to being finished, one of which was meant to be for today but didn't make it in time. With a few adjustments it should be posted in the next couple of days. On that note, the animal poems (especially the tiger themed ones) have not gone anywhere, so expect a few more of those as we head into March. Otherwise, it's pretty much business as usual here. I'm going to try and keep things fairly consistent and post more often, because it's been a long wait between posts at times. Hopefully I can shorten the waiting times and all will be well in the world of verse.
Anyways, those are the updates as they stand. So wrap up warm if you're going out, enjoy those Welsh cakes if you're not and look out for slumbering dragons if you're doing both!
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