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#NaPoWriMo: A Poem A Day – Day 28

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Hi everyone! Today is day Twenty-Eight of the national poetry month competition. Only two more days to go!

Here’s my offering >>>

DAY  TWENTY-EIGHT:

[Instructions:] From NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Eight … Write a concrete poem. Like acrostic poems, concrete poems are a favourite for grade-school writing assignments, so this may not be your first time at the concrete-poem rodeo. In brief, a concrete poem is one in which the lines are shaped in a way that mimics the topic of the poem. For example, May Swenson’s poem “Women” mimics curves, reinforcing the poem’s references to motion, rocking horses, and even the shape of a woman’s body. George Starbuck’s “Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree” is – you guessed it – a sonnet in the shape of a potted Christmas tree. Your concrete poem could be complexly-shaped, but relatively simple strategies can also be “concrete” —  like a poem involving a staircase where the length of the lines grows or shrinks over time, like an ascending (or descending) set of stairs.

 

oh poor stranger tho' I laughed off your hard snark your judgement of us hurts more than me, you see the mirror you hold reflects your warped reality ...held inside a teardrop
Image courtesy of Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/vectors/drop-raindrop-water-tear-teardrop-159527/ and CANVA

 

 

Today’s poem was inspired by a thoughtless response to yesterday’s poem and wedding picture on Twitter overnight. I should thank the guy, as he made today’s creative efforts pretty easy! If any of you are curious to see the thread, here’s the Twitter link: https://twitter.com/MathisenSteve/status/1519403298331144193. You might need to click on “show replies” to see my response under the man’s final comment of “he looks much older…”

As you’ll see, I laughed it off and made a joke about my youthful looks; however, what the guy doesn’t realise is he’s holding up the mirror of himself and showing the world his inner life, how he sees and interacts with the world around him, and that has nothing whatsoever to do with my life. A long time ago, I learnt that if people judge me, that’s their problem, not mine. I can only ever be responsible for myself, and what everyone else does is their business. I wanted to”reflect” some of that in my poem, which I hope you’ll agree is shaped like a teardrop. The teardrop is because all of this is so unutterably sad.

Thank you to Beem Weeks for answering the guy and trying to give some perspective. And thank you to all of you for your outstanding support and cheering me on this whole month! 💗

Have a wonderful day, everyone, and I’ll see you tomorrow with Day Twenty-Nine on the NaPoWriMo 30 Day Poetry Challenge 🙂 

 

© Harmony Kent 2022

 

24 Comments on “#NaPoWriMo: A Poem A Day – Day 28”

  1. Hey Harmony.
    Your poem read honestly–truthfully–like the mirror you allude to.

    Sorry to hear about the ‘man’s response’ to your poem yesterday. But, so proud of you for using that ‘sting’ to birth a gem. Good going and that’s the way a poet deals with her disappointments. Atta girl.

    Sending you virtual hugs of support and sisterhood and going –woot! woot! (borrowed vocabulary) for standing up to negativity with such aplomb.

  2. Lovely poem. Great way to respond. And I love that you used a shape and made the words fit it!

  3. The nerve of some people! If he was trying to be funny, he failed miserably. Anyway, great response. I sure hope he sees this poem and recognizes his face in the mirror!

    • It took me years so I’m not giving it away now. Thanks so much, Yvi 💕🙂

  8. Perfect poetic response to such a judgementally dumb response, Harmony. Xo

  11. I’m sorry to hear someone made a hurtful comment yesterday. This person was probably hiding his own insecurities. Your concrete poem is a good response to thoughtlessness. Happy Anniversary!💜🍃

  12. Very well responded Harmony. I am so sorry for the trolling. You’re so right. It’s a reflection of those who judge rather than those who are being judged.