Match
November is the month for poems to hatch
I hope to incubate a healthy batch
in fisher-talk, haul in a bumper catch
till there’s no room to store them in the hatch.
My problem is, these poems don’t hit me natch
I always seem to need a key or latch
I’ll count on Brewer’s prompts to be my match
igniting poems with pen or pencil scratch
© 2013 – V. Nesdoly
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Today is the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Have you ever done it? I did four years ago. Gruelling. But I got a book out of it (the novel I published in June of 2012).
My usual habit for November is to take on a poem-a-day challenge. Today’s poem is the first one I wrote for last year’s November challenge at the Poetic Asides blog, when the prompt was: “Write a matches poem.”
So during November I’ll probably do a daily check of the poetry prompts at Poetic Asides (the Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge). If Robert Brewer’s prompts don’t do anything for me, I have a collection of weekly email prompts from Poets and Writers stashed in a folder in Mail, and then there’s Adele Kenny’s blog with her wealth of prompts, and I have some books… I shouldn’t run out of ideas. Unfortunately though, sometime during the month I’ll still probably fall off the daily wagon.
Do you do anything crazy writing-wise in November?
This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by the very lovely Linda Baie at Teacher Dance.
Violet Nesdoly 
Great poem, Violet! Thanks for all the places to get prompts and good luck with poem a day. I’ll be foing that in January.
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Good luck, Violet! I hope you get a healthy batch 🙂
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A poem a day – what a fun challenge! I’d love to be able to try doing that myself, as I’m never in wont of subjects but always lacking the time needed!
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Good luck with the challenge this month!
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Thank you so much, Jama, Matt, Tabatha and Catherine! In addition to luck, I’ll also need perseverance, self-discipline and a healthy helping of imagination.
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Fun poem, Violet! This November I’m challenging myself to write an “Attitude of Gratitude” post every day on Facebook. I have a lot to be thankful for…like poetry and the Poetry Friday community. =)
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What a wonderful challenge, Bridget! A few years ago I joined Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts challenge, where, over time, I amassed a list of 1000 things for which I was/am grateful. I’m sure your November will be rich indeed!
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You know, I think your NaNoWriMo poem-a-day challenge might be just the ticket for me this year. Pondering… You’re absolutely right that they don’t hit “natch!”
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Ruth, when I join a challenge like the Poem-A-Day it takes the preciousness out of writing. I know that lots of the poems I write won’t be great, and probably most will just be first drafts. It feels really good, though, writing something every (or almost every) day!
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I love the idea of ‘incubating a healthy batch’, Violet. I have so much going on that I’m not sure how I’ll do. I’m going to Boston to the National Council of English Teachers’ Convention a week before Thanksgiving, so if I need to do Christmas shopping that will need to be mailed, I have to get started! Yikes! I have joined Catherine Johnson’s Facebook Poetry group that I suspect will keep me on my toes, and I have a “batch” of poems that are “simmering” and need some “stirring”. You’ve really started me thinking… Thanks for all, the links, and the fun poem.
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Linda, sounds like your dance care is full! Enjoy all your activities and work on those poems when there’s a lull. And thanks so much for hosting Poetry Friday today!
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Good luck with the poem-a-day! I’ll probably start up with this challenge in January or February to warm up for April. I agree that you have to take what you get when you write a poem a day, and accept the fact that much is “practice” and only a few shine like gems!!
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I so, so, so admire people who commit to the discipline of NaNoWriMo or a poem a day. Last year I did a poem a day in April with Mary Lee. Hard, hard, hard work! Now I sort of wish I had kept going! Looks like you are off to a great start!
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I love this, VIolet! and thanks for letting me know about this prompt. I’ll definitely check it out.Good luck with your poem-a-day!
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