Halfway through the first week.
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Day Four
Today, our featured participant is 7eyedwonder, who responded to the time-focused prompt for Day 3 with a moving account of a father’s passing.
Today’s video resource is this recording of the American poet Craig Morgan Teicher, reading what he calls his “relentlessly sad poems.” That might not sound like something you want to deal with on a Thursday, but one of the wonderful things about poetry is that it can express feelings that we often think aren’t “okay” to express or feel – emotions that are uncomfortable but universal.
Today’s prompt, inspired by Teicher’s poem “Son“. One thing you might notice about this poem is that it is sad, but that it doesn’t generate that feeling through particularly emotional words. The words are very simple. Another thing you might notice is that it’s a sonnet – not in strict iambic pentameter, but fourteen rhymed, relatively short lines.
Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own sad poem, but one that, like Teicher’s, achieves sadness through simplicity. Playing with the sonnet form may help you – its very compactness can compel you to be straightforward, using plain, small words.
NaPoWriMo Process Notes
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I started with the featured participant poem. I know sometimes people skip this bit but today I implore you to go and read Nora’s poem. Incredibly touching.
https://7eyedwonder.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/red-giant/
I watched the video of Craig Morgan Teicher reading, just short of 14 minutes then I had a break before reading his poem ‘Son’.
If you need to revise sonnet form check this website. It will guide you through the fundamentals of a variety of sonnet forms. Please be aware that some of the links at the bottom of the page are no longer active. http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm
On Writing
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And this is the point I broke the tradition of following the optional prompts. Mainly because I am short on time today and have only ever written four sonnets so know that to accomplish one I will need more time.
I will come back to try it when I have sent work off. For now I wrote a poem which fell into my head as soon as I started listening to Craig Morgan Teicher this morning. I carried it around through my appointments today and most of the afternoon so it had settled into something and came out easily this afternoon.
It is 4 stanzas and longer than 14 lines. It does meet part of the criteria… achieves sadness through simplicity… using plain, small words.
And like Teicher’s poems is ‘relentlessly sad’. It is called Texts.
After I ignored three messages
you told me he probably had cancer.
You did not send lies to my brothers.
awritersfountain 