Today’s prompt: Pick a word and write a list of its synonyms and antonyms, Write a poem that contrasts the two extremes.

Enthusiasm

To meet each day with keenness and zeal,
the eagerness of one renewed

Banish apathy and let
lethargy languish.
No longer indifferent,
half-hearted, wary

To devour life with relish and zest –
an appetite for each new day.

Better late than never for Margo’s Tuesday prompt, which was to write a poem inspired by the word “cast.” One of her suggestions was to go to the freedictionary.com page and write a found poem from the words there. For some reason, this task took me two full days and may not be finished yet. A tanka from those words:

surface of a shell
the face of a dead person
changes of fortune
in a certain direction
a conjecture, a forecast

After some thought on 2/13, I am thinking of editing this to:

surface of a shell
a conjecture, a forecast
changes of fortune
in a certain direction
the face of a dead person

Better? Worse? Comments welcome.

Time for a Tuesday prompt from Margo Roby: Today she asks us to think of a misperception, perhaps of a word meaning or a situation, and to write a poem based on our thoughts.

We were the best of friends,
sharing coffee and conversation
day after day after day, never
running out of things to discuss.

Sharing our love of Mad Magazine,
early reading experiences,
laughing at our shared confusion
with the printed word “misled”
pronouncing it “mī’-zled” and
pondering its meaning.

Then no longer misled, but
just amazed at our good fortune.
Best of friends before – and
after – the revelations to come.

Today’s prompt: Scotch tape was invented on this day in 1930. Think of a “sticky situation” and write a poem about it.

“No room at the inn,” the young man said.
Well not in those words, exactly
but the meaning still the same.
I have the reservation, printed out
at home, right here, kept safe at hand
on the three-hour plane ride,
the four-hour drive, the Google-mapped
navigation through town.

“Our mistake,” he says, too brightly.
“No rooms here, but we’ll find
one of the same quality
a few (Google-mapped) blocks away.”

“Just a minute, though,” he added.
“I never had this happen before.”

Today is the final day for the January smallstone challenge. I think that I’ve only missed one day this month that I haven’t made up. My plan is to start the February haiku challenge with NaHaiWriMo tomorrow, at least I think that’s my plan.