Here are some more poems I’ve written this month so far! I usually try again with prompts I find interesting, and leave room for revisiting concepts I like. And I hope you like these!
For more inspiration, visit the official National Poetry Writing Month blog!
Today’s prompt is to tell a tall tale… I took this opportunity to dabble into some of my favorite concepts.
Scientists call xir an
Anomaly.
Somehow born and lost to time,
Xie managed to find the way
Here, but
Not ‘sideways’
As our Dancers do.
Romantics swear xie
Flew from on high;
Patterns reveal
Higher dimensions
of stark
Contrasts.
Xie’s rarely seen straying
From those silver gates:
Guarding against
Darkness and Light
Burning through.
Sometimes,
Witnesses glimpse
A shift of rainbow.
The locale claims
It’s a promise fulfilled;
Your heart becomes unbreakable
If the sword
Erupts from xir chest
And you can see the jewel.
If the stars align, just so,
Like a tower,
Xie could see you.
Politeness is paramount.
Ask and answer–
But not for long.
Today, we’d like to challenge you to write either a monostich, which is a one-line poem, or a poem made up of one-liner style jokes/sentiments.
すてきだね x
(a heart is drawn, “ey/em” in the middle)
“You’re six feet above ground.” -Grant
Think about poetry.
Deep breaths.
Makeup? Watch?
Tip on the tightrope. x.
“Bitch look: good, haute, pretty, handsome, sexy!” x.
You exist.
You are valid.
Take up space.
People love you.
(another heart, or a star, even)
“It’s not meant to be a strife. It’s not meant to be a struggle uphill.” x
“Sasuneac yna hela, pid dryd’c ymm drao yna.” -Rikku
This is our home.
Stay hydrated!
LOC Method!
Relax, just be here (or there).
Journal.
Rest.
Have you snugged today?
We probably glow, too. x
(and here is a hedgehog doodle)
There were bright colors in my fear.
Once I am lured in by song
The movie slowly turned,
Entrenched by darker hues
Falling from the shadows of malevolent flight.
There’s nothing delicate
In fighting back, this time.
Retaliation brutal as my nightmares.
Night fell deeper.
Vespertine fled and I screamed
Sorrow
For empty victory
Grief
For the hanged in memory
Rage
For justice, failed.
Here’s to Bluetooth!
I used to be wary
And we used to make fun,
But it’s there
when I need
To tune out the outside world
And appease the
songs stuck in my head,
Or listen to speedrunning history
Instead of stalled traffic.
With speakers better than
My phone’s
I’m gently lulled to sleep;
The nostalgic nightscape
Sounds real.
And on two different screens
I track my sleep-hours
Along with
My steps and
I can see my goals
Quantified and obtainable.
But I’ll never
Connect
My toaster.
There are
no wires or dongles
to ruin,
But we can still make fun of
The Internet of Things
And be wary of that.
I wrote it this morning, and it just so happened to also fall into today’s prompt: “a poem that centers around an encounter or relationship between two people (or things) that shouldn’t really have ever met.“
As for the others out-of-order, I’ll post those over the weekend (if I can remember to schedule it!).
You are really here!
Sit down; I have much to tell you.
My mother is/was/will be a huge fan of yours;
Your voice will save galaxies.
Um,
Excuse the confusion
While I slow down time and explain:
She died, my mom.
But, she rebuilt herself,
Modeled her hair after yours.
And we’d listen to your songs all the time.
I inherited her love.
I see we’re to be joined by your friends
So I’ll be quick–
You inspire so many,
To the point where someone’s kid
Falls backward in time
Just to meet you.
Because you never gave up.
The sadness and pain are merely fire.
The iced tea is sweating.
In short: a necklace token
To use in the future;
I love you.
Now finished,
I’ll snap my fingers.
Time will resume
And you won’t remember
Any of this,
Not yet.
The one thing I bitch about the most? Heteronormality.
Nah, scratch that; it’s how binary everything freakin’ is.
No, wait! How I’m expected to be androgynous because I’m non-binary.
No, wait, it’s how the [insert community here] has a racism problem it refuses to acknowledge.
Okay, let’s go with that one. It hurts my heart when I’m hit with racist microaggressions when I exist in queer-forward spaces, on top of the general history of Whiteness marginalizing anyone that isn’t white.
Wait, no, let’s take it a step further with [community] has a [bigot] problem it refuses to acknowledge, if not actively encourage. And it really hurts when it feels like these peers should get it, you know?
Because why the fuck is biphobia still a fucking problem in the overall queer community? I’ve friends who are currently shouted down and erased because they’re never seen as queer enough.
And all of my Black peers stay away from the Hoteps of the diaspora because they insist on hetero normativity, and toxic masculinity.
You know what? It’s bigoty. That’s what I complain about the most.
That’s it, that’s the post, because I’m tired of repeating myself ad nauseum. We’ll be here all day with the long list of examples I can illustrate.
A bitch is tired. I’ll probably expand on this at a later date, complete with personal anecdotes. But for now, just allow me to get to the point:
Solidarity ain’t shit when you’re still a fucking bigot.
Bloganuary is over, but I couldn’t resist this prompt!
My dad bought an AST Advantage! computer[1] from a coworker and we settled it on the desk in my bedroom. We were pretty excited, both of us being electronic gadget nerds in our own ways: I was into everything computers, while my dad’s forte was audio and video setups. We were both content in a RadioShack, back in the day.
It was a beige thing with a horizontal tower (vertical wasn’t all the rage yet) and came with CRT monitor, keyboard, mouse, a desk microphone, a manual, and a whole sleeve of CD software (s/o to Encarta, always coming in clutch when I needed additional research for school essays). The speakers were passable, nothing to write home about.
It was running Windows 95. A solid operating system– a opinion I hold to this day– but it felt a little dated compared to the Win98 (or 2000?) installed on computers elsewhere. But, that was no biggie. It also lacked adequate Internet access for its modem wasn’t quite up to snuff, if I recall correctly. But, still, it was pretty cool. When it wasn’t a word processor, it played music and we played a few MS-DOS games on it.
The Advantage! stayed in my room. From what I remember, the computer became my domain and thus, unofficially tasked with taking care of the thing. That included, in my assumption, that I was to do upkeep and remove any unnecessary files or programs. I took it pretty seriously.
From the Windows 95 desktop I dragged photos and irrelevant documents from Explorer to the recycling bin. You can guess where this is going. No, I did not delete the System32 folder, but I did something just as hilarious:
I deleted desktop.exe.
In my defense, I made sure to at least open programs before I made my decision to chuck ’em. And this particular executable was the AST-branded desktop environment with a distinct Windows 3.1 flavor. I thought it was safe to get rid of, because we already had a desktop environment– and a modern one, to boot! I thought I was safe.
The instant I banished it to the Bin, I got an error message. You were instructed to reboot the computer in hopes of the OS finding desktop.exe again. But it was in the Bin, untouchable, so you were effectively boot looped.
I panicked. Not because I’d get in trouble (and I probably did), but because we didn’t have the install discs for the operating system! So there was no way for me to fix it until we got them. A few weeks later I was able to repair the damage, and got a surprise. The install discs were for Windows 3.1! The Windows 95 install turned out to be a delicate patch job that I wrecked in my error.
But hey, the computer was usable again! So I got on with it with no complaint. I screwed up, after all. Armed with the Flatten-and-Rebuild option, I got to learning and making more mistakes. I hadn’t done any blunders of that magnitude since, but I kept those discs close!
I became real familiar with using the ALT key to access menu items– especially ALT + SPACE, for when a window got nudged off-screen and I could not see it. That happened a lot in 3.1, at least in my use case. I learned how Batch files did their thing and customized a whole startup routine pointing to different programs and Windows proper– including an NES emulator to play Mega Man II. I played with its audio programs, listening to my Final Fantasy MIDIs when I wasn’t creating silly audio skits. Imagine my delight when I saw it could’ve been used as an answering machine and phone! Stones.Exe was my favorite time-waster, when we weren’t playing MS-DOS games. And lastly: it was just pretty fascinating to interact with That Older OS, to see how far along its come.
Common objects I’ve ferreted to and from home via floppy discs were
Eventually, we did get our Technically-Second computer: A Gateway with Windows Millennial Edition. It was the family computer, chilling in my parent’s bedroom before it was moved to the corner of the dining room. We loved ourselves some Bejeweled, 3D Pinball Space Cadet, and That Game Where You Shoot Dial-Up Modems (was free with our DSL provider).
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the Internet, sending emails, browsing GameFAQs, and putting together my fansites for Chrono Cross and Kingdom Hearts. I downloaded mp3s from OverClocked Remix— it took twenty minutes for one file, so I typically busied myself with something else– and the entire time I’d hope no one would call.
There was also this program that snitched on everything you did on the computer. Of course, it was installed! I was called out for the habit of deleting my browsing history (because they could see it anyway), but I just shrugged. I wasn’t doing anything out of line and to be frank, the real saucy stuff was regulated to the library computers, out of their reach. This Nanny program promptly disappeared when I exploited WinME’s login bug, snooped, and found a certain folder with certain images not under my account. That deeply amused me.
We had a year free of for Norton, when they were still reliable. All of us clicked on our fair share of dodgy sites (and yes, we used Limewire), and were super concerned with the worms and viruses. When Sasser was making the rounds I couldn’t help but feel smug– it didn’t target WinME systems (but it did get the last laugh when I finally upgraded to XP without reformatting– another lesson learned).
The era of Family Computers was a pretty special time. There was nothing like it. It was communal, whether we crowded around the screen or we took turns doing Important Things. We burned CDs, used the scanner, printed out photos, and bookmarked cool things for us to peruse. I have a family photo of all of us at the table, taken by our first digital camera, processed on our first computer, and printed out on our first printer.
I kept the AST for a few years, and eventually inherited the Gateway when it was usurped from the Family Computer crown. After that, I upgraded to a HP Media Center Edition for school (I needed all the horsepower for Photoshop and video editing– the TV watching was a bonus). And beyond that, I’ve had my run-ins with more HPs, Acers, and Dells.
But the AST Advantage! was first, and I’ll fondly look back on it always.
—
[1] LGR did a video of this same computer not too long ago; you can view it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCdDKPonXXA) for a more in-depth analysis.
Bloganuary writing prompt: What would you do if you won the lottery?
I’m one of those folks that automatically go for the nuances, the catches, and the myriad of ways something can go differently. Thanks, anxiety! My answer would depend on how big the winnings are. But let’s pretend it’s enough money to cover everything I want to do.
First, the Responsible Things. In addition to paying down my debts, I’m buying a house, buying a solid car, and retiring early. Preferably it’ll be some land where I can plop a modest-size one-story semi-smart house, and a shed somewhere on the property. Lots of patio. Then I’m getting my teeth fixed– all the dental stuff I couldn’t afford to do, I’m doing it. Probably all at once to get it over with, and just recover at the new crib.
If I’m living alone, that’ll be that. But I’ll have plenty of space for a partner’s garden, another’s getaway, and another’s crafting area. And regardless, there’s going to be a huge dining room table for board game nights.
Now, we’re going to be indulgent: elaborate tattoos, a gaming rig that actually plays modern games, a new laptop (still, with Linux!), wardrobe refresh/additions, jewelry that doesn’t turn green, mysteriously lose 30 pounds, obtain a small library complete with comfy chairs, a media room, and a few gadgets that caught my eye.
…Okay, one more indulgence: I’ll have all the streaming services and give out the logins to anyone that wants one.
I’d give Empire the proper ending it deserves. I’d bring back Freaks and Geeks. I’ll pay off Nicki Minaj to stop embarrassing herself.
All that is stuff off the top of my head. But let me tell you what I wish and daydream about the most.
I want my mom to have a house in the location she loves. I want my youngest sib to be secure with the best tech and have the car my dad always said I could buy: some red fancy thing. I want us to have a house close to the beach.
I want to donate to local queer charities so I won’t have to see them shut down only after seven years of existing. I want programs and buildings that actually give a shit about the homeless. I’ll resurrect Comic Girl Coffee. I’ll heavily patronize the businesses of people of color.
I want to help out, if not outright rescue, my loved ones anywhere in the country that are having a hard time. I want to declare: I got you. Just exist and create art. I’ll meet the goal of every mutual aid post that comes across my feed.
I want a row or a tiny neighborhood of all my friends and partners and metas and cool people (a commune, that’s a commune).
I want to know the feeling of knowing that your bills are always paid.
I want to see the doctor without worrying if it’ll cost me.
My savings account would actually have some money in it.
I want the setbacks to be mere hiccups.
Taking trips around the world or a McMansion are the farthest from my mind. Because let’s be real, I’m a broke millennial– the dream for me is the basics.
Bloganuary writing prompt: Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
I can tell you what type of items I tended to get attached to: something small, probably cute, and later on was a prop for my comedy. Except for a few, these were almost always bears. Some exceptions include a dragon, Squirrel Dude, a cat, and my oldest favorite: Actually a Bobcat. Because he had spots, so he was a bobcat, damn it!
His name was Kitten, originally. He was small like one! He couldn’t have been more than 5 inches tall, and is now a very light gray. In 7th grade I had a dear friend take him home to have her mom patch up his failing spotted butt, so his butt implant is a light blue. This was also the same friend that insisted on calling him Bob (short for bobcat) but I refused, so we compromised: KittenBob.
He was certainly for companionship in the lonely elementary school years, like a security blanket. It was pretty rough for a shy bookworm taking speech therapy classes. He didn’t start really becoming the vehicle of jokes until middle school– I’d act out scenes or have him deliver punchlines, usually in math class. In a routine, he was the boke to my tsukkomi. I didn’t make it as the class clown, but my friends thought I was funny.
When I became a freshman in high school, I began leaving him at home; KittenBob was getting old and I worried about damaging him. He passed the mantle onto a character I created to entertain my younger sibling, the inspiration being a knockoff beanie baby. From doodle to prop, his successor was Not A Cat and carried on to be a distraction in Spanish class, a guest during silly family outings, and starring in his own college project!
I still have them hanging about my bedroom, chillin’ in the shadowbox or lurking on a bookshelf.
Bloganuary writing prompt: What are your favorite sports to watch and play?
People Speedrunning Video Games.
No, seriously.
It’s very awesome to see people become so good at the game that they beat it in record time. They have an intimate knowledge of not only how the game itself works, but the quirks and nuances of not only the format the game is in, but also the system the game is played on. It can get pretty technical when you think beyond speed, though that alone is still pretty impressive. I personally enjoy the runs where glitches are exploited and the game is utterly broken– that takes time and dedication.
When a speedrun tournament is happening, I block off my evenings and not move from the couch. The outside world ceases to exist. I’d have a spread of finger food, hookah, drinks, and other friends that enjoy video game content (but if it’s just me, the spread is much smaller). I cheer on my favorites, jump up when a hard trick is pulled off, and you know I’m shouting when someone breaks a world record! I laugh, I cry, I wish I wasn’t hand-eye-coordination impaired.
These events are my Super Bowl.
