i is a number (I’m not)

10 Replies

i is a number (I’m not)

i has a special faculty

it’s constructed

totally

there’s no other

complex number

that’s like that

i was made up

to create the opportunity

to solve equations

in physics

what if i is

the square root

of minus one

what if i

DOES exist?

turns out

you can count on it

to disappear

once the equation is solved

i made things possible

that weren’t possible before

i have a special faculty

i am constructed

totally

there’s no other

complex being

that’s like me

i was made up

to create the opportunity

to solve equations

somewhere, somehow

what if i am

a square root

of minus one

what if I

Do exist?

turns out

you can count on me

to disappear

once the equation is solved

i make things possible

that weren’t possible before

solve equations

create opportunities

i

will disappear

equations solved

opportunities created

i

did disappear

The prompt today at octpowrimo.com was numbers, and host Amy McGrath provided a list of numbers that have specific connotations. My in house mathematician tried to get me to write about cardinal numbers, because they’re counterintuitive, beautiful, inventive and realising they existed needed a lot of inventiveness and creativity (all hail the fabulous brain of Georg Cantor!).

I, on the other hand, fell immediately for i… i has more poetic opportunties than I’ve used. Look at this:

  • the powers of i repeat in a cycle
  • dividing by i is equivalent to multiplying by the reciprocal of i

Doesn’t that want to make you do math – or write a poem?

If you like my attempt at combining poetry with science, you can find more when you click on the tag science.

imaginary number

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpancha/2505656136

Dud

13 Replies

My dreams are made of this
me floating on air streams
at will, no fear of falling
I know I’m in control

Skating at full speed
luscious curves, never bumping
into anything
I know I’m in control

My days are made of this
– turbulence
– falling
– bumping
– slow motion struggles
– tmIoncloir-n

The prompt for today at OctPoWriMo.com was Split in two.

Dialogue in unknown languages - by Angela van Son

Cynical self help

15 Replies

No one
hates you more
than you

Some of us have brains who turn against ourselves. Those brains lie.

This one is totally off prompt – the prompt was colour. Obviously, this poem would be black. The poem is about many people I know, and many people I don’t know. Bless your heart if you don’t know what this feels like. Bless your heart even more if you do and you struggle with your mental health.

 

 

 

Please be careful

10 Replies

It barked today
It bared its teeth
into a mean snarl
and barked
– barked
showing its teeth
indicating
pain would be inflicted
if the line was crossed

It barked
– barked
meanwhile wondering
why the line wasn’t clear
and needed barking
in the first place
it had clearly pissed
its territory already

But it barked – barked
ready to bite
if provoked
meanwhile wishing
for someone
to say

It’s safe
It’s allright to stand down
It’s safe

I see the line
I smell it
I hear you

Thanks for the warning
I’ll take care of you

The prompt for #OctPoWriMo today was Inside out. I’ve used the dog illustration before, for another barking poem called Ineffectual.

Dog barking

Nerved

11 Replies

A door walked into a bar
and said: I swing both ways
Nobody took him up on his offer

There was a prompt about doors opening in two directions – or something like that. I’m distracted by a happy child who has autumn holiday and suggested we could make ourselves some Halloween stuff. Priorities!

IMG_20181025_141600

 

Real news

9 Replies

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from FB,
that place that’s often ridiculed for being fake. window-dressing
a hot-wired algorithm for spreading fake news

is that the people I admire on there
have one thing in common
they do things THEIR way
They dare to be open
They dare to be different
They dare to be
even when these things
come at a cost
– often a great one

Here’s to you – Charlotte Farhan Art
Here’s to you – Alex Bear
Here’s to you – Pan Art
You connect, your way, even when it’s hard

For me, FB is hot-wired with inspiration
Artist – adding beauty to my life
Teachers – taking me into worlds I didn’t know
Rebels – showing a different way
Huggers – with arms so long they span the globe
Seekers – of happiness, self love, themselves
People – caring about each other, even when they’ve never met

I know I sell my data to the devil by being there
but it buys me a little piece of heaven

The prompt for today at octpowrimo.com was open. I decided to write from my heart and not care about form too much. I don’t care if is poetry, prose or neither – the text is true.

I know I didn’t mention the poets, but both #OctPoWriMo and #NaPoWriMo have been a source of meeting great people, reading wonderful things, entering new worlds, my brain and heart being fed and healed.

I hope to add some works of the artists to this post so you can see them, but I’ll have to ask first. If you’re curious, you can start by visiting their sites or their public Facebook pages:
http://www.facebook.com/Artist.Charlotte.Farhan/
http://www.facebook.com/artbypan/
https://pantheartist.com

Apocalypse child by Charlotte Farhan

Apocalypse Child by Charlotte Farhan

Phoenix Child by Charlotte Farhan

Phoenix Child by Charlotte Farhan

You left me in pieces by Charlotte Farhan

You left me in pieces by Charlotte Farhan

 

Hard copy

10 Replies

They lock me up. They keep me separate from the outside world. This cramped space leaves me longing for freedom. Instead I make myself small, trying to fit in. It reeks in here. There’s a stale smell of urine. All I can think about is fresh air. I want to stand up, make myself seen. I want connection, I want to be loved. The damp darkness is killing me. But I know it’s not safe out there. I want you to see my beauty, but you won’t acknowledge me. When I bare myself to you I get rejected.

The picture I sent
doesn’t show my core
just the unsolicited exterior

I know it’s not a proper haibun, but it’s as close to one as I’ve ever been 🙂 The prompt today at octpowrimo.com was See me, the suggested form a haibun

Neat love

5 Replies

Let me sleep on it, he said
I’ll give you an answer in the morning
but he could tell she’d heard
that line before

She walked away and said
don’t forget
two out of three is sad

This was written as an epilogue to a poem called At the crossroads. I never added it to the poem, I think I thought it was too cheesy 🙂 But I enjoyed it when I found it today and I have plans for this evening. So today is life first, poetry later…

For those of you who don’t know the songs of Meat Loaf by heart, I’m adding one of the songs that this poem refers to.  Many of his songs fit todays prompt of betrayal well I believe. Here’s to  #OctPoWriMo day 22!

 

https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:Triple-Spiral-Symbol-4turns-filled.png

Obscene

14 Replies

I used to be me –
that was before
I turned into

boobs on legs

I used to be a two legged
two boobed girl
that was before
I turned into

a walking vagina

I used to be
a bunch of
secondary sex characteristics
that was before
I turned into

a walking womb

I used to be a woman
that was before
I turned into

a mother

It used to drive me nuts
My boobs obscuring

my brain

It used to drive me nuts
My sex obscuring

my personality

It used yto drive me nuts
my fertility obscuring

my humanity

I used to be nuts
before my womb
went on strike
my vagina
dried up
my boobs
sagged

Now I’m just

me

 

https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:Triple-Spiral-Symbol-4turns-filled.png

 

May-I-Please-Blow-Your-Trumpet?

7 Replies

My friend Lisa is bit of a nutter
She helps people get rid of their clutter
If you feel the urge
for a decluttering splurge
‘please don’t do it’ is what she will utter

She suggests gentle decluttering instead
five things a day, just go ahead
Those five will soon turn into a lot
suddenly it’s a new habit you’ve got
and you know how get rid of things with less dread

Lisa knows we like our stuff
but also that enough ‘s enough
To help you decide what can stay or may go
her practical PDF’s help you say yes or say no
and keep the stuff you absolutely luvv

Lisa offers a lot for free
a single mum, working on her master’s degree
she’s the loveliest nutter
an expert on clutter
and my May-I-Please-Blow-Your-Trumpet nominee!

Award Lisa Nomination Lisa

My poem was inspired by an actual award that Lisa received. You Can see which one and why in the pictures. I recognise the description of Lisa being generous, helpful and passionate in many ways. We met online, years ago, and it has turned into a valuable friendship. She designed my website for Procrastination Coach, and would have helped me to make it even better if I’d taken the time to let her.

But I mainly wrote this poem because of the work she does with Less Stuff. It’s a website, blog and Facebook group where she provides support for people who struggle with decluttering. I dare say it’s life changing for people (including me), and she does most of this work for free.

Lisa has a Patreon page that she shares so modestly in the group that it took me a while to find it just now. She has a small shop of decluttering books, which feels more of a service to me than a commercial outlet.

I’m adding these links here, as a form of support to her work. You might want to join the Facebook group, check out her free materials (lots!), or buy one of her helpful documents (either as PDF or in paper form).

People who do good, should received good. Thank you Lisa for years of friendship and decluttering support. You ARE contagious, in the best of ways.