As promised in my previous blog post, here is the fifth set of poems I’ve written for the 14th annual Poem-A-Day Challenge as organized by Writer’s Digest. Even though every day has its own unique prompt, I am focusing on “travel” as an overarching theme because I’ve missed traveling so much this past year.

Day 21 PAD Prompt: “Take the phrase “(blank) Me,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.

REMIND ME……what it was like to rise early—house martins twittering busilyoutside my open window whiledawn crawled up the eastern sky,cool air faintly infused withold loam and dew-damp grass…of those unabridged mornings—unrushed and puttering about the houseuntil nine-thirty (or maybe ten) whena half-hour’s drive down the A452found me traversing castle gates,imagination igniting…how it felt to cross the inner courtand climb the northwest tower—Warwickshire broadening before me,its montage of poppies, cottages,drowsy cattle and country lanes snakingbetween fields ripe for walkingPoetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene View from the northwest tower at Kenilworth Castle, 2017 (photo by F. E. Greene)

Day 22 PAD Prompt: “Write a nature poem. Write about the natural world if you like, but don’t be afraid to delve into human nature or the nature of love.”

Listen to me read the Day 22 poem by playing this sound file.A CONVERSATION WITH C. S. LEWISCHIEFLY ON THE MALVERN HILLSFrom your prep-school days,you strolled these slopes,a fact I learned onlyafter I discovered them,grew to love them.No, not love.Venerate. Revere.In fact, I observed that lone gas lampflocked with ferns – a paradoxof location, if not purpose –without knowing you noticed it, too,immortalizing the mismatch ofmetal and grass in your storiesof wardrobes, fauns, and winters.Did you worship here also?Find sanctuary among the bogsand hollows? Wander with aimlessintent across pebbled trails tippinglike roller-coaster rails into oblivion?Did you? I do.Alone, mostly.Alone, I can listen until thestories emerge, adventures whisperingthemselves into existence amidclefts and divots sequesteredbeneath the beacons stippled withbedstraw and foxgloves strunglike bells from sturdy stalks.Were you captured? Haunted?Inspired? I was – even beforeI learned you walked here, too.Poetic Form of Choice: Free verse with alliteration, assonance, and consonance© 2021 F. E. Greene The Malvern Hills, 2012 (photo by F. E. Greene)

Day 23 PAD Prompt: “Write an appointment poem. My first thoughts with appointments conjure up visions of doctors, dentists, and parent-teacher conferences. But there are also business meetings and romantic dates.”

FATE’S DIARYWhen we make an appointment,We make a pact with Fate;We trust saints will preserve usTill that specific date.Although we vow to honorEach earnest guarantee,Fate makes a pact with no one—Who knows where we shall be?Poetic Form of Choice: The style of Emily Dickinson© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 24 PAD Prompt: “Write a question poem. You can make the title of your poem a question and use the poem to answer it. Or make the title the answer and the poem the question. Or end your poem on a question.”

A VAIN INQUIRYHow didthe moon replywhen the monuments ofhumankind asked her to shine lessbrightly?Poetic Form of Choice: Cinquain (five lines with syllable count of 2/4/6/8/2)© 2021 F. E. Greene

Day 25 PAD Prompt: For today’s prompt, write a thought poem that captures a thought or random ramblings running ’round your cranium. It doesn’t have to be a rambling poem, but that’s one thing. Another possibility is having two people share their thoughts with each other and/or NOT share them.

SEASIDE IDYLLProne to overthinking,I now must think some more.Truthfully, I’d ratherramble along the shore—quench my cogitationschurning endlessly,surrender introspectionsas ashes to the sea;allow the halcyon chorusof ever-cresting swellsto dispel my musingslike sedimented shells.Poetic Form of Choice: Ballad quatrains with ABCB rhyme scheme, alliteration, and assonance© 2021 F. E. Greene BEACH WITH STORM IN THE DISTANCE (painting by F. E Greene)

Follow this link to the Writer’s Digest website and see the details for the 2021 PAD Challenge.