Poetic Day 8: Words in Cement

 

Poetic Day 8 of National Poetry Month:  April 8, 2019, Monday

 

For this second week of National Poetry Month, I have my “poem-poems” (poetic pom-poms) in hand and am cheerleading for poets and poetry readers!  Enjoy the sharing of writing and reading poetry during this second week of April!

 

 

Words in Cement

 

poem by Alice Jane-Marie Massa

 

 

The poet thought

having a poem

engraved into the cement

of the marbleized monument

was even better than a book.

 

One misty day,

sitting on the bench,

across from the monument,

the poet realized

that a dash would have been better

at the end of line three,

that the “the”

could have been deleted,

that “wistful” would have been better

than “wishful,”

that ….

 

“Why did I agree to those words in cement?”

the poet asked aloud.

“I should have written the words

in sand,

with feathers,

or in foam.”

 

Realizing the words on the monument

could not be changed,

the poet headed toward home.

However, before leaving

the town square

and his writer’s block,

the poet stopped by the license branch

to renew his poetic license.

On the license, the clerk typed:

“Not valid in cement.”

 

 

PROMPTS FOR DAY 8 OF NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

 

1. Write one or two quatrains which you would like on a monument.
2. Write a poem which mentions or focuses on poetic license.
3. Write a poem about an actual poet or a fictionalized poet.
4. Write a poem which has a perspective from a park bench.
5. Write a poem about “March Madness”–basketball or brackets.

 

May this second week of National Poetry Month be even more creative than Week 1 of NPM!

Alice and Leader Dog Willow

 

April 8, 2019, Monday

Thanks for reading this piece and honoring its copyright.

 

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