It’s April.
It should be sunny in California. There should be puffy clouds, puppies, bunnies, and ducklings floating in the blue. There should be smells of fresh grass. There should be a gentle breeze bringing the hope of spring.
Instead, it’s raining – a steady rain soaking the world and forcing kitties indoors.
The reality of being stuck at home is taking its toll. We’re starting to see what happens in a global crisis – some unite in common purpose, some become selfish, and some try to deny reality.
What’s a poet to do? Pick a side and join their chorus? What side is compassion on?
Perhaps I just think too much. Maybe if it were sunny I could build another planter box, and my busy hands would keep my mind silent.
Maybe.
April is also National Poetry Month. Many bloggers are participating in NaPoWriMo – National Poetry Writing Month.
Last year I thought about participating, but dismissed it as not the way I work. I tend to think about a single poem for a long time before I actually write it down. NaPoWriMo asks you to write a poem a day. I’ve tried doing that at a couple of writing conferences. It’s not easy for me and the resulting poems weren’t exactly what I wanted, but they weren’t horrible.
So this year I’m thinking of trying. I am stuck at home and sometimes breaking old creative habits can surface new ones.
I should have started on Wednesday, but … well life and indecision.
Well, today I decided to start. Fragments of poems have been popping into my head, so of the five poems I should have written – I’ve completed three.
Many people who do this share their poems with daily posts. I haven’t decided if I’ll do that, I might.
But right now the rain is easing and hope that the sun will break through.
Andrew's View of the Week 
Hi! Please check out my post!
https://themysticwagon.wordpress.com/2020/06/06/lockdown-from-a-new-perspective/
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Hopefully the weather has changed by now. Though it’s sort of just as yuck 🤢 out there I s’pose. Wishing you well, thanks for sharing.
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I’ve never done NaPoWriMo, and I don’t know that this would have been the year to try. I’m an essential worker, and I picked my own blog back up because I needed something better to end a day, but it’s hard from me to focus on anything continuous, thus short prompts and intermittent posts. But…writing helps.
Anyway, sorry for that ramble, and that’s why I liked this poem, it reads like my brain does right now, seemingly random thoughts that flow together and make sense in the end. And I agree, eventually, the sun will break through. ❤
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Writing does help.
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Don’t tread too heavily on your days of rain. Later there will be draught that will make you wish you hadn’t said anything against the precipitation.
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Before you know it, I’ll be complaining about too many sunny days.
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I didn’t realize there was a NaPoWriMo! Good for you for giving it a try. I’ve heard from NaNoWriMo participants that it can be a great creativity booster, as long as you don’t pressure yourself to end up with a perfectly finished product at the deadline. Let the ideas flow, and imagine how wonderful it will be to have all those “good starts” of poems to polish up to perfection later! 🙂
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I only heard about it last year, but seems it’s been going on for a long time.
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I started a writing project for April and much like you, I haven’t written every day and I haven’t decided if I’ll ever share it. But it’s nice to have something to do, so there’s that.
Weather wise, Minnesota has apparently taken your sun and warmth. And no, you can’t have it back!
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That’s my plan too. I think it’s illegal for Minnesota to have sun this time of year. 😉
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It’s funny how the writing process works. It can’t be forced, it just has to take its course and evolve.
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Writing is a strange and mystical thing. Just about the time I think I have it figures, it changes.
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Into each life a little rain must fall. Right now, it’s a deluge.
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A little rain is nice but this is too much.
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Nice to see your writing evolving.
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Living requires evolving and change.
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It’s been dreary and overcast here even when it’s not raining and that does make this sheltering in place even more difficult on our moods and well-being. But the sun is shining today and I hope it comes your way soon.
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The dreary weather doesn’t help lift the mood at all.
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It’s raining down here, too. My dog hates going out in the rain so we’ll skip his walk.
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My cats don’t like the wet either and are spending all day indoors.
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It is interesting to see how people are reacting to Covid, Andrew. It is like watching a play unfold. I would like to read a few of your poems, even if you only post them now and then.
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I do write more poems than I post, but I will post a few of these I’m writing.
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I’ll look out for them.
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Good for you, Andrew. Doing NaPoWriMo changed my life. After the second year I just went on writing a poem a day–it’s now been seven years since that first April run in which I thought I’d never be able to write a poem a day. After awhile, it just comes. You can still spend all the time editing that you did before. I still edit poems almost every time I read them. But I no longer stop myself from writing..and the prompts are a tremendous help..that is the one-word prompts on WP sites. Looking forward to your poems.
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I know I should write more poems, but I do like the editing and polishing too. Daily writing new material takes time away from editing. I’ll find the right balance at some point.
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When an idea for a poem gets in my head I think on it for a bit and then jot down key words with pencil and paper. Once I collect enough words I type it and start adding, subtracting and moving around. For what it’s worth the most import part for me is to have to have pad and pencil at the ready!
I enjoyed your poem.
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That’s a good idea. Thanks.
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The rain is falling for all of us.
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It is. Still raining this morning.
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