Wow! So it’s Day Five of NaPoWriMo,* and today’s prompt is a doozy.
“It’s called the ‘Twenty Little Poetry Projects,’ and was originally developed by Jim Simmerman. The challenge is to use/do all of the following in the same poem. Of course, if you can’t fit all twenty projects into your poem, or a few of them get your poem going, that is just fine too!”
Confused? You’re not alone.
I’m not going to list the 20 projects; that would make the prompt longer than the poem. But for those who want to attempt making sense of the poem, you can find the list here.
And so to the poem:
Sugar Cookie
You are the sugar in my cookies,
you’re the sizzle to my pop.
Were I to measure you for distance,
I wouldn’t spill a single drop.
Your cheeky smile, your limp embrace,
your heaven-scent and tactless taste;
like a songbird in Chicago,
a voice as cool as mint toothpaste.
A humdinger of a human,
every Charlie would agree;
unless of course he were a horse;
they’re so senseless, mon ami.
He’d not cramp your style on purpose,
though he’ll cramp your leg at night.
but if he did – and I digress —
it would only be for spite.
The short life of every meaning
is like the holly in a wreath;
when pigs know a storm is brewing,
they run with sticks between their teeth.
If you read this you will wonder,
will the cookie find romance?
Will the craven crumbs careen through time?
Heed my warning in advance!
Charlie horses, cookies,
songs in the key of mint toothpaste,
holly rings around the wreath,
as Chicago lays to waste.
*National Poetry Writing Month, Day Five
