a month of daily poems

I don’t really need a challenge so much as routine to put time into writing poems routinely when this so, so much other bust in my life between the Art Bank, publishing, freelance work, writing and art, and filmmaking projects . . . But I received a F’book message from Robert Lee Brewer about a PAD (poem-a-day) Challenge: “to try writing a poem a day in November with the view of trying to have the makings of a chapbook heading into December” while the NaNoWriMo writers are aiming for 50,000 word novel manuscripts by month’s end. His Poetic Asides blog covers poetry from the perspective of a published poet and long-time editor of writing market guides: Robert Lee Brewer. Check it out at Poetic Asides.

This could be a more reasonable challenge where I'll on the road a fair bit this month and my novel writing currently is much slower than a 50K-word month but I have written several book length poetry manuscripts in two-week, part-time, public, artist residencies and lesser amounts of poems in shorter periods of time (such as for the 24 Hour Zine Thing).

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01 november 2008

perhaps november is the second or
other cruelest month—after the year’s
harvest from fields and orchards
the hunters take aim at ducks and deer
as soon as there’s a hint of morning
light and a distinction of wings
from the rest of the universe above
or beyond or surrounding and within

the standing up poet wears orange
at the typewriter     he carries a journal
pens and a camera or two when out
in the woods and alongside rivers
lakes ponds and swamps to see and
feel and smell everything     to not kill
anything except edible berries picked
and eaten right there like a bear would

real thanksgiving on the spot
for the food and for every sunny day
—especially warm ones—air crisp
as biting through an apple’s skin
anytime now night ice will stay
frozen all day and the rain will turn
colder until the showers are snow
covering gardens roads homes and trees