Aarrgghh!!

[HowardM2]

Thanks again, everyone; that one just popped up while I was taking my late evening walk. During NaPo, you at time simply don't know what's going to reveal itself; that's part of the fun of it. More fluffage tomorrow (later today).

[HowardM2]

"Small Song: Snack"

I think the mice
have been nibbling at
my memory of you;
I can recall only
your nose and that
curving corner of your
smile when I summon
the way you looked.

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

"Sheltered" is a wonderful evocation of confinement or self-isolation that manages to be filled with the imagery of what is absent. Nice.

"Walk" extends the conceit of "Sheltered"--showing us a small respite from isolation. An escape into the dark of night and silence.

"Snack" moves to new territory. The fleeting nature of memory. A delicate metaphor with the mice nibbling.

BrianIs AtYou

[Bela]

These are delightful, Howard. 'walk' in particular struck a chord. I've barely left the house in weeks - under the weather - and those notes are precisely what I've been missing.
Béla

[oldman]

The repetition in "Walk" of the word "Empty" with the period at the end is very effective. The one word stands alone in its own sentence - form is function - delicious solitude. Nary a wasted word, I'd say. Gut slugging, exquisite. I think you're on a roll.

[Barbara Jean]

The idea of mice nibbling memory is lovely. It evokes a dusty attic and someone going through the items stored there. So much in one little image. Thank you

[larryrap]

I'm savoring. You're a teacher of that.

[Crashed_Pilot]

Hi Larry!

Welcome back after your hiatus, and hooray for old projects dusted off.

Sheltered - Lovely and compact. 'Purl' is such an apt choice of word for cascading water, and the Cherokee roses really sell it.
Walk - Again, a lot done with very few words. The language is tactile and the images fit together - the sharpness of the stars and the bite of the air glancing off the tough hump of the houses, which retain their warmth. The second 'empty' works very well too.
Snack - Ah, yes - I do like this deliberate mingling of the abstract with the concrete. 'Summon' does strong work here.

[Jee Leong]

Howard, "Snack" is sad in a whimsical kind of way. Charming.

[HowardM2]

Thanks, everyone; as always, I appreciate your time and attention. Only 27 more to go. Onward!

[HowardM2]

"Small Song: Succession"

The waning moon
makes way for light
of fainter stars.

[Scrow]

Hi Howard,

I love the 'huddled humps of dark houses' in 'Walk'. The way you break up the alliteration with a very different word (the 'a' in dark) gives the alliteration power without making it seem forced (I have just learned something - thank-you!)

I also like how the use of 'humps' shares the idea of houses as camels - self-suffient, self-sustaining. I do like your poetry. It's short and clever and beautiful but it doesn't wield its cleverness like a weapon, more of a tool to promote reflection and empathy.

'Walk' is my favourite so far.

'Snack' is sad - as if the narrator has committed certain things to remember a loved one and they can remember the certain things but not the rest.

The Waning moon reads to me as a metaphor with two core meanings (and also lots of little potential ones) - one would be a personal reading - the reader is provoked into thinking about how the poet reflects on their own experience, finding memory more vibrant than their contemporary lot (and finding memory fading) and also more of a social comment, perhaps a meta-commentary on writing in general - but who knows. It's both general and personal. I can read it through my own experience if I want to, and find different things there to reflect on, too.

Yes, Onwards!

Sarah
(I bet you don't get called away constantly for zoom calls or to make slime, though)

[W.G.McLeod]

There seems much pining happening here of a garden and a face. Succession illuminates the distance, just as bright but further away. All lovely, wise and melancholy and less pained. Looking forward to more.

[HowardM2]

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond; I always appreciate it.

More fluffage tomorrow (later today, actually). It's going slowly but is going.

[HowardM2]

"Small Song: Bouquet"

The ice of white irises
chills the moonlight;
you carry them inside
to prepare for what will come.