NaPomeo, NaPomeo, wherefore art, NaPomeo?

[Mike M]

John I love the immediacy and close observation you bring to the present moment. The address to the worm, the butterflies becoming leaves on your evening walk, moments of play in the wood, moments of work answering yesterday’s questions, the detail of palm-of-the-hand Palm Sunday - it’s all so intimate, and well-paced. Lovely. Thanks you.

[Jee Leong]

John, I like how the contractions in stanzas 2 and 3 of "Exponential Homeschooling" suggest more syllables than the required count. "Cross My Palm" has a lovely ending, giving extra meaning to the stigmata.

[GreaterMandalaofUselessness]

Hey John,

I remember the cross-stitch, but still found it hard to puzzle out by looking (got there in the end!), but read aloud the delayed repetition rhymes woven though sounds lovely. My preference is for the first version. Love the photo too.

Exponential Homeschooling -- this a new form to me. 3 stanzas of 3 3-syllable lines. "Each morning / I answer / yesterday's" made my smile. I imagine the father with his ever increasing homework each night ...

Cross my Palm -- Ah, it was Palm Sunday yesterday. This is an interesting form, another new one. In the first two stanzas I wondered if there was an element of cross-stitch at play: sunday/bundle & survival/isolation. I like this family portrait of collective worship in the time of coronavirus; it manages to convey the strangeness of the times -- how we try to carry on; the web hookup, the improvised crosses.I also like the combination of company and isolation here: the bed, the singing together. My folks have very recently ventured into the world of Zoom for church. I'd suggest muting yourself if you're worried about your singing

[JFN]

Laurie, Dunc, Emilio, Brian, Mike, Jee, Matt (luckily it was a one way feed, and our immediate neighbour is deaf, so we probably got away with the singing), thank you all for dropping back in. Your comments are much appreciated.

Apologies for the next, hastily written late last night. It turns out being continuously interrupted by small children and DIY requests is not advantageous to this process.

[JFN]

Coronavirus House Party (Limericks)

Poor Boris is under the weather,
his lungs are as light as a feather
that's been doused with wine,
I hope he'll be fine,
or the country will be all a tither.

But Dominic's ready to lead,
and his eyes don't sparkle with greed!?
He's young and he's strong,
he does nothing wrong,
(what's the name of that port we don't need?)

And St. Jeremy's counting his luck
that the welfare state's run amuck;
now that Sunak is paying
Corbyn is displaying
his arrogance – cranky old schmuck.

There needs to be somebody calmer,
enter the great Keir Starmer.
I think that he said
we're all in the same bed,
we're just wearing different pyjamas.

.

[GreaterMandalaofUselessness]

Hey John,

Love the closing line: "we're all in the same bed, / we're just wearing different pyjamas"; what a great coinage! And yes Dominic Raab, the man who as Brexit secretary was surprised to learn that a lot of our trade comes through ports. What could possibly go wrong?

-Matt

[Bench]

Strong again, John, through the forms. I just don’t have the concentration for it, e.g your cross-stitch is so impressive (think I preferred the first as warmer), so clever plying that complicated scheme and still sounding natural while driving narrative.
Slow worm, a lovely found poem, as it were. The style makes it sound like John Cooper Clark in my head.
The Lunes are deftly drawn instances, a photo story of experiences on this lovely stroll.
Your tricube, the circular situation, teaching novel concepts with authority is neatly done, made me wonder if the form suits palindromes...
Crossed palms: pray nobody’s listening made me chuckle. It’s a homely scene off-set by the uneasy sermon and a sense of making do.
Love the limericks, not sure I’ve seen them linked like that before. I hope you’re right about Starmer. Great stuff so far.

[Midge]

I think that he said
we're all in the same bed,
we're just wearing different pyjamas.

Haha! That's great -- neat rhyme off Starmer! Enjoyed your Slow-worm a lot as well -- I remember seeing them all the time as a kid messing around outside. I even caught a few and tried keeping them as pets. Nostalgic!

Cheers.

[Emily Bronte]

Hi, John, I always look forward to seeing what you will do. I especially enjoy the quiet, understated gentleness of these pieces.

Will be back for more. Stay safe.

Mari.

[JFN]

Matt, Ben, Midge, Mari, thank you for your visits. I'm hoping to get a lot more fluffing done over the week and to visit you all again, children, wife and DIY allowing. It's as if now I've been furloughed I've been handed a list of all the things I promised to do when I had the time

[JFN]

To a Skylark (Shakespearean Sonnet)

We catch a glimpse of you along Spirthill,
small wings flitting faster than shutter speed.
A foot above the field, you hover, still,
and search for fledgelings begging for their feed.
You drop into the scrub and disappear
amongst the stumps of sweetcorn stalks cut short.
I wonder, can you comprehend the fear
of parenthood, or must that fear be taught?

With wingtips raised, a kestrel on the search
rises, a silhouette above the hedge.
She drops and glides beneath the silver birch,
I watch, and silently I make a pledge
to think about the songs that won't be sung —
we must each find a way to feed our young.

.

[JFN]

Listening to The Strings (Monorhyme)

We take a morning walk along The Strings,
hypnotised by the river's glistening,
the laughter that the rolling water brings,
the red admirals with their flutterings.
A plump woodpidgeon double claps her wings,
a cheerful chiffchaff chip-chaps as he sings
and on an overhanging branch a king-
fisher waits for the perfect time to fling
himself into the water. This is Spring,
beauty is in the gentleness of things.


__________
The Strings is another small area of woodland within 10 minutes walk of our house, which was unknown to us until this morning. Silver lining of the lockdown I guess. Still one poem behind, hope to catch up later.

[Scrow]

Hello!

Coronavirus House Party is fantastic. I enjoy it most when Keir Starmer enters, and the pjyamas. But I did have a sigh of relief when Keir entered, in real life, too. One of my favourite BBC news headlines this week was 'Who's Dominic Raab'. I know it was just an explainer, but the way it was phrased was super.

To a Skylark - I LOVE the simile of 'shutter-speed' which brings to mind the metaphor of the skylark as a camera, a vehicle through which the narrator's concerns about his family unit can be viewed. There's room to play with camera-metaphors and birds, I'd have thought. Interesting, interesting.

Listening to the strings - you are adept with your form. The king/fisher flinging is beautiful, the aspect of list poem I also really enjoy.

Onwards! Less chores, more writing!

I do enjoy reading your work.


Sarah

[Sorella]

John,
I love both versions of Quaker's Wood, the lonely and the cheery with two delightful children (great pic!) -- fun to see the two juxtaposed.

We just took an hour and a half walk in a suburban wood here, lovely spring day. More fluff later, now a Scotch and Homeland!

Sorella

---

[drumpf]

An Evening...

Despite my pet peeve with ending lines with "-s" soundings too frequently, I enjoyed the mellow atmosphere of nature.

Morning In...

Quiet majestic. I love how you capture the slow movement of water, the echoes in trees, the light, and the contrast of human figures, namely your children.

To a Skylark

This one in interesting, how a bird nurturing its baby can be a muse on how you take care of your baby.

Listening to Strings

Such beautiful control of sound. From the noticable "cheerful chiffchaff chip-chaps" to the enjambment of the kingfisher flinging himself from the branch...so great.