NaPoWriMo Day 19: "A Goteran Abecedarian"

Today's NaPoWriMo prompt: "Today, I’d like to challenge you to write an abecedarian poem – a poem in which the word choice follows the words/order of the alphabet. You could write a very strict abecedarian poem, in which there are twenty-six words in alphabetical order, or you could write one in which each line begins with a word that follows the order of the alphabet. This is a prompt that lends itself well to a certain playfulness."

Today's PAD Challenge prompt: "For today’s prompt, write a license poem. There are many different licenses available to people. Fishing license, driver’s license, license to plate, license to kill, and marriage license. Poem doesn’t have to be about the license, but it could mention a license, happen at a licensing office, or well, use your poetic license."

In a little crack between other things I'm doing today, a rather meta poem following the lead of Vince Gotera, who names himself in his abecedarian today -- so I name myself and him too. Getting at my weird half-inspired, half-competitive streak that's got me trying to do double prompts every day the way he does. Although I do use the word "license," maybe what really fits the second prompt is giving myself license to write something less serious.

A Goteran Abecedarian

All right, Anne--

before you go off half-

cocked and crazed,

desperate at the difficulty of

executing an abecedarian,

find those daily

guidelines once more.

Have at it, they say,

instructing you to

just write a poem, any

kind of poem.

License is granted to

make up your mind;

nose to the grindstone

or follow your impulse,

prompts or no prompts.

Quit always trying to

reach for the stars!

Sure, if the poem turns out well,

that’s terrific.

Unbelievably, somehow

Vince Gotera always pulls it off, but

why worry if you can't keep up?

X marks the beautiful flaw.

You're still writing anyway:

zest is the better half of art.

  

                   

I'm sure Vince won't mind me using the cover of his new book of selected April poems, The Coolest Month (Final Thursday Press, 2019) as my image for the day.

--Draft by Anne Myles. Please do not copy, quote, or cite without permission.