NaPoWriMo Day 15: I challenge you to write a poem that addresses itself or some aspect of its self (i.e. “Dear Poem,” or “what are my quatrains up to?”; “Couplet, come with me . . .”) This might seem a little meta at first, or even kind of cheesy. But it can be a great way of interrogating (or at least, asking polite questions) of your own writing process and the motivations you have for writing, and the motivations you ascribe to your readers.

You, Just L, are hopeless
Hopefully romantic, they say
Attempting to capture the feeling
Or perhaps recreate it?
Inventing phrases that speak of rapture
And failing… Again and again
How many muses (or frogs or men)
Does it take to write a collection?
And still I wonder with each poem I pen
Is it more powerful to hold it in or speak it?
Does love stop your heart or your brain?
How many words are there for sun or rain?
Do I write better when I am blissfully infatuated?
Or does my best work flow from my greatest pain?
Perhaps if I had the courage to let a vein
Ala Thomas Chatterton, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton
Or as the lovers of Percy Bysse Shelley threatened
But alas this hopeful romantic has a confession
Kissing… Oh – that – kissing – thang…
Makes me want to do it all over again!

~Just L (April 15, 2015)