Flirting with semicolons and new questions in an exquisite vintage dress.

NaPoWriMo Day 24: Today I challenge you to write a “mix-and-match” poem in which you mingle fancy vocabulary with distinctly un-fancy words. First, spend five minutes writing a list of overly poetic words – words that you think just sound too high-flown to really be used by anyone in everyday speech. Examples might be vesper, heliotrope, or excelsior. Now spend five minutes writing words that you might use or hear every day, but which seem too boring or quotidian to be in a poem. Examples might be garbage disposal, doggy bag, bathroom. Now mix and match examples from both of your lists into a single poem. Hopefully you’ll end up with a poem that makes the everyday seem poetic, and which keeps your poetic language grounded. Happy writing!

The words of this journal-style piece are not overly poetic. Like my life, it mingles fancy and un-fancy. This piece is proof that this hopeful romantic is not all glitter, noetic theory, and vorfreude. I got boogers, too.

In spite of our relationship status if truth be told he exited weeks ago over something someone said Or so he finally admitted a month later when pressed After days on end of silence lost in his head Can a social media mishap truly cause this level of distress I thought this mess only happened to insecure teens Not to mature adults with real history in between Surely not when your kitten is weak and simply needed a little convalescence Even if I did call him selfish and was apologetic once I regained my parietal lobe senses This is when my sadness turned clearly to dread Not for fear of losing him you must note For my high value I know But that he seemingly cared more about appearances than the prejudicial punishment on me bestowed Couldn’t find his way around his ego Not bothering to correct his mistake once seen Or most importantly cover his Queen This is how I expect my chosen one to have behaved Indeed until this moment it is what he portrayed An honorable man of his word Both gentle and strong Righteously angered when others did wrong Yet his generosity became dispensable on a dime Darlin’ endearments immediately withdrawn Love never so conditional As if 18 months of beautifully smitten along with our ease and trust was lost in no time How can you be resilient to that much pain I’d just leave him has become the refrain It is so hard when the person you love is not in the same space as you at the same moment But one failure shouldn’t completely destroy a beloved’s fiercely unashamed (even sacrificial) covenant I am patiently holding a place in my heart Knowing if we’re not careful we’ll forever be apart Tho’ I’ve not necessarily frittered away my leisure hours alone or depressed I’m joyfully flirting with semicolons and new questions in an exquisite vintage dress It’s stormy outside my window this eventide and I am listening attentively to the pounding rain from inside Praying it tells me where to place the period

~Just L (April 24, 2016)