Tag: NaPoWriMo

Free Verse, My Poetry, Na/GloPoWriMo 2026, Poetry1 Comment

Banshee

Charlotte Hamrick

BansheeGather round the table dressedwith Granny’s wedding china and Brussels lace cloth,for a banshee has spoken,returning three times in my dreams, her long, russet hair whispered overmy cheeks, her pale eyes held me between purgatoryand heaven. But dreamsare not reality unless given purchase.So eat from the briny breathof the sea, drink from the fruit of sun-kissed grapes, kiss with life-loving lips and pray our charms hold back death. Na/GloPoWriMo day 30 prompt: Today, try writing your own poem that discusses a real or mythical being or profession (demons, firefighters, demonic firefighters) with the same sort of musing yet dispassionate tone. … Continue reading Banshee

Na/GloPoWriMo 20261 Comment

New Mexico

Charlotte Hamrick

New MexicoWhat was memory but talestold by others that slowly disappeared with each mile, faster still with each year untilall that remained was a fadedfew moments in the depths of my past, a manwith a pocket full of M&M’s,myself running to meet him.When I think of that brief life now,this is the image that lingers still,a tale that no one else has heard,an echo of an echothat lives inside my mind. It risesat unexpected times,when I eat M&M’s, when I seeimages of a red desert earth,when I rub his leather coin pursebetween my fingers. An echothat will last a lifetime. … Continue reading New Mexico

Free Verse, My Poetry, Na/GloPoWriMo 20264 Comments

Altered

Charlotte Hamrick

AlteredThe song began, flowing over my bed in gentle waves, the breeze coming through the window shifted the air around me in a way I cannot accurately describeexcept it felt and smelled like the damp saltiness of the sea at night. The song & the scent created moments that felt familiar in an ancient way, as if I was saturated in another time or level of being, an altered state, a cell-deep shift. It lasted for a few moments, then faded away with the song. NaPoWriMo day 24 Prompt: Today, we challenge you to write your own poem that takes … Continue reading Altered

Erasure Poetry, My Poetry, Na/GloPoWriMo 20261 Comment

From the Earth-plane

Charlotte Hamrick

From the Earth-planeSpiritlike starshover,a fluttering,a perfect tender touch. Na/GloPoWriMo day 23 – off prompt. A erasure poem created from text in the source work and superimposed onto artwork by Georgia Houghton, the subject of this fascinating essay.Source work: “The Substantiality of Spirit”: Georgiana Houghton’s Pictures from the Other Side by Jennifer Higgie in The Public Domain Review. Continue reading From the Earth-plane

My Poetry, Na/GloPoWriMo 2026, Poetry2 Comments

Oak Woman

Charlotte Hamrick

Oak WomanDear Lucille, I treasure your poem as a reminder of all the life that’s left to live in a culture that worships the young. What is a forest but the strongest of bones, what is a blossoming but an awakening of self. The sapling girl is still inside but the Oak woman is stronger & fiercer,still chasing wildness & wonder. You showed us how.Respectfully, your ardent admirer Na/GloPoWriMo day 17 prompt: For today’s challenge, write a poem in which you respond to a favorite poem by another poet.I chose this poem by Lucille Clifton. I love it & have … Continue reading Oak Woman

Free Verse, My Poetry, Na/GloPoWriMo 20263 Comments

Basket

Charlotte Hamrick

Basket After Jane HirshfieldIf my eyes fall on the basket sitting on my dresser,I marvel for the millionth timeat the skill and time it tookto create a vessel of such beauty and strength, echoing the beautyand strength of the hands thatshaped it and I marvel at the timewe visited the little shopon the reservation where it was sohard to choose just one and I marvelnow at the beauty and strength of you,how I took it for granted, how hard it is to choose just one memory of us together, happy I don’t have to. Na/GloPoWriMo day 13 – I’m off … Continue reading Basket

Poetry, My Poetry, Cento, Na/GloPoWriMo 20261 Comment

Lost Purpose Dancing Backwards

Charlotte Hamrick

Lost Purpose Dancing BackwardsNeeded: amends for an old ghost, some form of recompense.Red light travels the most milesthrough the atmosphere & bitterto no end, we become the red tapewe rue. If we name this in our headsWill it go away? I’m dancing this ghostpen between you and me; I’ll writeyou into a place as your face foldsinto your crane neck. I will returnat night and stare into your eyes.(Your warm spot is not yours; this I know.You live by the fact of the sun; this I know.)Credits:“Local Legends” by Kare Head in Lost on Purpose“There are No Warning Signs” by … Continue reading Lost Purpose Dancing Backwards

Free Verse, My Poetry, Na/GloPoWriMo 20261 Comment

All I Want

Charlotte Hamrick

All I WantI am not a starfishI’m a woman of earth and boneOf rock and rocky wordsWhich I do not hide behindI speak clearly which sometimesIs perceived as bluntBlunt is good, there’s no confusionWith bluntI am not a starfishI have always had a plan althoughSometimes I floatI suppose that is starfish-ishWe should be flexible when neededI am not a starfishButWe both have predators so We both keep our eyes openHer five and my twoStarfish will sacrifice a limbTo evade a predatorI will sacrifice complacencyI am not a starfishI cannot change colors butI can change my mindIf respectfully presented with facts … Continue reading All I Want