Archive for the ‘National Poetry Writing Month 2018’ Category
I want to be a hero
I want to strive forward and face my fears
I want to do it so I can be better
Not for the admiration of my peers
I want the world to be a better place
So I will be the symbol of my ideas
I’ll bring my dreams from void and space
And through my action, make them real
A hero isn’t a hero through gifts and strength
Or because he’s the one who people call
No, he’s a hero because when he sees difficulty
He rushes forward and gives it his all
And life is difficulty, a forever fight
One we will never truly win
But in the darkness I’ll be the light
I want to be a hero, it’s time I begin.
– Shaman Romney 2018
A goal to achieve; something I lack.
Insecurity, holding me back.
All my excuses, I’m losing track.
I’m on my last rope, I’m losing slack.
I’ve hit a wall with no where to go.
I done a lot, with nothing to show.
It looks like I’ve lost my inner glow.
I should do something, but I don’t know.
I feel so helpless, I want to scream
Instead of acting, I only dream
And let my thoughts run along a stream
I had a good run, I’m out of steam.
I’m out of options, so I’ll just stay.
I’ll figure it out some other day.
I feel this apathy holding sway.
Maybe some day it will go away.
– Shaman Romney 2018
The steep price for tea
Is but 5 minutes of your time;
Even less for one that is lighter.
A small cost for most
But the same for all
Regardless of status or station.
– Shaman Romney 2018
I wish I could say I have failed all my life
I wish I could say that I’ve lost
I wish I faced perils, obstacles and strife
I wish my dreams were a sunk cost
Because through the failure I’d learn
Each loss is a step towards winning
Through the perils are victories I earn
From the cost would spring a new beginning
Instead I left my life to waste
Sitting idle without any traction
Instead of loving life I’ve been chaste
My only failure is my inaction
Is it to late to advance? I don’t know.
But forward to greatness or folly I go.
– Shaman Romney 2018
I wish my mind was more calm,
But try as I might I can’t keep my head from exploding.
My racing brain is a qualm
The constant torrent of my thoughts keeps my brain eroding.
I want to cut my brain short
And finish off a single thought before it keeps moving.
Fire a single retort,
Before my brain fires off gish gallop, disapproving
A single second to breathe
Instead of this asphyxiation due to my ranting.
I feel anxiety seethe
And take over my every thought with it’s endless chanting.
Maybe some day it will clear;
I’ll find the raging sea inside is finally stilling.
I know the path is austere
But learning to control my storm will be quite fulfilling.
– Shaman Romney 2018
(Today’s prompt was to deal with line lengths in a way that stretched your comfort zone. I decided to do a 7-14, ABAB rhyme poem. This was difficult at first, but I actually like it as form, and I might do more like this in the future.)
(Verse 1)
I feel I have a cloud over me;
My ankles all wrapped up in chains.
I seem to always forget, for just a second and then
The chain gets pulled and I’m falling again.
I know it’s not something done on purpose.
I know that you don’t mean to.
It’s not your fault I that have gotten tangled up in you.
(Chorus)
I want to stop my love from growing.
I want the butterflies to decay.
I want to have my life move forward
Instead of tracing circles around you everyday.
You pull me into your radiant sun, but I know
I’ll just get burned if I don’t stay away.
I want to stop my love from growing.
I just want this love to go away
(Verse 2)
I can’t be mad at anyone but me
For chasing after dreams that can’t be.
And yet I’m filled regret, for something I’ll never get
I’m locked down tight but I want to be free.
I know it’s something we want to move past.
Something we want to ignore.
It’s not your fault I’m tangled up in you once more.
(Chorus)
I want to stop my love from growing.
I want the butterflies to decay.
I want to have my life move forward
Instead of tracing circles around you everyday.
You pull me into your radiant sun, but I know
I’ll just get burned if I don’t stay away.
I want to stop my love from growing.
I just want this love to go away
(Bridge)
I know I could find a way to move on
If I really tried
But they say the heart wants what it wants
And mine doesn’t want to be denied.
(Chorus)
I want to stop my love from growing.
I want the butterflies to decay.
I want to have my life move forward
Instead of tracing circles around you everyday.
You pull me into your radiant sun, but I know
I’ll just get burned if I don’t stay away.
I want to stop my love from growing.
I just want this love to go away
– Shaman Romney 2018
(This started as a poem, but as I kept writing, it developed a melody. The meter of the poem seems a little odd, but with the melody in my head it fits. Once I figure out the chords and such, maybe I’ll post a recording.)
A vista from a mountain top on a sunny day.
A lack of other cars on a stretch of highway.
The spinning of the wheel as a Potter throws clay.
A sprint to the finish with nothing in the way.
A dinner growing cold as you work without cease.
A desire inside that you yearn to release.
A project whose progress begins to increase.
A mind that is racing, yet still and at peace.
Waking up early to breathe in morning air.
A feeling of knowing, of being aware.
A man with an intense, penetrating stare.
A firework: flash, then no longer there.
– Shaman Romney 2018
(Today’s prompt here.)
I find it useful to think of myself
As three distinct individuals.
A past, a present, and a future me.
Each with a role in guiding my life.
My past: a lesson I get to observe.
A collection of all my mistakes,
And of all of my victories achieved.
My tome of knowledge to draw upon.
My present: an explorer finding more.
Combing this plane for experience
Gathering up data for me to use
And refining my view of the world.
My future: an ideal to strive towards.
The kind of person I want to be.
Always changing as I learn more and more.
An unreachable destination.
All three are me, and they act in concert:
My future provides me with the map,
My past gives me the skill to start the path,
My present, the drive to move forward.
– Shaman Romney 2018
I often like to ponder the man who stayed at home.
I wonder if I ever pass his mind while I roam?
While I wonder of the peaceful nights he spends with family,
Is he wishing he could have adventures on the sea?
I picture time together with those I most love.
He pictures endless oceans, with blue skies above.
I feel so jealous him, of the life he gets to live.
To end the day with those I cherish, oh what I wouldn’t give!
– Shaman Romney 2018
(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was to play around with voice. This poem is a companion to “Man Across The Sea”, written from the other perspective.)
Easter Sunday is really quite a fun day
With children with baskets running around.
The Easter Bunny is really quite funny;
A rabbit laying eggs in the grass to be found?
The logic is flimsy, but the day is such whimsy.
Listen to the children’s laughter sound!
Today’s simple pleasures hide such treasures,
For candy and money and trinkets abound!
– Shaman Romney 2018
Shame on The Universe 