2024 Official DUP NaPoWriMo Challenge

28/30

Endless Battles

that endless
knife edge
clear sharp line
unsteady
baggage makes
it a more
difficult gamble
survival guide
unreadable
challenging
consequences

an unescapable
fact remsains
here in the
darkness i exist
equilibrium never
achieved
such battles
fought over years
feeling guilt
for still being alive
my execution
greatly exaggerated

head just
above water
sharks circling
smelling blood
trusting nature
not to bite
eventually leaving
me alone


Unique Words 65

28/30

As To Swallow or Choke Upon My Pride?

Confrontations of allegations and I silently take the heat
Tension to regurgitation on the pages of this self defeat
Redirecting the rage in a therapy of laying it all to rest
I write to ease the suffering I endure in this life comprised of stress

Disarm the mind of my emotions when logic dictates silence
As I conduct warfare in my prayers to relinquish the will for violence
Choosing joy irrespective of the circumstance
Arsenals unseen, another attack, another battle, learning how to dance

Satisfy my want to be understood by starving the need
When everyone exploits your wounds the scars within still bleed
I find defense in surrender when I choose to be the bigger man
For the sake of arguments unspoken to withstand

Nothing to prove when ranks can get away with murder of the soul
I just stay in my lane for all the things I can’t control
Finding solace in knowing everyone gets what’s coming to their door
I find confidence and yet I fear when I think of my own failures all the more

Humility to reshape perspective with hands clasped to the means
I bide my time till the reckoning and choose to make no scenes
In this world that wills for drama when I’m just trying to get along
Self control is not for the faint of heart but for the strong…

27/30

EXPERIENCE POINTS

What did I do
To the neighbor’s dog
To make it bark at me
So furiously

For months on end
Stole peace of mind
Made me take
Dark thoughts seriously

Today I find
A pork chop bone
Not two feet from
The property line

Tossed it over
And cast a spell
Of silence round
This porch of mine

(50 uw)

27/30

Desert Uprising

Like desert sand
I washed away,
into a basin of a foreign past life
fossils and volcanic rocks eroded on hillsides are a subtle reminder of what was
A testament, and a warning perhaps
Should waters rise again…
Quartz and shells awaken, in the shadow of the monsoon
Can you smell the storm that eclipses this dry horizon?
March bloom is over, the tourists are gone
But this feeling I’ve held, will soon erupt once more, flooding the dunes with this heavy water I’ve suppressed for far too long.

28/30


A night at the opera


The one eyed entrance packed out
an octopus lobby,
thinning out through its tentacles,
ink black suits and glittering gowns
kissing and sitting down
as the pit tunes up beneath the tragedy.

Feathers and pointed shoes
flap their bright plumage
against silk scarfs and white cravats,
my council estate hands
hide away tattoos
as the coal dust collar tightens.

Wide eyelids flood in moments
of pure recitative brilliance,
a clarity that snatches my lost emotions,
unnerved by raw experience,
I flow with the red eyed staircase
feeling as a child that has witnessed
something he ought not of.

28/30

ANTI-WHATEVERISM

We must stop Anti-whateverism
those abusing power must be protected —
Support Authoritarianism!

The right to free speech? That’s Anarchism!
Isms make the masses infected
we must stop Anti-whateverism.

Peaceful protestors? Should be in prison!
They have warped minds which must be corrected
Support Authoritarianism!

Holding a silent vigil? That’s Snobbism!
These old freedoms ought to be suspected
We must stop Anti-whateverism.

Born to rule, proven by Darwinism
any questioning must be vivisected.
Support Authoritarianism!

Local Vocalism is vandalism
violent crackdowns must be expected
we must stop Anti-whateverism …
Support Authoritarianism!

28/30

Pay the damn rent

Hey! Are you still here??
I thought I had kicked you out.
I only let you in
 because you came with such a
   huge advance
You didn’t mind the mess
 or the leaks in the roof
I said ‘take it as it is’
 and you said ‘I love it’
But now the rent is way past due
 and still you linger
   taking up space
     on my mental couch
You lounge in silence
 and I can’t relax
   thinking maybe if I mop the floor
     you’ll finally pay up
But those muddy bootprints
 you left on my soul
   keep rising to the surface
     with every wordless glance
You say the cost is too high
 that you don’t have the cash
   well, that sounds like a YOU problem
The lease was clear
 conditions were not met
   now I need that space
     so I can breathe

28/30


Fatuous illation

Damn Nesting Owls won’t shut up so I can think!
& now the Cooper’s Hawks are awake!

Difficult to spit out Day 28’s poem
all this racket goin’ on just outside my door

Don’t get me wrong, as I do adore
them Bird’s of Prey
the sounds they make
the rodent control
but the din early in the morning
when I am trying to think?!

Great
Now ALL the Birds are awake!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr






60 unique words

28 of 30



yanking the rug


I've got no problem with ownership
but I'm no longer willing...
to carry the weight of some bogus shit

when it comes to my own actions...
I take full responsibility
recognizing healing & reparations...
are entirely up to me

it's not as hard as people like to believe
saying those 2 little words...
I'm sorry
{I'll even accept my bad...}

but where I draw the line
...absolutely refuse to rise to the bait...
is when others expect me
to cover their ass
take on board the onus
...for their own crap

was a time I accepted every problem was mine
whenever someone was cruel to me
or treated me with disrespect
...it was me that apologized

{just suck it up buttercup
...how often did I hear that...}

until I understood the reality of their expectations
the belief that they somehow had immunity

one too many times...
of hearing the same reply
whenever I protested their behavior

oh come on...
stop being so sensitive
you know I didn't mean it

their attitude so filled with disgust
that I'd have the audacity to object
to the way they hurt me
dropping their heavy load at my feet
blame shifters...

it suddenly struck me
with a strong stench of hypocrisy
I know for a fact if I did it back
there would be an outraged attack
...ironic that...

the result of this realization
was my refusal to pick it back up
...allowing them another free pass
from now on I've got a better idea

my shoulders are tired
...of lugging what they try to pile on
I'll carry the burdens belonging to me...
...they can deal with what's their responsibility

what was that frequently uttered phrase...
...oh yes...
suck it up buttercup
take accountability
stop trying to sweep it under somebody else's rug

#28

Show of life

You’re here to watch the show of life
Please step up into the round
Spotlights bright, curtain call
Are you ready to perform?

Throw on this costume
Read out these lines
Pose like this whilst you do

Show me your persons
Enact your truth
Reveal your inner world

Silhouette disguising
Story enticing
Mesmerising
Enchanting tales

An eclectic collection of
Trials and tribulations
Moments and undulations
What is this ride we call life?


Unique word count: 60

28/30

dammit, janet

I’ve given too much thought to how I would die --
Since leaving,
It's inevitable --
Stepping out into the open
Opened
A million ways, possibilities for the end --
Last week, I was rad-sick,
Now, I'm a group of raiders'
Captive.

This is day 3.

The rope has rubbed my skin raw,
Burning with every breath, every twitch --
But it's so close,
So close to fraying,
Freeing me --
Or at least
Giving me
A chance.

"Choice meat," they said --
Someone,
Something they would eat
Out, and then
Eat.

I’ve given too much fucking thought to how I would die --

I eyed my hurting ankle,
Told myself it was nothing --
Glared at the left behind shrapnel,
'Tis but a scratch,
As I scratched
The rope again against
Concrete --

Control the
Spiraling,
Why
Are
The tin cans
Chiming,
Bullets ri-

The door crashed open --

Sweet salvation.
A big sigh.

"Dammit, Janet."

I gave him a smile.

#27/30



April 27


Today is my brothers' birthday
They are twins born in 1977
One year, six months and seven days later
After my birth in 1975
My brothers and I belong
To generation X
Except for our youngest brother
Who was born in 1981
If all my siblings were alive
We would have been 11
A very  big and happy family
Now only six of us are alive

My mother has two miscarriages
Our eldest sister was born in 1963
And died at a young age of 8
Next to her was our elder brother
Who also died at a very young age
We weren't born yet when they died
So we never met them
I only saw their picture

My sister has a short curly hair
A sad eyes and brown skin
She took after my mom
Whose hair was curly
I have a fairer skin tone
I can still remember vividly
How she looked like in that old picture
Which is gone a long time ago
I do not resemble her

Mother was a fertile woman
Who was blessed with many children
So unlike me who cannot bear a child
Because of my PCOS
Which led to my surgery in 2021
For total removal of my reproductive organ
Because of some complications



#28/30



Favorite


I was my grandma's favorite
Because I was the only girl
In the family
After my sister died at a young age
Who was ahead of me by 12 years

My grandma doted on me
She would bring me along
Wherever she go
She taught me how to dance
The "Pangalay" at a young age
Which is a traditional dance in our region

She was a lady
Of many talents
With a mind full of creativity
She knew how to crochet
Do embroidery
Bake cakes
Sew dresses
And made her own bags
If only I was serious
In learning those skills from her
I could have applied them
But I was young then
When she showed me how
To do those things

When I was a little girl
She would sew dresses for me
My mother rarely bought dresses
Because my grandma made them

When I grew up into a teen ager
She would not allow me
To have friends from the opposite sex
She wanted me to focus
On my studies
She was very strict
I have to be home right after classes
Sometimes she would wait
For me at the gate of our school
When I go home late

I am grateful to her
For her love and attention



Double posting due to
A mispost on a different challenge

28/30

Battle

nothing will happen
by shedding tears
if the heart is black
it will remain black
if you keep increasing
your courage then
I will also hold the rudder
from tomorrow itself
we will quarrel
we will make a special bond
in the friendship
we will feel separation
you may maintain
enmity by your deeds,
but you have kept me
in your heart,
come let's see the
scene beyond the darkness too
people have lit the torch of hope
when the stomach of
selfish friends will be full
they will throw you in
the garbage
with the same intensity
with which you maintain enmity
I wish you had friendship
with that much intensity...

28/30

Never Gone VI

you knew every level and how to meet it
rising to that challenge with panache
and a way of getting in with people
you don't how i really do miss you
sad moments were often lost on you
but I hope we can meet in a higher place
and relive those low ones in storied laughter
vivid and magnificent as you at your best.
And by the way, don't be afraid of the light,
be them brighter than those stage lights,
more welcoming then the hecklers
you've earned it..

      65 uw

xxviii

Untitled

Stars float like dust
becoming a tableau
of mystique
in the hand we’re dealt

We innately know
there is room for change
reshuffle fate
believe in what can be

An ironwood soul
reverencing the Oracle
taking comfort
in all that surrounds

A bone-deep knowing
and shaking fingers
transcribe what fails
to emerge
as spoken words

But on the page
they assume shape
eels of Sumi ink
entwine as seaweed
their message
palpable in feeling

The Universe speaks
through the Earth
from every flower
and bird
cloud to sediment

It transmits our Song
in the form of a Poem