Poemorama at Paper Poetry
Mud of Contempt
Refusing to budge
A stick in the mud refusing to budge bogged solid in his old ways A bore of sorts and grumpy to boot a fogey with a chip on his shoulder Sling-shot clods, ‘I’m in a bad mood’ slewn at most everyone who dares to try poke and prod him “Leave him be, best not to go near,” wise mothers say to their children “People like him don’t want to change, they wallow in mud of their own making We’ll tippy-toe past, nod and wave, be polite all the while moving on a little bit faster Sticks in the mud as strange as it seems do come serving a purpose Listen, my dear ones this bit’s worth hearing it’s an exceedingly useful life lesson: Keep abreast of the times, leave the past in the past live in the present always, else the mud of contempt, the fear of losing control will drag you way down down, down, down, till it all but swallows you whole.”
© Carolyn Hastings 2022
I’ve just counted the lines to this poem — 30 exactly. Victor, it’s another 30-line poem!
For those not in the know, Victor Sarkin offers fortnightly writing prompts whereby the maximum for poetry is 30 lines. I routinely hit that target right on the knocker, don’t I, Victor? 😅
This time I’m responding to Paper Poetry’s Poemorama — a global celebration for National Poetry Month. Specifically, I’m responding to mud which is one of the 10 one-word prompts that Suntonu Bhadra has tempted us with in Poemorama Part 2 —
Rather than a line limit, Suntonu has set a word limit of 200 words per poem — mine comes in at 165 words. Plenty of wriggle room there! 😊
Poemorama is turning into an extravagant feast of poetry. Please try some of these tasty morsels –
Golden Joy of Springtime by Gary L Ellis —
Poems at Midnight by Marilyn J Wolf —
Ghost Gums in Arid Land by Raine Lore —
Inviting a few poetry marvels to join the month-long celebration — SE Waters | Jeff Langley | Frank Larkin | Krystal Mossbarger — and, of course, everyone else who wants to try out one or more of the prompts (there’s 20 to choose from already, and another 10 to be announced next week!) ✨
Thank you all for reading. 🙏 💕
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