Good morning/afternoon/evening! I’ve still been keeping up with the 30/30 Challenge. Unfortunately, our house has been without internet for a week due to cable vandalism and the Easter holiday slowing down the repair work. We’ve finally gotten our connection back, and I have some new poems to share with you!
Player
An old music player lays abandoned
at the bottom of a desk drawer,
long since forgotten by its owner.
It still remembers the days
back when it went on road trips,
back when it had its own pocket.
No newfangled smartphones
with their omnifunctional
apps for every occasion.
No, everything had its
designated purpose.
The Nintendo DS,
for when you feel the need
to play a few games.
Good ol’ pen and paper,
great for writing notes
and doodling boats.
The music player held a special place
in its owner’s heart once,
back in the good old days.
Back when music wasn’t always
one click away.
Back when One Direction
was all the rage.
Back when all that glittered was gold,
and shooting stars broke the mold.
Back when people still remembered
the name Mack the Knife.
Back when 7 ate 9,
and a pollywog swam in a bog,
to one day become a frog.
Oh, how it wished
to return to those days.
30/30 Challenge Day 17 Prompt – forgotten technology
No Fries for Jane
Hark! A pigeon!
See how she preens her wings!
See how she peeks upon
a discarded bag of fries,
a smorgasbord!
How divine,
such goodness,
for Jane and Jane unaccompanied!
Oh, her envious friends
Davis and Sue,
how each craved for even
a piece of such riches
upon a roadside spread
of goodies!
Oh no!
A crow!
One swoops down,
and grabs Jane’s find!
Such a shame,
no fries for Jane.
30/30 Challenge Day 18 Prompt – Write a poem without using the first 3 letters of my first name (TYL).
This is the point at which I lost access to my prompt sources, so from this point on, I’m mostly just improvising with whatever came to mind.
The Inevitable
Beware, beware, the coming of the frost;
Prepare, prepare, for the end is nigh!
Keep the fires of the Generator alight,
and rage, rage against the inevitable night!
When the Great Storm arrives,
who among us will survive?
The doubters, who deny the truth?
The non-believers, who decry all proof?
Nay! Nay, I say!
Look at the signs!
Opens your ears to Mother Nature’s cries!
Do not fall prey to the lies of the lost,
heed her warnings before it’s too late!
Evacuate! Evacuate!
30/30 Challenge Day 19 Prompt – Frostpunk Soundtrack, composed by Piotr Musial
Heart Not Found
Heartstrings severed
Connection lost
I know not where my emotions lay…
Lost folders?
Files decayed?
I know not when I lost my way…
Yesterday?
This decade?
But I know one thing I must say…
I’m sorry…
truly.
If I’ve offended you somehow,
It was not my intention.
My words aren’t always
reflected by my actions.
If I can’t perform
to your satisfaction…
I hope you’ll know that
I put in my best effort.
30/30 Challenge Day 20 Prompt – Error 404: File Not Found
Soul Exchange
The Devil found my address
He offered me a trade
Just a piece of my soul
For infinite gold,
Enough to fill a lake!
I knew enough about him
To know he meant no good
But that much could feed me-
Nay, my entire family-
For a lifetime, it would!
I told the Devil thanks,
but I’ve no need for that today.
He asked me to reconsider,
But I turned down the offer,
So he shrugged and went on his way.
Now my neighbour next door,
he listened to the one bearing sin.
He had no qualms
And took the open palms
of the Devil, inviting him in.
The following morning,
his backyard was shining!
His koi pond was filled
with bright silver flakes,
his bushes golden-gleaming!
He was thrilled, at first…
But as the days went on,
His health grew worse and worse.
His plants bore fruit no more,
His water was dirtied at the source.
At last, the Devil returned,
And demanded his dues.
My neighbour pleaded,
But had nothing more to cede,
So he shrugged “Your life will do nicely.”
With a wink my way,
The Devil claimed his pay.
My neighbor was gone,
His riches gone too…
And so I went about my day.
30/30 Challenge Day 21 Prompt – Deal with The Devil
Deep Beneath
Deep beneath the crust and clay
Lay untold riches, fortunes great…
Deep below the darkest seas,
Seen by no children of man,
No mortal hand can claim
The boundless remains
Of giants and leviathans,
locked away by impenetrable
layers upon layers of granite.
None but the foolhardiest
of heart, sound of body,
and certainly none sane
should even think to try,
to pierce that dark abyss
which rests so far below
the sky itself becomes a dream,
and death is but a guarantee…
So take heed, ye of stubborn mind:
Watch your step, for ye shall find…
if even one foot is misplaced,
at least your grave has been pre-made.
30/30 Challenge Day 22 Prompt – Journey to the Center of the Earth, written by Jules Verne
Cosmic Soiree
Ethereal lights
Dancing in the sky
No care in the world
No woes on their mind
They weave and tap
Their toes in time
To a celestial symphony
An eclectic medley
Composed by primordial
Particulates and the spirits
Of those who came before us
Our ancestors soar
Dressed in shimmering
Gowns of green and
Suits of blue and red
Waltzing along the line
Where the sky ends
And the horizon begins
30/30 Challenge Day 23 Prompt – aurora
Fraction of Infinity
I am but a drop in a bucket
upon a boat on a lake
on an island chain
upon the open seas
One of many molecules
which make an ocean
One of several spanning
an all-important planet
A dot upon a planet
One of many rocks
Which revolve around
Our preeminent sun
A spark of light
adrift within a sea
of rocks and stars
in a boundless galaxy
Which itself is another speck
In an ocean of darkness
Expanding upon itself
in ever-present eternity
All of this Infinity
is Filled with Dots and
Specks and Sparks and
Rocks and Droplets and
Molecules and Me…
…so what does that make me?
Am I but a dot among dots,
a mere fraction of Infinity?
Or am I something greater,
the sum of Nothing and Everything?
30/30 Challenge Day 24 Prompt – Numbers
Tyler DeWriter 