National Poetry Month '24: No Regrets

Thanks for stopping by Merely Day by Day. It's National Poetry Month. 

Crafting Surprise 

In this section of The Practicing Poet, poets share tips for crafting surprise in our poetry (link to Substack summary in title above):

• Craft Tip #13: Using the Line to Surprise by Meg Day
• Craft Tip #14: Truth’s Surprise by Lawrence Raab
• Craft Tip #15: Throwing the Reins upon the Horse’s Neck by Chris Forhan

No Regrets

To a poem a day 

I did commit,

but time for writing 

I could not fit.

What else can I say,

it's time poems need.

I cannot write them

with lightning speed.

At this point in life

I'm no longer willing,

to have rigid requirements 

in my day filling. 

I took a short pause,

but today I am back.

with a quick little rhyme

to get me on track.

You'll find no surprise,

at this poem's end,

just this terrible rhyme,

I shouldn't have penned. 

© Cathy L. Mere, 2024

For April I will be taking a deep dive into The Practicing Poet: Writing Beyond the Basics, edited by Diane Lockward. This book is full of 30 craft tips, so it is the perfect way to shape this month's challenge and dig into the craft of poetry. Stop by my Substack page, Merely in Progress, to follow this month's writing journey, where you will also find reflections, links, and inspiration across the challenge. Of course, this month is really about writing poetry so I will have a new poem posted here each day utilizing a craft tip from the book. Here we go.