Day 28, dear reader. Day 28. I never would have thought to make it this far into #OctPoWriMo, but I have surprised even myself. And what is more surprising is that I am enjoying the art of 'thinking outside the box'. I have tried a couple different forms, and tried a couple different approaches. It has been enlightening, and a growing experience.

So, what does today bring us? I have written a double etheree. An etheree is a 10 line poem that consists of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 syllables. A double etheree is the same, except the order of lines/syllables is reversed in the second verse.

Today's poem shows two sides of me, both of which very much are real. At times during #OctPoWriMo, I have felt both sides. Thanks to those who have encouraged me *cough Jessica Scott cough* to keep going. The theme we were given to work with was 'hunger' + a secondary 'feeling' word. I chose to use hunger not as relating to food, but rather in relation to my writing and my craft. I hope you enjoy today's offering.

Rod E. Kok
October 28, 2014

Hello once again, dear reader. The prompt for day 27 of #OctPoWriMo is sleep. We were given some key words to work with. I was curious as to where this prompt would take me, and the result is quite unexpected. I decided that I did not want to write in my normal form, which is free-verse. I have stepped outside my comfort zone a couple times this month, and have enjoyed every minute of it. Discovering new ways of exercising my brain and honing my craft is exciting and refreshing. I did write an acrostic poem and have a nonet as a WIP, but neither of these will get published for now.

Today, I went with a cinquain. You can read about this particular form here.  In short, it is a 22 syllable poem, non-rhyming, with the syllables per line being 2, 4, 6, 8, 2.  I don't know if I strictly adhered to all the rules, but there are different schools of thought about the cinquain, different ways to do it. I did stay with the syllable count, as that seems to be the most important. I hope you enjoy this poem. It is very much in line with what I posted on day 26. The prompt naturally led me here.

Rod E. Kok
October 27, 2014

Dear reader, day 26 of #OctPoWriMo has us confronting our fears, writing about what scares us. There are many things I fear. I fear rejection by my peers, by the poetic community, by friends. I fear things that I simply will not share with anyone but my wife, I fear stubbing my toes (a curse of big feet). I have serious fears, debilitating fears and silly fears. And it is the silly fear that I am writing about today.

Once in a while, my wife and kids will go to spend a few days with her parents, and I am left alone at home. I hate it. I hate every moment of an empty house. I especially hate the nights. Will you laugh at this piece, or rather, laugh at me for this piece? Possibly. I don't fear that, for I am writing this in the light. And my wife and kids are by my side. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 26, 2014

Happy Saturday, dear reader. Today is the 25th day of #OctPoWriMo, and the prompt is 'magic'. I used this opportunity to tell of a life event, a magical event. For the readers who have seen the purple city (and I suspect there are few), it will evoke images of a wonderful setting. For everyone else, do a google search for 'edmonton purple city' and follow the gigcity link to understand what I am referring to. I hope you enjoy this poem, and maybe you'll be inspired to find your own purple city, and create memories that last a lifetime.

Rod E. Kok
October 25, 2014

Good morning, dear reader. When I received the prompt for our October 24 poem, I was as un-inspired as I'd been in a while. I really had no idea where to go with it, and seriously considered avoiding it completely and posting an un-related piece. But, in the words of a new acquaintance and fellow poet, inspiration is fickle but is rarely unfaithful.

The prompt we were given was based on 4 different reality TV shows. I freely admit that I don't watch any of them. So, rather than being inspired by the actual shows themselves (the letter of the prompt), I created my poem from the premise of the shows (the spirit of the prompt). Our prompt TV shows are 'So You Think You Can Dance', 'Project Runway', 'FaceOff', and 'Ink Master'. I have never heard of 2 out of the 4. Our prompt words are 'Make-up', 'Tattoo', 'Dance', and 'Fashion'.

In the end, I was inspired. I hope you enjoy this poem.

Rod E. Kok
October 24, 2014

Hello dear reader. Today, I decided to go in a different direction than I've ever gone. I am branching out, and trying a new poetry form. It is called a poetry blitz. The blitz is meant to be read quickly, leaving yourself only time to breathe. As I read more of these over the course of #OctPoWriMo, I have found that I really enjoyed them. That was my motivation to try. I did try to include some of the word prompts / feeling prompts we were given.

Rod E. Kok
October 22, 2014