Originally published on my website for OctPoWriMo, this was my day 1 entry.

This poem is written as a description of something that it isn't. Make sense? Enjoy the poem.

This is the poem I wrote as a warm up for #NaPoWriMo. Over the next month or so, I hope to post all of them.

Hello dear reader. This poem is the first one I've put on my website since #OctPoWriMo ended. I have written a couple poems, but I am saving them for the book I am planning to put out in the near future. I wrote this poem fairly quickly, as it seemed to flow into what you'll read below. It in no way reflects my state of mind at this present time, although I draw on experience to convey the message. I hope you enjoy my first offering of this month.

Rod E. Kok
November 13, 2014

Dear reader, it is a bittersweet day. Today marks the end of #OctPoWriMo.  I can honestly say that I am a bit sad about this. Every day for the past 31 days, I have written a poem based on a prompt from one of our wonderful organizers. Every day I have pushed myself. Somedays it came easy, some days I struggled mightily. But, I did it. And I am proud of it. I probably wrote close to 40 poems in the past 31 days. Knowing what I have done serves as motivation for what I need to do...I need to write. It's in my blood.

Thank you to the organizers and prompters for taking us on this fantastic journey of poetry. Julie, Morgan, Amy and Tamara...thank you. If I missed one someone, I apologize and offer you a special thank you as well.

Thank you to all the poets who contributed their poetry. Reading your work gave me so much inspiration. I have made new friends, and for that I am grateful. Also thank you to all those who read my work. I am humbled that little ol' me could write something that so many enjoyed. I hope our journey together doesn't end here.

And that, dear reader, brings us to my final poem of #OctPoWriMo2014. As the tears fall from my eyes, and as my heart beats a little bit faster, let me say that it is finished.

Rod E. Kok
October 31, 2014

Hello dear reader. Today I stepped way outside my comfort zone. Way outside. I chose to take today's prompt and write a Terza Rima. This form is a poem with an eleven syllable count in each line and a rhyming scheme of aba, bcb, cdc, dd. Talk about a huge challenge! My fingers were kept busy as I counted, and my mind was going nuts trying to make sure everything followed the rhyming scheme.
And so, here is my poem, based on the theme 'On the day before...'. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Rod E. Kok
October 30, 2014

Good morning, dear reader. The prompt for day 29 of #OctPoWriMo is love and relationships. We were given a pretty broad field to play in, and I chose the one that comes naturally to me. My poem today is for my dear wife, my best friend. The line in this poem that is my favorite is 'If not for you, there is no me'.  What is your favorite?

Rod E. Kok
October 29, 2014

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

It is very sad that I am unable to post pictures to accompany my poem. To see the picture that really enforces this piece, please visit my website www.rodkok.ca and read Hands and Feet

Day 20, dear reader, brings us a prompt of 'better late than never'. Once again, I wrote 3 poems on this prompt. One of them is a light-hearted view of my day at work, the 2nd is one that needs a lot of work, and the 3rd is the one I am sharing with you. Although it may not fit the spirit of the prompt, it really is better late than never. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 20, 2014

Day 19! I am finding it hard to believe that I have managed to 'stay alive' through the first 18 days of #OctPoWriMo. It is a real challenge to write a poem everyday, never mind to write something that others might enjoy. I am very overwhelmed with the positive feedback I have received, and for that I thank you all.

Today's prompt is rain, and we were given a list of words we should try incorporate into our work. Those words are melancholy, drizzle, damp, rainbow, cloudy, grass and somber. I actually wrote 3 poems for this, and wasn't really satisfied until the 12th edit of the 3rd poem. And so, I share with you today's poem, and sincerely hope that you all get to experience a Kiss in the Rain.

Rod E. Kok
October 19, 2014

Dear reader, the 18th prompt of #OctPoWriMo is 'found' or 'blackout' poetry. We were asked to take the page from a book, and black out all the words that don't belong in the poem we want to write. I chose the book Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llewellan, and my wife chose page 350. And so, I took a picture of the page (I wasn't about to color in one of my favorite books) and armed with Photoshop, I created, or found, a poem. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 18, 2014

Today, dear reader, we got to play with a magnetic poetry board. I used an online one, and came up with the poem for the day. There was no theme, just let let words take you where they may. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 17, 2014

Hello dear reader, today's prompt for #OctPoWriMo is 'once upon a time' and 'happily ever after'. That's right, we are delving into the world of fairytales. Nothing about my work in the past has indicated fairytales, but I really stepped outside my comfort zone on this one. I think this one is fun, whimsical, and downright playful. And it rhymes. Go figure.

Rod E. Kok
October 16, 2014

Today is the halfway point of #OctPoWriMo, and it also marks the day I truly struggled to write something decent. Writing this piece was a labor of dedication, and if I hadn't promised myself to do 31 poems in 31 days, I probably would have given up, at least for the day. And so, perseverance is the parent of this poem. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 15, 2014

For today's prompt, we were given a bunch of quotes from different writers / poets / famous people. I chose a line from Leonardo da Vinci. There is so much more I could have written in this piece, but I chose to keep it simple. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 14, 2014

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

Today’s challenge, dear reader, was a tricky one. We were given words like lust, desire, covet, possess and obsession. I struggled with this, and changed my mind several times about what direction I wanted to go. Finally I wrote this piece. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it really does reflect me. I hope you enjoy it.

Rod E. Kok
October 12, 2014

Dear reader, today's prompt for #OctPoWriMo is about children, and creating a safer world for them. I have not completely followed the prompt, but rather I've looked at an unjust world through someone else's eyes. Through the eyes of a child. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 11, 2014

Day 9 of #OctPoWriMo brought a prompt that really made me think. For today I was challenged to write about why I write. Why do I continue creating poetry (or short stories, or any sort of writing). Why? Read the poem. It answers the question. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 9, 2014

Hello dear reader. Today's prompt for #OctPoWriMo was to write about the moon, and how it affects us. I didn't use any of the word prompts, but the one 'feeling' prompt I used was based on the word nostalgic. Also, this poem marks the first time in this challenge that I have strayed away from FreeVerse poetry. Today's work is an acrostic. Thus, the name of the poem is Moonscapes, and the first letter of every line forms that word. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 8, 2014

Today's prompt for #OctPoWriMo is 'silence'. We have a visual prompt, which is the picture immediately preceding the poem, and we have the word. Silence. Can you hear it? My poem today went in an unintended direction, but I am happy with the outcome. Please enjoy.
Rod E. Kok
October 7, 2014

Today's poem for #OctPoWriMo is a very emotional one. Initially I wasn't going to go this direction with the prompts, but it came to me very suddenly. So I wrote. And quite possibly, I even shed a tear while writing. For those of you who know me, you know of the loss my wife and I suffered almost 15 years ago. Today's poem, guided by the prompts of perfection and imperfection, speaks to that loss.
Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 6, 2014

Here's is today's challenge for #OctPoWriMo: Write a poem influenced by your feelings about autumn. Do you see autumn as a beginning or the beginning of the end? Chose at least three from this list of words below.
The words: chill, renewal, death, rebirth, harvest, melancholy, aging, change
I hope you enjoy today's offering.

Rod E. Kok
October 5, 2014

Today, the word prompts for OctPoWriMo were 'risk, revolutionary, reawaken, reclaiming', while the 'feeling' words were 'courageous, energetic, liberated and spirited'. I don't know if I fully completed the theme as was outlined, but that's ok. I still wrote. Here then, is my 4th poem this month. Please enjoy.

Rod E. Kok
October 4, 2014

My prompts for today were the words sweet, chocolate, indulgence and sugar. I struggled with this, but as I sit on my couch with the Coffitivity app playing in my headphones, it came to me. I hope you enjoy it.

My second poem for #OctPoWriMo

This is my first poem for OctPoWriMo. The word prompts are: chrysalis, butterfly, transformation.