the rise and fall of king xlii

Blackout poem from the rebel group of the King's first proclamation :] Also thank you @lalalucky for your comment, I really appreciate it <33 It's been a rough week but we are getting there!

I'm caught up again. I think I've only had three days this month I haven't posted/written day of? I don't know. Aiming for poem a day which I have basically done but gosh I'm exhausted. The end of the semester is the hardest stretch.

I am finally over the HUGE hump of work I had to get through so I am making up for yesterday and hoping to stick to poem a day the rest of the month! I think I was late four times. Hoping it still counts? Oh well, I know it doesn't actually matter in the long term, but I would be sad if I made myself miss out on a cute badge XD

Okay, has anyone ever done a rondel poem before? I was searching a long list of random types of poems I'd never heard of because I wanted to try some out. It was SO FUN? Trying to figure out ways a line can be used differently while having the same exact wording!! I LOVED it.

Sad one today :[ but I'm happy with it. Didn't know this was gonna happen in the story honestly but I think it makes sense. I'll likely revise in future versions. Another sonnet though, so iambic pentameter and the Shakespearean rhyme scheme. :]

Another form I've never gotten the chance to try-- a villanelle! And of course I had to make it about the leader of the rebels, because, well... it was right there in the name! I'm not sure that it's my favorite I've done but it was super fun to try nevertheless! Will definitely be doing more of these in the future.

AGH I'm a day behind!! This is an interlocking Rubaiyat which I had never tried before and was interested in. Not my best work but I just had a huge night and also a martini so my brain is uh. Not at the top of its game to say the least LOL.

So I'm definitely still tipsy. Obviously, if you read the last one. I had another pantoum planned for today but I realized it hadn't been that long since I'd done one and I wanted a different vibe towards the end of the collection so I landed on this! Thoughts in general are that I am SUPER proud of myself for having done so well this year! I really stayed on top of everything and I didn't struggle most days like I have in previous years. I feel great about what I've created no matter what, and happy to have this as proof that I am committed to getting better, even when I don't feel great at things!

We've come to the end!!! Ahhhh!! This has been such a hectic month but I'm so glad I got to do this and successfully completed it! Yayyyy! Congratulations to everyone else who completed it, and thank you so much for the couple of people who I know stuck around and have read through this. I think my thread last year was a lot more popular which makes sense since the theme was more broad, but I'm really grateful to the people who supported this fun little experiment :]

Wooo! Made it! WINTER please be very proud of yourself for accomplishing 30 poems this month! It's a really hard thing to do, and you did it with a compelling story and great poetic depth too!

(Also you are totally right on "experimental" poetry being a little less accessible? but it's twice as fun to write! So I'm personally glad you went for it!)

The last poem is such a grand way to end too - it leaves questions and desire to read more and inner questions about the purpose / truthfulness / longevity of poetry and stories all along. "Who do they make us to be in this version of history?"

Congratulations on an incredible NaPo! Proud of you, poet!

Hi winterwolf!! I'm late to leaving comments, but I wanted to stop by!!

30 poems is so much to be proud of!! I love your consistent narrative throughout this > There's a obvious royal connection, but I enjoy how the narrative goes beyond the typical understanding of royalty as being "above," or arrogant/snobbish. At times, each figure is kind of sad/painfully human, stripped of their royalty because, in the moment, they're just a person who is struggling, like #28. Love that!!

^^^ I also love your experimentation with different poetic structures and formats!! The repetitive folklore feeling throughout these pairs nicely with the older-fashioned styles, like a villanelle ~~ I like how these all feel a bit archaic yet still so modern and in the now. Awesome work!!