8. Cowardice It was never set in concrete We signed no contract I never stamped a drawing or shared a bootleg or even a sketch on a napkin like some kind of starchitect You described what you wanted I described what I thought would fit Then: a curveball lands you across the country And like the haunted building that stands unfinished in the middle of the block the plans we never made must stay on hold
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
9. Starting to hit a wall I ought to drive with music off like cowboys did way back 'Cause then my brain might give me poems instead of diddly jack.
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
10. A Cowboy Poem about my Trusty Steed I’ll never drive a big ol’ truck. I’ll never ride a horse. And god almighty knows I’ll never shell out for a Porsche, But there’s one car I’ll drive until the day it hits the dirt, And when she gives me her last mile, I know I’ll feel the hurt.
This little car has brought me from the east out o’er the plains And chugged along I-55 through torrents of fall rains. She rallied through the blizzards of the Minnesota north and echoed with the fireworks exploding on the forth.
My little red Corolla took me up Nebraska’s ramp, A-zoomin’ down I-80 like a nascaar racing champ. She weathers winds on 25 without a single swerve While giant trucks and trailers pull aside from losing nerve.
One day, when my big brain decided I’d head into town, A snow that I had clear ignored began a-fallin’ down. The afternoon had tricked us at a balmy fifty-five. Then whiteout fell upon us and I weren’t sure we’d survive.
The cars around us one-by-one pulled over in distress, But my car kept on trucking with her handy ABS And then at last we stumbled on a little caravan A line of folks all rolling through as careful as they can
The snow a-piled up until we couldn’t see the road, And lightning flashed so close and bright it set the white aglow. Then ice encased the windows so I couldn’t see left-side, But still we pressed on forward with the crash fence as our guide
My tiny car, like Rudolf, led us all back to Cheyenne, And rolled into her parking spot an hour late from plan. I swore right then I’d never drive her through another gale ‘Cause if I try it twice, I might not live to tell the tale.
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
4. Sweet Things > Loved this <3 The way you link the food to memories and build it up to that big list right before the stanza break is so good.
5. Cowboy Sonnet > I really like the narrative and the feel of this poem. It feels a bit like a folk song (but also a sonnet!)
8. Cowardice > Oof this describes so well the fear I have of having to move suddenly or having someone I'm close to move, even if we don't have a specific project we're working on - it feels like in-person conversation itself can be a kind of project, you know?
9. Starting to hit a wall > This one made me laugh xD And is super relatable - I've already skipped a couple days of NaPo
10. A Cowboy Poem about my Trusty Steed > The rhyming in this one is impressive. I was cracking up at the last stanza in particular with the Rudolf reference.
I always love hanging out in your thread, Vento! Best of luck herding those cows!
Thank you @Liminality!! I read a lot of cowboy poetry in March... Hopefully by the end of the month I'll feel like I've gotten the hang of it!
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
12. A Sonnet for the Trimble X9 The laser scanner has no thoughts it merely finds a billion dots it measures, calculates, compares by magic stored in its softwares.
Then when I tromp in from the field the scanner’s secrets are revealed It shows me wild, wondrous things like pixel ghosts and timelapse swings
In one spot I spy three of me, another place, a surreal tree I think is made up of one man who’s moved through several different scans
Alas, these demons I delete; It’s only me who thinks they’re neat.
Spoiler
I DID MY TAXES. Also if I think I can do it without getting in trouble... I love to find odd things when I'm processing laser scans, so maybe I'll screenshot a few and send them to my personal email to upload somewhere lol
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
13. American Antelope In my November misery I trudged (drove) the empty obstacle twixt work and freedom
but there you were proud atop the hill four cloven hooves solidly placed your harem scattered below amongst the brown, waving grass
Like a courtly herald you met my eye blared and bucked announcing me to your wary listeners then all together pranced away white rumps blinking pronged horns dancing
my first welcome my first time coming home
Spoiler
Friends I literally bought a telephoto months ahead of plan so I could get the pronghorns
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
I was probably most excited about your thread and it has proven to be such a delight!
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I love the laser scanner poem! The rhyming really made me smile and the image of the "surreal tree" being copies of one man is really fun. I like how you've compared scanner errors to supernatural/ spooky beings like ghosts and demons - it highlights the interesting, 'magical' side to what are now humdrum facts of everyday life.
I could envision the encounter with the pronghorn so clearly in 'American Antelope', and I love the comparison to a "courtly herald". Great going as always Vento!
14. Small Mercies The jobsite office restrooms remind me of Taiwan like the pipes overseas are sensitive sometimes people don’t even like to flush toilet paper down they just have a bin full of toilet paper that’s, you know, and the guy who sits behind me had to send an email to everyone to remind them to and I quote “PLEASE PLEASE do not flush any items beyond our provided toilet paper down our fixtures” which I believe is true everywhere even in the porta-johns so why do people keep messing that one up like hello for real our plumbing has gone out six times and we’ve barely been on site for six months but at least by some miracle I have never had aunt flow visit while the bathrooms were broken.
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
15. I was thinking about cowboy poems until at work and everything is normal and the trailer bubbles with my coworkers chit-chatting/arguing/brainstorming/yelling and I scroll on my phone and daydream about cowboys and wouldn’t the hundred-mile-per-hour wind gusts from last month make for a great cowboy poem? and I have RhymeZone up on the smallest monitor of my in-office setup while forklifts beep outside and cranes swing ten-ton hunks of electrical gear and I imagine operators in ten-gallon hats spurring the King-Kong crawler crane along like a horse and then
I see the text. I’m already on my phone of course I see it. I have to leave.
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
16. 阿媽 明年六月 In June, next year Next year Next year, on my sabbatical, the one I picked this company for Soon 我去到臺灣 我住在臺灣一月 I was going to live in Taiwan for a month 我在臺灣去中文課 I was going to learn Mandarin in Taiwan for a month 我住在我們的家人的家在臺灣 I was supposed to live with you Finally, we could talk 我可以說很多很多跟你 I could have an actual conversation with you I could get to know you 我後悔我們最後的對話是為什麼我沒有一個男朋友 I could speak Mandarin with you We could finally know each other I thought I’d have more time It’s only been a year since A-Gong 我希望你活著比較長 I thought I had enough time to learn You were supposed to have several more years Maybe I could make up for what I couldn’t do for A-Gong 阿媽，我想你 Do I miss you or do I miss what I was supposed to have with you 我不知道什麼說 I should have tried sooner
I don’t know what to say.
Spoiler
Well! Probably not going to finish my goals this year. Maybe while I'm on six-hour layovers on the way to Taiwan I'll catch up on some other threads haha.
"I've got dreams like you--no really!--just much less, touchy-feeley. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny on an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone surrounded by enormous piles of money." -Flynn Rider, Tangled
Surround yourself with people who are serious about being writers, and who will tell you, ‘Hey—you can do better than this.’ Who will be critical of your work, but also supportive. And who will not be competitive in a negative way. — Isabel Quintero
