Poetry Prompt for April 5, 2023

National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada.

This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.

I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021.

For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast.

No Prompt just write 

Perspective 

9 Jan 2023, 2103 

Mancave 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

It was the 2nd anniversary of those who send thoughts and prayers to gunshot victims 

And storm the Capitol 

And go to church on Sunday 

And say they are patriots 

And call people who jump when they hear a familiar crack in the air triggered snowflake libtards 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

That teacher was in critical condition 

That teacher was forgotten because of a football player who almost died on the field 

The shooting didn’t make the front page of a major newspaper 

The prayers all went to the millionaire athlete 

That teacher was probably underpaid 

Probably skipped a few meals to provide supplies  

For the kids in her class 

Probably never handled a handgun themself 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

The metal detectors were off that day 

The ones that children, Fucking Children had to walk through without protest 

Without thought as to why they had to  

As the lawgivers in congress celebrated the removal and requirement 

Of having to pass through the same detectors  

That their lackeys' actions caused to make the detectors necessary 

That’s true patriotism right there folks   

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

And now they are in custody 

And now they are given around-the-clock attention 

And the question is where does a 6-year-old gets a handgun  

And who taught the child to fire it 

And who taught the child to use it in anger 

And who taught the child  

Who do we hold responsible 

Who pays for the trauma of the ensuing lockdown 

Where kids accept what they are told 

Pretend you are dead, be quiet, and don’t move 

No matter how many shots are fired stay down 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

A 74-year-old man-child in his Florida resort 

Who instigated a riot 

Who stole top secret documents 

Who’s crimes have been revealed time and time again 

Sips his Diet Coke and munches on his big macs  

Inflames the weak-minded 

Love the ignorant 

Love the children, as long as they satisfy his carnal needs 

He walks free 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

How many days have gone by 

How many other teachers have been shot or assaulted 

How many other insurrections in other countries need to happen to satiate old men’s pride 

I stand here, doing all I can not to cry 

Here I stand a witness to a 14-year-old boy in a faraway land 

Being shot and strapped to the front of a jeep 

Paraded in front of his village as a warning 

Did it happen on January 6th, I can’t remember 

Should we just accept this horrid portrayal of groundhogs' day 

And relive another shooting every day 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

And on January 13th my children must practice their lockdown drill 

So that some inbred small dick asshat can clutch lustfully to his second amendment  

An amendment he probably doesn’t know by heart 

An amendment that doesn’t say what he thinks it says 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

Let it sink in, let it permeate your brain 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher  

A 6-year-old shot  

A 6-year-old  

To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: timothy@createartpodcast.com
• YouTube Channel: Create Art Podcast YT Channel
• IG: @createartpodcast
• Twitter: @createartpod

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to find new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.