Hello friend, I am Timothy Kimo Brien, head instigator at Create Art Podcast where we help you to tame the inner critic and create more than we consume. Every year in April National Poetry Writing Month occurs, this is a challenge to write 30 poems in 30 days and comes from the NaPoWriMo site. When you participate you are given a prompt every day for 30 days and you can choose to follow the prompt or not. Each prompt has a commentary with it and a style of poetry that you may not be familiar with. I enjoy it because it stretches my creative muscles and helps me organize my thoughts. I also really enjoy a good challenge. There is also an opportunity to read other people's work as they post on their websites and for you to comment on their work, giving them encouragement or offering a suggestion. Care to join me on this journey?
Day 9 Prompt
Our (optional) prompt for the day is to write a poem in the form of a “to-do list.” The fun of this prompt is to make it the “to-do list” of an unusual person or character. For example, what’s on the Tooth Fairy’s to-do list? Or on the to-do list of Genghis Khan? Of a housefly? Your list can be a mix of extremely boring things and wild things. For example, maybe Santa Claus needs to order his elves to make 7 million animatronic Baby Yoda dolls, to have his hat dry-cleaned to get off all the soot it picked up last December, and to get his head electrician to change out the sparkplugs on Rudolph’s nose.
Day 9 Poem
Dealer Day Planner
The coffee percolates and sputters
As it fills the carafe
The promise of bitterness permeates the room
As he opens his eyes
The sun is about to rise
But its still too dark
to see much out his window
Turning on the phone
And awaiting the avalanche of messages
To arrive in his inbox
You’d think that if he took a straight job
There would be a rule against
Pilling on the work so early in the day
But then wearing a starched shirt
Designer ties
And an alligator belt
Has never been his style
Eyes still recovering from the dream
That he had to leave
In order to get a jump
On the ever frantic day
Customers are always annoying
With their need to feel like
You owe them something
Just because they have the cash to part with
And you have the supplies they can’t live without
Doesn’t mean you are their man servant
He looks with bleary eyes
Wiping the sand from last nights
Ever present visitor
And stares at the blank pages
Of the nondescript calendar
Figuring out the day of the week
He then focuses on his memory
And the entries are filled
Only visible to him
Never write down a name
A number
Or an amount
The messages flood in
Most marked as urgent
Coming from those who don’t know
How to handle their addictions
And need to find another habit
Dad has the most
His most frantic and wealthiest customer
But it isn’t his Dad
He cut ties with his father years ago
And Dad, well who knows if he actually has a father
But that is the one he needs to reach out to first
So he pours through the 23 messages since midnight
And determines how much product to obtain
The route to take
And what to take for protection
The rest of the messages he prioritizes
Like an analyst receiving end of fourth quarter reports
For a Fortune 500 global corporation
In an hour he has his deliveries planned
And notes location
Time to transit
And approximate drama level for each customer
Breakfast consists of toast, coffee, eggs and cigarettes
A quick look in the mirror to see if a shave is warranted
Then he dons the uniform
Of looking nondescript
No flash
No labels
No color to attract attention
Dark grey, blue and black all look the same
Three different caps in the car between trips
With no logos will ensure that no one will remember
He is ghosting in public
He is everyone and no one
He reviews his customers requests
And sorts out the product
With a little extra if they want a small party
Or a taste test
That costs extra unless you are a gold card member
The five transit cards loaded up just enough
in the three different wallets
and he sets out ready to deliver
all day and most of the night
Overtime will not be paid
but then he won’t get docked for taking an extra lunch
As he finishes with Dad
Who has just turned narc
The knife slices through the artery
And he dashes through the nearest window
That remained unlocked
Out onto the street
Today has gone bust
As he ditches the stolen car
For the nearest subway
He noted on his way up to the apartment
The competition didn’t catch him again
But this is not a win
So he heads to the brain trust
To decide who else has turned
Losing out on today’s scores
Will not break the bank
It’s called job hazards
Acceptable losses
And in less than a week
Someone else will take the mantle of Dad
Reaching Out
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 lets start that conversation.
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