Tag Archives: OctPoWriMo

OctPoWriMo2022 Day 19

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First things first: I’m back! Back from my blogging break of six weeks. I did manage to free up just barely enough space in my study for my new Moxie quilting machine, which is coming home a week from tomorrow. More about that in a future post.

Usually I participate in two challenges in October, OctPoWriMo (October Poetry Writing Month) and Inktober (a drawing challenge). I zoned out and missed the start, but now that I have time to write again, I’m going to try to write poems (on odd-numbered days) and create ink drawings (on even-numbered days) for the rest of the month. Today, even though it’s the 19th, my poem is drawn from intersection of the prompts for days 13 (faith and flow) and 15 (surrendering fear):

Trust

O God
when I am afraid
I will trust in You
I surrender my fear
believing that You are in control
You see me
You love me
You know best what I need

I lay my concerns at Your feet
I let go
and I’m enveloped by Your Presence
Your peace flowing like a river
transcending all understanding
You know best what I need
I love You

©ARHuelsenbeck

October Challenges

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If you’ve been following ARHtistic License for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I love challenges. Every October I participate in two—OctPoWriMo (October: Poetry Writing Month, not to be confused with April, National Poetry Month) and Inktober, a drawing challenge.

Now, you probably also know that I’m my husband’s caretaker, and his needs come first. If I miss a daily blog post, it’s either because Greg needed me, or I was exhausted by daily life and took a nap instead. I know my limitations, so I will not commit to producing 31 poems and 31 drawings in October. My goal is to write a poem on most odd-numbered days and make a drawing (or maybe a Zentangle—I’ve missed doing those) on most even-numbered days. If I end up doing 14 of each, I’ll be super pleased with myself.

I’m a little concerned about OctPoWriMo; I went to the website early this afternoon and it looked like it was in suspended animation. There isn’t any pre-OctPoWriMo buzz on it yet, but the header does say OctPoWriMo 2021. I may just go ahead and write poems anyway.

I’d like to extend the challenges to you, too! If you’ve been meaning to add a little creative art to your life, join in on one or both of the challenges. You are not obligated to do something every single day of the month, but it is a good discipline. If you’re going to try, let us know in the comments below. And each day in October, if you post your challenge offering on your blog or social media, add a link to the comments on one of my posts so we can all come and take a look at what you’ve done. I hope to hear from you soon!

OctPoWriMo Day 31

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My goal for OctPoWriMo this year was 16 poems, one on every odd-numbered day. I’m happy to say I only missed one, for a total of 15 poems.

Today’s prompt is light, dark, and shadow. The form is a new one for me, parallelogram de crystalline.

Embrace the light
  
 darkness reigns
 unworthiness shames me
 I hide among the shadows cold
  
 ostracized
 my only protection 
 is silent invisibility
  
 spark ignites
 hope and love surprise me
 writing me a new biography
  
 I step forth
 boldness overcomes fear
 I embrace the light, defeating dark 

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 29

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The prompt is railroad.

Image found on Walmart.com.
 Train ride to Flemington
 
 when the kids were little
 we didn’t have much money
 I remember one summer outing
 I drove the oldest three kids to Ringoes
 and we took the train to Flemington
 I think it was their very first train ride
  
 now, Flemington had once been
 a recreation of a colonial town
 with costumed weavers and glassblowers
 and the Stangl pottery factory
  
 but by then it was only a quaint village with shops
  
 I remember we rode in an open air car
 we chugged along fields of goldenrod and Queen Anne’s lace
 and our allergies kicked in
  
 we didn’t have much money
 but I gave each kid a dollar
 I don’t remember what the girls bought
 but Matt, age 6, got 10 monster finger puppets with wiggly arms
 he called them the Boogie Brothers
 they were hilarious 
  
 when we got home
 Greg admired Matt’s puppets and gave them all silly names
 Matt calmly told him he was wrong
 Greg held up each puppet one by one
 and said, “What’s this one’s name?”
 and for each one Matt answered in all seriousness “Matt”
 while I laughed until tears rolled down my cheeks 

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 27

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Today’s prompt is magic/magical, but I’m going with mystic/mystery.

Form: Terzanelle

 help me see the mystery
  
 far more exists than what I can see
 reality hidden by a veil
 for what exists is more than I see
  
 I wander along a rocky trail
 how do I reveal the truth I sense
 reality hidden by a veil
  
 wandering a path from ages hence
 how do I live the truth I reveal
 how do I reveal the truth I sense
  
 how do I live up to the ideal
 I long to discover my true soul
 how do I live the truth I reveal
  
 how long until I am truly whole
 and use my power as intended
 I long to discover my true soul
  
 my life so far has been pretended
 far more exists than what I can see
 I use my power as intended
 for what exists is more than I see 

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 25

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The prompt is breaking the rules.

experimenting with anarchy
 
stretching the limits
breaking all the rules
transitioning into chaos
disdaining order
defying respectability
 
today I will not brush my teeth
I will exceed the speed limit
and not come to a complete stop at the stop sign
nor engage my parking brake
I will leave off the period at the end of my sentence
and not capitalize arizona
I will skip my vegetables
and eat dessert first
 
my rebellion has a time limit
disobedience makes me anxious
back to normal tomorrow

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 23

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The prompt is gratitude.

face mask; Covid-19
In All Circumstances
 
Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).
 
All right, God. Because You say so.
Thanks a lot for this scourge that has killed hundreds of thousands 
of people worldwide.
 
I can sincerely thank You for the people 
who call their elderly neighbors and say
“Is there anything you need?”
I thank You also for the doctors and nurses and orderlies
who work long hours caring for the sick.
For the grocery clerks who stock the shelves
and who gather customer’s orders.
For the people who conscientiously wash their hands
and wear their masks.
 
For the people who lost their jobs
and don’t know where their next meal will come from.
For the people who don’t know how they will pay their rent.
For the children who can’t go to school.
 
Thank You also for the people who died alone,
whose loved ones wanted to be there to comfort them,
but weren’t allowed.
You see my tears and You know I am devastated for them
and angry at You for letting this happen.
 
But I know there are also blessings that I can’t see.
So I thank You for Your invisible movement through this valley.
I thank You that out of pain and death
You can make life and beauty,
even if I can’t see it now.
 
It hurts.
But I trust You.
And I thank You.
Even though I don’t know why.

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 19

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Today’s prompt is being in the present.

my husband gets ready for bed
 
I hear him snap his hearing aids into the charger
the water runs
he spits toothpaste into the sink
I hear the dryer’s signal
I still have work to do
 
I’m tired, too
my day’s been long
with chores and errands
I want to sleep until I wake refreshed
but we have an early appointment
his, not mine
but he can’t do anything alone anymore
 
our days are logistics problems to be solved
nothing is easy
we don’t know when things will be “normal” again
 
I remember a different time
when I was sleep deprived
caring for our five children
never a dull moment
laughter and tears
the days seemed endless
but their childhood was over in a blink

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 17

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Today’s prompt is dancing under the stars.

Dancing with the dog
 
the dog wants out
and I dance around the pool
weighed down with an extra 10 pounds
the result of staying at home
it used to be I’d dance for three hours every Tuesday night
now we don’t gather
so I’m limited to a few minutes under the stars
and music only I can hear
I sway right and left
touch heel and toe
one foot crosses over the other
and my fingers snap in rhythm
slowly I make my way around the pool
then slip into the backdoor
the dog prancing in behind me

©ARHuelsenbeck

OctPoWriMo Day 13

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Today’s prompt is outside the box.

new shoes
 
don’t take us out of the box
we’re happy here, brand new
as perfect as we’ll ever be
don’t violate us with your stinky feet
 
don’t destroy our perfect twinness
we are each other’s ideal partner
if you put mileage on us
we’ll wear out, no longer new
no more new shoe fragrance
 
this is war
we will fight you
we’ll pinch you and blister you
but treat us gently and we’ll hug you
we’ll give you height
we’ll let you dance
or we’ll trip you up
you’ll never know which
until it happens
 
better yet, leave us in the box
put us on the top shelf of the closet
forget about us
let us rest in our perfection forever

©ARHuelsenbeck