Death Hunts Me

For the NaPoWriMo prompt today, I wrote a poem about what I'm haunted by, then changed the word "haunt" to "hunt."

 

Death Hunts Me
By Candace Shultz

Death hunts me.
He's in the car,
So impatient,
Threatening
To crash into me.

Death hunts me.
He's there on the steps,
Waiting to trip me
So that I'll fall
And break my neck.

Death hunts me.
He's a mugger
Holding a knife,
Wanting to steal my life,
My most valuable possession.

Death hunts me.
He's the wind
In a thunderstorm,
Howling in fury,
Fierce and ferocious.

Death hunts me.
He's at my doctor's office,
Hovering by my side
As I wait to receive
An unwanted diagnosis.

Death hunts me.
He's in my bed,
Whispering to me
While I sleep
That I am his.

Death hunts me.

To Be a Fly

For NaPoWriMo today, I followed the prompt to write a poem where the speaker talks about wanting to be something else and explains why. 

To Be a Fly
By Candace Shultz

To be a fly?
Oh no, not I,
but yet,
maybe,
for a moment,
if just to say hello
to my Grandpa
who once said,
when I die
I will return as a fly.
For him,
to talk to him,
even for a short time,
I would be a fly.

Green

Green
By Candace Shultz

Fields of grass
And broccoli trees
Sour apples
And moldy cheese
Frogs on leaves
And flower stems
Emerald stones
Peridot gems
A lucky clover
A jealous guy
A color in the rainbow
A color of the eye
Mother Nature
The season of spring
Renewal, restoration
The life it brings
This is the color green

Sitting in My Kitchen Staring at the Trash Can

For today's poem, I followed the NaPoWriMo prompt to describe an object and then in the final line use an abstract idea that doesn't seem to relate to the object but actually does.

 

Sitting in My Kitchen Staring at the Trash Can
By Candace Shultz

Tall, dark, and ugly,
my trash can
sits in my kitchen
like an eye sore.
I can see it
sitting over there,
hugging my half wall
where it's left smudges
and scratch marks
in the white paint.

Its lid looks smug,
thinking it keeps
all the ugliness
out of sight,
out of mind,
but I can still smell
the rotting meat
from last night's dinner
and the sickly sweet
smell of a half-eaten banana
every time the lid
opens its mouth
in hunger for more.

The silver foot pedal is worn
and scratched in places,
constantly trodden on
by those who don't want
to touch the trash can
and its many germs
as they hurry to toss away
their unwanted garbage:
unwanted leftovers,
unwanted broken bits,
unwanted scraps of their lives
forever forgotten in the waste bin.

I have forgotten what it's like to dream.

Get Well

My poem today followed the NaPoWriMo prompt to use a stamp from @StampsBot for inspiration. This is the stamp that inspired my poem:

https://twitter.com/StampsBot/status/1774146024031789403/photo/1

Get Well
By Candace Shultz

Miles lay between us,
Oceans apart,
Both miles on land
And miles of the heart.
Yet I would never wish
For you to depart
This world of ours.
Let's have a fresh start.

Let's forget the past
And start anew,
Let go of our anger
As you pull through.
When you feel better
We'll have a talk overdue.
Get well soon, my friend,
I hope to hear from you.

You Are Worthy

For today's poem I followed the NaPoWriMo prompt to use anaphora, which is repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of sentences.

You Are Worthy
By Candace Shultz

You are worthy

You are worthy at your lowest

You are worthy at your best

You are worthy if you fail a hundred times

You are worthy when you pass the test

You are worthy when you get the job

You are worthy if you don't

You are worthy when you stand up for yourself

You are worthy if you won't

You are worthy if you are beautiful

You are worthy if you are not

You are worthy if you keep the peace

You are worthy if you fought

You are worthy when you're happy

You are worthy when you're downcast

You are worthy even now

You are worthy despite your past

You are worthy no matter what others say

You are worthy no matter what you think

You are worthy because God says you are

Write that down in ink

Total Solar Eclipse - a Haiku

I know it's a poem written five days late, but my poem today is about the total solar eclipse we had on April 8th. We didn't get to actually see the eclipse because it was too cloudy, but I thought it was cool when it got dark outside for a couple of minutes. 

 

Total Solar Eclipse
By Candace Shultz

Moon covers the sun
Eager to be center stage
But clouds steal the show