NaPoWriMo:  Caring for ill dad  :23rd April 2026 

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

I scarped my knees
Climbing trees
Disabled dad, so I’m on my own
Left to wander, left to roam
Scared to go home in case dad is ill
Worried that he might not be there

I scraped my knees
Climbing trees
Not very often, days few and far between
Staying at home to look after dad
Very few friends made me sad

I scraped my knees
Climbing trees
My dads not with me
But I think of him loads
I need to get home to wash his clothes

I scraped my knees
Climbing trees
Well I would if I wasn’t shopping
Getting the food, for dad and me
So, I can cook his tea

I scraped my knees
Climbing trees
Well sat underneath crying, head between my knees
Dads in hospital he’s very ill
A 12 year old wishing for a magic pill

I scraped my knees
Climbing trees
Dad didn’t make it
He’s dead now
I wish he was here, just ill

Pixabay

NaPoWriMo: a month or a year of poetry: 22nd April 2026

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment

I know a poem that should be written 

Or should I just read what others have done

Or buy a book from Waterstones or the Amazon website

Maybe I should consider flooding my blog

With poetry, prose in many a form 

Just in hope that someone takes note

And believes I’m a famous poetry bloke 

Should I spark my enthusiasm into taking action to write 

Or should I look and read and recite poetry that has been written 

Maybe read some Wordsworth, Keats or McMillan

I’ve seen adverts for a series involving Pam Ayers on exploring the Cotswolds, maybe I should give it a look.

Then again maybe it’s time for a new book, shall I explore Waterstones or the Amazon store. 

The more I think and ponder I wonder about the importance my poetry plays

Surely every day can be poetry day not just one out of 365. (Or only in April for NaPoWriMo)

It’s there everyday, in many a form, from advertising strap line, in music songs and rap

The rhythm of words from a ticking engine or dripping tap

So rather than acknowledging a solitary month, I’ll try and make poetry special, I’ll make a mental note that it’s around every day

NaPoWriMo:  Happy: 21st April 2026

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

Happy, perhaps
Sad, definitely no
Depressed, not to my knowledge
Funny, sometimes not that anyone noticed
Passionate, only with the right people and tasks
Happy, slowly getting there
Anxious, a little as I wait to go into work
Stressed, not at the moment, I hope it stays that way
Enthusiastic, I try to be, to give my all
Inspirational, in motivating others, certainly
Creative, well that goes without saying, that’s my norm
Happy, oh yes as well as motivated, creative, inspirational and determined
Just the right mood to go into work.

Pixabay

https://youtu.be/ZbZSe6N_BXs?si=7F2S_Ox8BdIFPAuH

NaPoWriMo:  Old McDonalds AI farm: 20th April 2026

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I AI-Oh,
And on that farm he coded bots, E-I AI-Oh,
With a prompt-prompt here and a prompt-prompt there,
Here a prompt, there a prompt, everywhere a smart prompt,
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I AI-Oh.

Old MacDonald trained some models, E-I AI-Oh,
They learned to chat and write and solve, E-I AI-Oh,
With a chat-chat here and a chat-chat there,
Here a chat, there a chat, everywhere a fast chat,
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I AI-Oh.

Old MacDonald built some robots, E-I AI-Oh,
Helping out both day and night, E-I AI-Oh,
With a whirr-whirr here and a beep-beep there,
Here a whirr, there a beep, everywhere a tech leap,
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I AI-Oh.

Pixabay

NaPoWriMo: Flower power:19th April 2026

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

And now for today’s (optional) prompt. The word florilegium refers to a book of botanical illustrations of decorative plants and also a collection of excerpts from other writings.  In her poem, “Florilegium,” Canadian poet Sylvia Legris gathers together many five-lined stanzas that describe flowers but also play with the sounds of their names, their medical (or poisonous) qualities, and historical aspects of herbalism. Today, pick a flower or two (or a whole bouquet, if you like) from this online edition of Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers. Now, write your own poem in which you muse on your selections’ names and meanings. If you’re so inclined, you could even do some outside research into your flowers, and incorporate facts that you learn into your work.

Pixabay

Rampant ragwort’s taking control
Flora and Fauna I’m envious of others,

My Aunty Rhinum loves her snapdragons
Michael Mass, loves to grow Daisy’s
Dandy only likes Lions
Pansy, well he/she is happy
Mr Lotus Corniculatus is obsessed with his Bird’s-foot Trefoil
Miss Primrose she a proper gardener
Mr Wood is no Anemone he’s a friend
My neighbour Creeping Jenny, is very sly
She’s always fighting with Black-Eyed Susan
I can’t keep up with Busy-Lizzy
My lady friend have classic Names: Iris, Lily, Rose, Daisy, Violet, Poppy, Holly, Ivy, Heather
Their mums have Vintage Names: Flora, Fern, Posy, Clover, Willow, Clementine, Myrtle.
But my best friends are name after suitable plants
Cassia: A flower in the senna family
Alyssa: Derived from the Alyssum flower
Calla: Short for Calla Lily
I’m never to far from a Climbing Rose
I’m so fond of gardening I have green fingers and toes

So whenever your browsing at the garden centre
I might be there with Iris, Lily, Rose, Daisy, Violet, Poppy, Holly, Ivy, Heather, Jasmine, Holly, Hazel, Laurel, and Willow.
But more likely with Bob Flowerdew.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Flowerdew

Pixabay

NaPoWriMo: crazy day: 18th April 2026

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment

Today, we don’t challenge you to write all of a long, dramatic, narrative poem, but we invite you to try your hand at writing a poem that could be a section or piece of one. Include rhyme, include unlikely and dramatic scenes (maybe a poem about a bank robbery! Or an avalanche! Or Roman gladiators! Or an enormous ball held by mermaids, where there is an undercurrent (hee) of palace intrigue!) Basically, a poem with the plot of an opera (evil twins! Egyptian tombs! Star-crossed lovers! Tigers for no apparent reason!)

Crazy, absolutely crazy
Days since I last saw you
Almost a week
Yet you greet me with disdain
Turn your nose up like I’m a smelly vial drain
Why now, why the change of attitude
You normally jump into my arm
Demand attention even when I’ve just been to the store
I love you being in my face
Attention seeking, being needy
You being by my side fills me with joy
Those long walks together
You running in front of me
Expecting me to run and catch you
I do, you make be breathless in more ways that one
You make friends so easily
A great judge of character
Rejecting those you don’t like
Loyal to those that you do
Loyal to me as I am to you
Yet today you reject me
Just because we’ve been apart
Maybe it’s because I smell different
I ran out of my usual aftershave lotion and deodorant
I picked up a female deodorant in the store by mistake
Sprayed too much on, so I smell like a whore
You sniffed it out before I got to the door
Without your love I’m poor
Then my wife noticed too
My explanation she accepted
But you rejected
Sulking, walking off, gone for an hour
I got back to being me after a shower
Then you twigged
Realised it was me, unconditionally
Bounding up, tail wagging
Back to being man’s best friend
I love my loyal obedient dog

NaPoWriMo: Fed up: 17th April 2026

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

Blotus to it
I can’t be arsed
With this daily poetry lark
I’m fed up with it
Trying to formulate prose and rhyme
Especially when I haven’t the time
Thought should be plentiful
Yet ideas are few
I’ve got myself into a right stew
I can’t be bothered to create another one
Even today it’s too much bother
I thought the end had arrived yesterday
But it’s continued today
In a similar vain
I want to refrain
I don’t want to do it anymore
I think I’m going to have to show myself the door
My creativity has fallen on the floor
How do others do it for the full month
They make it look easy
What a minute
I’ve done it again
I written a poem
In a small time frame
Positive it’s not
Enlightening, no never
Entertaining well perhaps
So my poetry hasn’t that en a relapse
So, I’ll leave in here for you all to read
Maybe tomorrow I will again succeed.

NaPoWriMo: I’ve ran out of steam: 16th April 2026 

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

I’ve run out of steam
Creativity placed on hold
Nothing to say nowt to behold
No ideas, of profound prose
No spark
No enlightening words to pass on
No imagination waiting to explode
Absolutely nothing
I’ve fallen short for NaPoWriMo
This year I’m not going to make it
I so much hoped I could continue
To write a poem a day
But I have no time
No thought for my next rhyme
I’ve run out of time
Blank expression blank page
It’s the end of the road, I’m afraid
Just thought I’d end with a few words
To express my sorrow with me coming to the end
This wasn’t even going to be a poem
Just an exit clause
And a wish of success to others
So, while I think on
While I wish to say goodbye
This is the end of my creative journey
Too short and too few new poems
To carry it through
This is the last one this year I write for you.

Take care my friends
Let writing continue
Let the prose, poems, rhymes and poetry speak
Don’t let my doubts suppress you own
I am sure I’m not alone
Many will succeed
It looks like I may not
Let creativity win enthusiasm succeed

Kept writing all.

Pixabay

NaPoWriMo:  Dead: 15th April 2026 

/ creative_ramblings / Leave a comment
Pixabay

Dead tired
But I could murder a drink
Maybe a meat pudding
A corpse and kidney pudding
The one where I can’t work out what meat is in it

I live in a dead end
With a dead end job
I could murder a pint
A nice fat drink, maybe a stout
I’m still dead tired
And dead skint

Watching Dead ringers on the TV
In the dead of night
I’m dead tired
I could murder a good night sleep
There’s supposed to be a storm
Yet it’s still dead calm

I feel dead good this morning
Start a new job
It’s not a dead end job
The moneys dead good
A job you could murder for
I’m going to enjoy being a pathologist

Pixabay