Vincent might have felt differently when he tried to paint a starless night in Saint-Remy: the poet detests the pungency of words stagnating in her mind like a humid day. She sees them fall, lumpen and heavy flocks of birds that scratch her with censorious claws as they ascend again into phonemes, oscillating with unsatisfactory memes. Now she no longer writes poetry, buds open, fresh and green, so she can’t see the wood for leaves and, like her handwriting, they flourish in the vernal. And worse, she wishes every day was spring, renounces the mantle of mist and glooming, until the distant smudge of verse disappears in a puff of white and grey feathers swirling skyward, language uncaptured by hard pen on paper. The poet’s slayed. She will no longer dance fast and furious. She will be immobile until, serious, she’s gathered every last bit of her own poetry and burnt it on a bonfire of her vanity. And yet, these verses were once released from her mind’s sediment. Now that the spill has stilled, actuality has adjusted darkness, and a feather again becomes a savage quill. Kim M. Russell, 30th April 2023
Image by Clark Young on Unsplash
It’s always a strange feeling when I get to day thirty of NaPoWriMo. Although I know it will come around again next year, there is something final about it that makes me feel sad; I know I’ll miss it for a while, and then everything will get back to normal again.
The final optional prompt this year is a challenge to write palinodes, poems in which we retract views or sentiments expressed in earlier poems; for example, we might pick poems we drafted earlier in the month and write poems that contradict or troubles them. Alternatively, we could play around with the idea of a palinode by writing a poem in which the speaker says something like “I take it back” or otherwise abandons a prior position within it. I decided to write a palindrome of ‘The Poet and her Pen’.
writing in north norfolk 
such a great read Kim especially with that most memorable ending
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Thank you, Laura.
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I love how you coined the melancholy we are all feeling for NaPo ending once again, I love the parallels you depict in the poem and I really love the ending, because it is a good omen of more and more future writing.
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Thank you so much for close reading, Oloriel. I’m feeling a bit strange knowing that it’s over, but already looking forward to next year.
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Its also, for me at least, the lack of anything in the middle ; lots of options, yes, but nothing quite like Napo! I think it also just feels so nice to have a whole month dedicated to poetry, when I can feel less of a bore when I mention it, write it, give reading recommendations 😀
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That “distant smudge of verse”–so elusive. But every spring, flocks of poets rush into forests and meadows in hopes of a miraculous sighting… I feel the sadness too, Kim. It’s tinged with relief (as in, “I don’t have to lose sleep anymore”), but it’s definitely sadness. I hope the poets keep doing what they love. Thank you for your words this month and I’ll see you next year!
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Thank you, Romana. Perhaps we might meet on the poetry trail before next April!
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Looking forward to that!
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There’s something satisfying in that ‘savage quill’ though. It signifies a departure in another direction maybe.
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Yes, the savage quill can be painful but it’s necessary. A new direction… I’m not sure what that might be, but I’m open to it.
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It could just be a different way of writing poetry.
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The end of April is bittersweet. There is a sense of empty when you know that tomorrow there will be no prompt.
Love ‘and burnt it on a bonfire of her vanity’ and the ‘savage quill’. Together they point to a rebirth. The poet rises from the ashes–renewed, boldened.
Hope to see you next April Kim. Keep well and keep creating:)
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Thank you so much, Arti, and the same to you.
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Kim, this poem wrapped up with a bang. Savage quill (whatever it is) girl, you get them! I know I will remember those two words when feeling empty of poetry. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.
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Thank you for your kind comments, Gloria. I hope to see you on the poetry trail.
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You turned the original right on its head, didn’t you? Well done.
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Thank you, Ken!
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Hello,
I decided to make four centos out of our final Day 30 lines. I used all last 96 poems written in April as linked to the official NaPoWriMo site. Today I posted the last of the four centos, the one with your lines. Please read it here:
Thank you kindly for your words.
Manja
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Thank you so much, Manja, for choosing my poem.
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You’re most welcome, Kim. 🙂
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