April is quickly approaching, and that means The Writer’s Digest’s Poetic Asides editor, Robert Lee Brewer, will be hosting his annual April Poem-a-Day Challenge (where Walt and I, and many of us “met!”). I plan to provide Robert’s 2021 April P.A.D. Challenge prompts right here at Poetic Bloomings every day for the entire month of April. As has become our custom, we will suspend our own prompts, in favor of simply poeming alongside the WD Poetic Asides group.
If you share your poems here (and we hope you will!), we want to be clear about one thing: The idea is not to take away from Robert’s site, but to have a small, safe place where our Bloomers can easily share our poems daily, and interact and encourage one another throughout the month. It is important to recognize that the prompts for Robert’s April PAD are 100% his own. Very unfortunately for him, and through no fault of his own, the WD site became user-unfriendly. No need to wait for moderation or sign up for a third-party platform here at Bloomings. We are a small and intimate group. We know you! And we are better for it!
IN ADDITION: It looks like Robert initiated his 10-day challenge “count down” to April. It began yesterday (March 22). If you would like to get on board there, here is a link to yesterday’s prompt: 2021 April PAD Challenge Countdown: T-minus 10 – Writer’s Digest .
❤
Connect, keep healthy, and poem on!
Marie Elena
POETIC BLOOMINGS 
I attempted to sign up on the new Disqus site, established a profile, but now am frozen every time I try to verify at PA. I don’t get it.
This is interesting. I decided to stop posting to Poetic Asides after they adopted Disqus because I read up on Disqus and didn’t like some of what I learned about it, mainly that they make their money by selling data, including personal data. They have an opt-out provision, but that is negated every time one clears a browser, as I do often. I informed Robert Brewer about that because I used to post to his site all the time, but was bothered by what I learned.
I’ve had a difficult time as well. I stopped posting there (with possibly 2 exceptions?) a few years ago. It got too difficult. I feel so sorry for Robert, as what he had begun so long ago resulted in an extraordinary community of poets and generous sharing of poems. Through no fault of his own, it has become too hard to continue.
Bill, I didn’t know what you are referring to regarding what you discovered about Disqus. That is disturbing. 😦
I did some checking when PA first went to that commenting system. I thought that their opt-out option would make it easy for me to use it, but my tendency to routinely clear browsing information apparently would make cumbersome. So I decided to forget it. Too bad, because I like Robert’s site and work. I think he’s a great gift to poets.
He is truly a great gift, Bill. I blame WD for not doing a better job of accommodating the success he was having. Back in 2009, the April PAD poem and comment numbers were off the charts. The site had a hard time keeping it from crashing toward the end of the month, and again the following April. Changes were made that kept the site from crashing, but made it so hard to post and comment that it wasn’t worth it after a while. It seemed an unintentional punishment for Robert’s success. Just makes me sad.
This will be very helpful–thanks in advance, Marie! I’m both excited/eager, and anxious–April’s Poetry Months is SO Cool, but it means gearing up for extra work 🙂
I hear ya, Zelda Rene!
Haha–I’ll be mainlining Diet Coke 🙂
gigglegiggle
Hahaha! ❤
Let’s Write
Poems with bite
with teeth that crunch
dice shred
Let’s face the dread
head on and move
into to embrace
Other faces races
with open arms
and ears and mouths
Shut so that we hear
listen and chew
until we taste
The lacks and feel
the pinch of hunger
for the promise
This land is yours
with a Y and ours
the labor with your
To share and gift
to deconstruct old
build anew and now.
T-10 WD
Nice, and hear hear!
Unpacking
What causes the iridescent hummer
to return to the feeder
in the side yard
Is it the shining red liquid
promise a jolt of nectar sweetness
or is it wiring in a tiny brain
Does the orange and black oriole
choose the pumpkin colored feeder
because it matches its plumage
Or because it can perch
better on the broad rim
while tiny hummers hover
Though the sun doesn’t move
how does the earth tilt on its axis
moving toward summer solstice
Do sunflowers follow its rising
and setting because it is the sun or
because they are smaller ones
Do we question because we seek
answers or do we only question
what we think we don’t know and
In the knowing feign surprise so
surreptitiously we pretend this game
unpacking answers to question more.
T-9 Cause/Effect WD
Oh, the hummers and orioles! So much to envision and ponder. Great questions. Great poem!
Pingback: Let’s Rev Muse Motor! | A Once & Future Recluse
Here’s my poem–not sure if you wanted it here, in addition to the pingback link thingy 🙂
Let’s rev Muse motor
April soon takes eager wing
Flare those twitching quills
Buckle seatbelts, Passion drives
(Hoping I come through alive!)
©Zelda Rene, 2021 ~ All rights reserved.
HA! Perfect!
Thank you, Marie!!
I did the April PAD for years, but have slacked off these last few. It seemed as if the prompts got redundant and many didn’t inspire a poem. I really love the PB prompts and PAD challenge months, even the EODPAD like we did last year. But, I’ll give it a shot again this year and see what springs forth in my twisted mind.
“Twisted mind” LOL!