And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, I’d like to challenge you to write an abecedarian poem – a poem in which the word choice follows the words/order of the alphabet. You could write a very strict abecedarian poem, in which there are twenty-six words in alphabetical order, or you could write one in which each line begins with a word that follows the order of the alphabet. This is a prompt that lends itself well to a certain playfulness. Need some examples? Try this poem by Jessica Greenbaum, this oneby Howard Nemerov or this one by John Bosworth
My poem for the day on life and the choices it offers- A to Z
Must I? Must I not?
A choice is what I had before me;
“Boy, was I scared”; There I was, at the
Cross-roads of life- confused and
Doubtful; A question that
Eternally plagued my mind- ‘Must I
‘Forsake this and choose the other?‘
‘God is watching over you,’ a voice in me whispered. The
Head instructed, ‘This, here is right.’ The heart disagreed.
‘If only I knew, which path led to
Joy, success and love,‘ I mused, wishful;
Knowing that, that could never be! My
Life dependent on the choice I made-
My happiness, my future and my dreams.
Not ready was I to give up on the Heart’s desire;
Or look back in ‘time to come,’ with a
Pang of remorse, for what might have been. I
Quelled my fear and vehemently
Refuted the Head’s misgivings. My
Spirit rekindled, I
Took the plunge. And to
‘Us,’ I gave a chance. I
Vowed to make it
Work; the universe did so too! The
Xenagogy of life, hath taught me well- ‘Never to
Yield, and be left yearning,’ to be forever blessed with the
‘Zest for life!’
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23 responses to “NaPoWriMo: Day 19 – Must I? Must I not?”
Really you want to write this type of poem…wonderfully written…am still at lost…
Ha ha…yes because it’s different. I kind of like different 😊. Just put your pen to paper Sangbad, and I’m sure you’ll come up with something 😊
Written and posted… let me know your thoughts…and I liked your approach a lot
Thank you so much Sangbad. I did check yours and have shared my comments on your blog.
Loved it! Great poem! 😊🙏🏽
Thank you 🙂 Its so good to hear from you again. Been a really long time. XXX
You’re welcome! Awe, so sweet. I know! Love your blog. Hope you’re doing well. 😊
Thank you again💕🌷. I am. And I hope you’re too! 😊
Beautiful and thought provoking 🙂
Thank you❤. Finished early today. Thank God
😀😀
Firstly you taught me a new word -xenagogy! Well done for following the path of the alphabet – but because the poem followed on so well, I didn’t notice I was reading a contrived form.
Ha ha…me add a word to your incredible vocabulary 😀…that make me want to do a🤸♀️. Thank you so much for the ‘pat on the back;’ 🙏. It helps on this crazy NaPoWriMo journey😊.
You killed it – this prompt can feel artificial but amazing products come of it like this one👌
Thank you so much Kashiana. Yes…I agree with you…it could seem artificial but it only adds to your vocabulary I think😊🌷
Nice poem Smitha
Thank you Kurian.
You are welcome Smitha
nice one smitha!!! u used ur alphabets well!!!
Thank you so much for your comment on the poem. It helps to push through the last week of NaPoWriMo 😊
Really well written and the word choices did not seem convenient despite the imposed structure!
‘Choosing’ the subject was the difficult part. I enjoyed the restriction. Thank you for your comment. Its very encouraging.
My absolute pleasure