Tag Archives: choices

Day 30 — Ann[e] + choices

April is always a challenging month. After a dozen of these NaPoWriMos I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. That said, still incredibly draining churning out X poems a day (even when you’re only working a half day like today). You feel good when you get to the end. You feel better in a fortnight when you reread what you created & realise a lot of it is actually pretty cool. That said said, this year was also perhaps the easiest because of the subject matter. I really love books. I really love reading. And I really loved this assignment. 

She’s already been mentioned 3 times in other poems this month so it won’t be a surprise to read her name because it was at once tough & not that tough to choose. Sure, there might be other books I’ve probably read more often: Tolkien, The Belgariad, Harry Potter, A Christmas Carol, Pride & Prejudice, Bill Bryson’s Shakespeare &/or The English Language, or Blake’s Songs of Innocence, etc — but there’s something about the Green Gables Anne that just sticks. She’s always getting into trouble, but her charm always gets her out of it. Been planning to end with it for several weeks so lines have been popping in & out for days. It was fun to work on. And yes I reread key scenes & yes I cried like a bub-bub just as I have done for over 40 years.

The closing Factoid however I wasn’t sure what to do for that, until it just arrived. Like a full stop at the end of a sentence; a finis at the close of a play.

*****

Anne with an E

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Day 30 Factoid — Personal Factoid

life choices

of all the multitude 
of glorious things
one chooses to do in life 

so not just breathing 
or eating or sleeping
all kind of compulsory

without question i’ve 
— even more than write —
chosen to read books

day in day out
across decades
a reading life

Day 22 — conundrums + more conundrums

The idea for this one has been nagging at me for several days & many of the pairs popped (or rather worked their way) into my head as I drove home from work into the setting sun. The Poetic Factoid today is actually many Factoids in one — & picks up where the first poem leaves off (there was so much I couldn’t fit in to the top poem; hence part ii).

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the great moral conundrum of our time

Life gives us choices. Constantly.

From little easy ones like:  boxers or briefs.
Vampires or werewolves. Dogs or cats.
Chips with vinegar or sauce. Autumn or spring.
Reddit or Twitter, iPhone or Android.
Toilet paper over or under. Moon or sun.
Glass half full or half empty. Running marathon
or sitting on the sofa sensibly with a book.

To big hard ones like:  pineapple on pizza
Be rich or be in love. Be talented or popular
(obviously not everyone can be both like me).
Live by the ocean or in the mountains.
Cold pizza for breakfast or hot crumpets 
for dinner. Window or aisle. Sweet or savoury.
Fiction or non-fiction. Venice or Reykjavík.

& here’s where we arrive at the prime conundrum:
Rereading old favourites or trying out new books.

If you’re looking for some wise words of wisdom from me here to guide 
your way forwards, sorry to disappoint — I’ve yet to solve this myself.

*****

Day 22 Factoid — reading choices

Part ii: more reader-specific conundrums

Buying more books or reading the ones you have.
(Warning: this is a strawman option 
hence why it is first on the list)
Comfy at home or in a cozy cafe.
Morning or evening; day or night.
In bed or on couch. Silence or with music.
One book at a time or many books at once.
Indoors or outdoors. Hardcover or paperback.
Audio or physical. Sci-fi or fantasy. 
Or crime or romance or historical or thriller.
Or history or memoir or nature writing.
Series or standalones. Classics or new releases.

Tea or coffee or hot chocolate while reading
Or Sauv Blanc or whiskey or GnT or even water.