Arte Povera

NaPoWriMo Day 1 (sort of )

I was encouraged to try this year’s NaPoWriMo (or GloPoWriMo) and I got off on the wrong foot by starting three days late and by using last year’s April 1st prompt instead of the 2026 prompt though, in truth, I’m not that unhappy about it.

Prompt: “And now, to round out our first day, here’s our optional prompt! As with pretty much any discipline, music and art have their own vocabulary. Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write a poem that uses a new-to-you word. For (imaginary) extra credit, work in a phrase from, or a reference to, the Florentine Codex.”

I chose, quite on a whim, Arte Povera, in particular, Torsion by Giovanni Anselmo.

Photo by Sebastian Schuster on Unsplash

Arte Povera
by Laura L. Hansen

These simple words
land like hardened concrete,

bricks tossed up against
the small opening

of the heart,
raw twine

around the wrists.
You stomp away 

the dust from your boots,
the dried mud

of your disdain.
I will be be closing the door

on your retreating back
for years, scraping

at the stain
of your inelegant words, 

the poor art
of your leaving.

---

I first wrote it in unrhymed couplets but tried it also in tercets. I think I prefer the second version. What do you think? I love hearing your feedback.

---

Arte Povera
by Laura L. Hansen

These simple words
land like hardened concrete,
bricks tossed up against

the small opening
of the heart,
raw twine

around the wrists.
You stomp away
the dust from your boots,

the dried mud
of your disdain.
I will be be closing the door

on your retreating back
for years, scraping
at the stain

of your inelegant words,
the poor art
of your leaving.

---

Not sure I will be using all the daily prompts, from 2025 or 2026 or whatever year I seem to be living in, but I will try to honor National Poetry Month by reading, writing or sharing a poem each day.

Toodles. I’m staying in Jammies all day watching the new snow (grrr) melt or not melt as the case may be.