Take a walk with Dandelion Scribes editor

Cari Lynne King,

through 30 days of poetry

for National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Writing Month. This year I decided to commit to the #NaPoWriMo challenge and write/post one poem each day in April. There were a couple days where I finished the poem as the clock struck midnight, a few poems that definitely don't meet my approval (yet), and a few days where the words just flowed and multiple poems were created.
Through this journey I have discovered several new poets on Instagram- finding inspiration in their words or the prompts they shared. There is beautiful art to be found in all corners of the earth and I'm grateful every time I find some!
Below are the 30 poems I shared for NaProWriMo in the order they were posted. All were written fresh for this challenge. All poets from whom I used prompts are credited with the accompanying poem. Please consider interacting with them on social media!
Find me on Instagram @inkstainedmemoirs

–Cari Lynne King

Day 1: If This is the Last Poem I Write, Then Let it Be

the one that changes things / makes a difference in the world / tells my story / so completely / people finally understand why I am / the way I am

let my final words leave a mark / enduring and endearing / standing the test of time / as I have stood the test of life

tie up loose ends / make amends / say all the things I've kept inside / confess my sins / say goodbye to friends / I've got nothing left to hide

*Prompt from @theconstantpoet on Instagram- if this is the last poem I write, then let it be

Day 2: Filament

I am nothing more
than a loose thread
you never saw fit
to pull
You feared my unraveling
revealing all
that's woven into
the fabric of my soul
And thus left me
dangling
an eyesore against your
flawless persona

*Combination of prompts from @coralynn.poetry on Instagram- a loose thread and @rae.writespoetry on Instagram- a thread you never tugged on.

Day 3: Timeless Treasure

Being loved by a poet
won't make you immortal
but you'll wish
upon a trillion stars
that it did

A poet's hands
hold the key to
worlds most have never dreamed
Fingertips dripping
with ink, tears, and passion
spilling onto the page
and into your bed

Being loved by a poet
is a spiritual encounter
Your body and soul
made muse and martyr
as your lover guides you
to discover depths
you never knew existed

*Prompt from @margauxpoetry on Instagram- being loved by a poet won't make you immortal

Day 4: I'd Give You the Sun

But I'd rather take
your hand and lead
you to open ground
surrounded by stillness
and let our souls dance
in the spotlight of the moon

*Prompt from @reesewith3e.s on Instagram- I'd give you the sun

Day 5: Let Them Eat Cake

I do not want
to eat a sensible
well-balanced breakfast.
I want
to have a slice of cake
(or maybe two).

I do not want
to smile and comply
with my legs crossed
like a proper lady.
I want
to burn my bra
and use the flames
to send everything
up in smoke.

*Prompt from @amykaypoetry on Instagram- want vs want not

Day 6: Your Name Melts on my Tongue Like Sugar

So sweet I cannot control
the clenching of my jaw
the flood of saliva
the rush of adrenaline

I revel in the taste
crunch the texture between
the teeth you love to see
when you make me laugh

Notice each granule
abrasive against the roof
of my mouth
but so luscious to the senses

A moment I long to last
until I can no longer speak
comes crashing down
when I realize there's nothing left

*Prompt from @lettersformedusa on Instagram- your name melts on my tongue like sugar. Prompt was sourced by @a.a.sunlitpoetry on Instagram for a collaborative list of prompts.

Day 7: Poison with a Sweet Taste

You dangle your words / like a cool / glass of water / in front of a weary traveler

Jolting my senses / refreshing my system / quenching my thirst

Sweet nothings trickle from your lips / and down my throat / refilling this empty vessel / with your empty promises

Dare I drink / swallowing sustenance / for a fleeting moment / knowing I'll drown / in tears so familiar

Or crush the goblet / in my bare hands / because even a small / sip of sweet cyanide / is still the most deadly poison

*Prompt from @reesewith3e.s on Instagram- poison with a sweet taste

Day 8: I Try to Describe My Body
and it Comes Out as a Poem

I begin to trace out letters
soft and flowing
like the curves of my body

as if I, too, am written in cursive

A delicate delicacy
at surface level
But once you expand your mind
look more deeply
you'll find meaning
you've never known

Sacred works of art
are best formed by hand
attention to detail
only fingertips can achieve
Then placed on display
for critique and fascination
Allowing only the worthy
to explore
what lies beneath

*Prompt from @theconstantpoet on Instagram- I try to describe my _____ and it comes out as a poem.

Day 9: How Are You?

i don't feel well / my head aches as though the weight of the world has crushed it / i have nearly fainted six times today / my body fails me yet again / my eyelids are so heavy i cannot tell the source of fatigue / my heart and soul are heavier / let me check Life360 to know the last time i left the house / my last shower was days ago / i do not know which is higher- the dishes, the clutter, or my anxiety about keeping house / all my energy is spent in keeping myself alive / i miss my friends / i miss my old life / i miss peace / there is a yearning inside me for a time and place that no longer exist / things that should make me smile actually make me cry / i grieve the life i imagined / nobody hears me screaming for help / my voice has grown raspy and my body weary / i'm drowning

I'm good! How're you?

Day 10: Did You Know WalMart Used to be Open All Night

And it was a rush
to sneak out at 2am
in your friend’s brother’s car
standing out the sunroof
as the night air
tousled your hair

We’d scream out Lil John
to the entire subdivision
not caring
that we’d be grounded soon
staring at the window
to the walls

Life was a rush
when we misbehaved
especially when I snuck to her basement
and kissed a boy
whose name I can’t recall

*Prompt from a workshop hosted by @orangeblossompoems on Instagram- write about a time you and a girlfriend got into trouble.

Day 11: Unremarkable End

Reports of my death
won't make the front page
of our small town's newspaper
A simple expiration
lacking all pomp
just ordinary circumstance
You'll find my ghost
nestled cozy near the middle
just another obituary
printed alongside the others
Or perhaps you'll hear
some chatter at the grocery-
the old men at Arby's-
probably at the beauty shop-
All hissing with whispers
about that purple haired girl
who never fit in

Yes, the death I die
will be nothing spectacular
But- oh- the life I've lived

*Prompt from @thepearleyedgirlpoetry on Instagram- I have died an ordinary death.

Day 12: Thunder

(erasure of Cari Lynne King's
‘The Tempest Rages’)

With every
jiggle
They call me
fat

I act like it's a sin-
My body-

Controversial
Lightning
Strike
Powerful

Day 13: Ruby Romance

Whispers soft in the moonlight
flow like sweet wine
from one soul
to another

Words stained red by lipstick
like the stain upon your shirt
You can't forget what I say
even when we're drunk
off love's elixir

The scruff of your neck
gently cradles my face
As a cloud of your cologne
carries us to the divine

Day 14: Evening Primrose

Silence doesn't always mean
there's nothing to say
Instead
there can be so many
thoughts and words swirling ‘round
they cannot find their way
out into the world

You hear my silence
in a world roaring with noise
And invite me over
so our souls can speak
without saying a word

*Prompt from a workshop hosted by @orangeblossompoems on Instagram- write a poem about the sound of silence in a friendship of yours.

Day 15: A Dramatic Monologue Would Fix Me Right Now

So perhaps
that's what I'll write
here

A rant about
the state of affairs
the mistreatment of women
and gays
and theys
and anyone with a drop of melanin
Anyone who doesn't
pull themselves up by the straps
of the boots they ate for breakfast

Possibly a rambling
on how deeply I love
and how such
extreme
emotions are exhausting
Especially when they fall
on barren soil
met only with hate
or worse yet-
indifference

Or shall I speak
to the lonely
the afraid
and the scapegoats
Remind them fiercely
they do not fight alone
in a world
not meant to embrace them
I will stand up and stand in
when it feels like
everyone else stood down

*Prompt from @amykaypoetry on Instagram- title a poem after a meme from @the_frog_mage on Instagram.

Day 16: Things I've Hidden in Halloween Candy

Insecurities
Bullies
Bad days
Deaths
Years of trauma

All buried deep within
beneath empty wrappers
like they don't exist

*Prompt from @theconstantpoet on Instagram- things I've hidden in Halloween candy.

Day 17: Rip Current

When it rains, it pours
on everyone around you
Your cup overflows
and creates a flood
for anyone in its way

We have to stay afloat
because you refuse
to learn to swim
So our lungs fill with tears
as we help you to shore

My arms grow heavy
exhausted from treading water
Pleading with the universe
to send a lifeboat
afraid I won't survive
the next crashing wave

Day 18: Pendulum

Tick
Tock
Tick
Tock
Sound the chimes
another hour's past

In-
hale
Ex
hale
Breathe it all in
these moments don't last

Don't
Blink
Just
Be
You might miss it
time goes by too fast

Day 19: I Sweat Purple Beads of Blackberry Juice

As we work in the garden
after I filled my little body
straight from the bush

Hand in hand we strolled
just out of sight
behind the chicken coop
Warm grass tickling our ankles
brilliant rays warming our skin
your presence warming my heart

Carefully plucking
the ripest berries
Immediately popping them
straight onto my tongue
smashing each one
to the roof of my mouth
savoring the sweet nectar
Eating more than my share

*Prompt from @tangledflxwers on Instagram- I sweat purple beads of blackberry juice.

Day 20: The Letter I'll Never Send

Beautiful Soul
How I miss you
How I miss us
Who could've ever guessed
pink ballet shoes
would be the foundation
to a love I'll never know again

We danced across those stages
with the same grace and chemistry
that lead us through
the dance of life
When the house lights went dark
I wasn't afraid
knowing you were beside me
through curtain call and beyond

Through time and space
we never stopped dancing
In my room
in your basement
down the sidewalk of school
at my senior prom
to the beat of our own drum

Those ballet shoes
now decrepit and worn
hang upon a nail
A tattered reminder
sometimes life
doesn't flow
the way you choreographed
in your mind

*Prompt from a workshop hosted by @orangeblossompoems on Instagram- write a letter you won't send to an old friend.

Day 21: I Hung Myself with a Nerds Rope

Bury my feelings
instead of myself
Tamp them tightly
beneath layers of food
Softly pad my empty heart
to protect it from pain
somewhere below
this full exterior

Day 22: Maximum Dose of Prozac

The game of
Musical Chairs
isn't nearly as fun
when it becomes
Musical Psych Meds

Racing against intrusive thoughts
to see which grabs me first
Each new round
a new dose
a new drug
The same old song and dance

Take two of these
orange and green pills
Throw in two
ugly white ones
for good measure
And call me
if you make it to morning

*Prompt from @raquelfranco.poet on Instagram- title your poem after something in your Google history.

Day 23: Do it Afraid

“I am fearful and I am something to be feared."
-Alix E Harrow

My hands
tremble and bleed
But hold steady a pen
to tell the world
my truth
Speak life to secrets
long quiet in the shadows
Write verses
as I right transgressions
Your knees
should quiver if you see
my hands
stained black with ink

*Prompt from @poetvaleriaeden on Instagram- “I am fearful and I am something to be feared." -Alix E. Harrow

Day 24: Closure Is

(after Kate Stinson)

Not transferring her number
when I get a new phone

Selling my bass
even though her DNA is on the strings

Realizing I haven't seen
that pink teddy bear in years

No longer observing her birthday
as a national day of mourning

A hell of a lot harder to own
when I’d rather have her

*Prompt from a workshop hosted by @orangeblossompoems on Instagram- write a poem titled “Closure Is" after @k8b0ne on Instagram.

Day 25: Chiromancy: All my Lines Have Your Name on Them

There's a map in my hand
etched with secret code just for lovers
Contours spell out your name
pointing the way to a luxurious place to land
They say all roads lead to Rome
thus I crave you as Venus yearned for Adonis
Long is the path, but straight is the way
from loneliness to knotted in your sheets
Palm lines blur like road lines
as my headlights chase the night

*Prompt from @theconstantpoet on Instagram- chiromancy: all my lines have your name on them.

Day 26: Sunset

cotton candy skies
sitting with you underneath
what a dream come true

Day 27: Five Directions to My House

(after Juan Felipe Herrera)

1. Slow down. Quiet the radio so you can see better. There's so much to take in.

2. Always choose the right path at the fork in the road.

3. Follow the smell of honeysuckle, a smoking grill, and simplicity.

4. There will be a cat in the window and love all around to greet you.

5. Once you reach the cemetery, you've passed it all by.

*Prompt from @amykaypoetry on Instagram- write a poem after Juan Filipe Herrera's “Five Directions to My House"

Day 28: My Friends Live in My Phone

I'm so grateful
for friends
who are always by my side-
Both in my heart
and in my pocket
Connections spanning the globe
are no less vital
no less real
than the ones we made
in high school
The human experience
is vastly the same
regardless which continent
you call home
Why, then, shouldn't we
seek out others
to whom we might relate
Some of the best humans
I've ever known
I may never meet
But it feels like
we became friends
on the playground swings

*Prompt from a workshop hosted by @orangeblossompoems on Instagram- write a poem about the friends you have that exist primarily through digital and virtual connections.

Day 29: In an Alternate Timeline Where We Still Make Sense

We didn't give one another
a million goodbyes
as if the first one
didn't shatter it all
until we quietly
drifted away
I have seen the world
stood by your side
with my toes in soil
nearly as rich as my soul
I have tasted exotic cuisine
dined with expensive strangers
broken bread at exquisite tables
But nothing ever compared
to your love laying sweetly on my tongue
Our roots are anchored
on a secluded plot of land
where I tend the garden
and you do the rugged work
We sip only Kentucky's finest
as we sit on the porch swing
and talk about home

*Prompt from @theconstantpoet on Instagram- in an alternate timeline where I/we still _________.

Day 30: I Bloom Best Wild

(after September Stardust)

Germinated in a paper towel
on the kitchen windowsill
where the sunrise shines brightest
Cannot be bothered
to put forth the effort
of tending my beginnings in dirt

Plant me in pots too small
so my roots have nowhere to go

Keep me contained

Stunt my growth and potential
under strict rule and doctrine
Forbidden fruit is only forbidden
when trying to feed myself

Take the only home I've known
and smash it on the ground
abandon my withered leaves for dead
Watch as the fertile earth
welcomes my crowded roots
inviting me to explore new depths
as I bloom free
beautiful and wild

*Inspired by a quote from @september.stardust on Instagram- I bloom best wild.

Come see Cari, the Dandelion Scribes, and a glorious gaggle of local performers on Tuesday, May 13 in…

PLAYING THE KING

LIVE at The Black Cat!

250 S. Main St. Oneida, TN 37841

Tuesday, May 13. Showtime 6:00pm.
Tickets $10 each. ON SALE NOW!

Featuring an original one-act play, spoken word poetry,
and music by local artists & performers!
Starring:
Stephen Phillips
Josh Ayers
Gerald Hanwright
Cheyanne Leonardo as the dithyrambler
Cari Lynne King
Frances Denise
Angelia Ross
& a surprise guest or two :)