For Day 9, I combine the two prompts I have been using:

The prompt provided by poet (and bookstore owner) Chris Jarmick on his blog, POETRYisEVERYTHING, calls for a poem that uses anaphora.

The napowromo.net prompt calls for ‘a Sei Shonagon-style list of “things”’.

(And I forgot to update the title of this post. It is fixed now. What will I do tomorrow? Stay tuned!)

1
When I think about love, I think about sunny afternoons, riding in the car with the windows down, turning up the music, and not caring about anything else in that moment.

When I think about love, I think about the thousands of miles travelled, and the familiar things left behind—because that’s what you do.

When I think about love, I think about the small moments: the smiles, the gestures, the little things we say.

When I think about love, I think about the feeling that always stays with me, even after she’s gone.

2
When I think about love, I don’t say much. So many of us desperately want to fall, but are afraid of the height.

When I think about love, I try not to think about the been, done, and gone. Long shadows bring no relief to the past.

When I think about love, I find that anticipation overpowers everything else, even desire.

When I think about love, I wonder why we put so much pressure on ourselves to find it, when we should just feel it.

3
When I think about love, I think about sappy love songs and tear-jerker movies.

When I think about love, I think about heroic gestures and noble sacrifices.

When I think about love, I think about great works of art.

When I think about love, I think about how nothing else motivates us the same way.

4
When I think about love, its possibility and promise seem so far away.

When I think about love, I wonder how it survives in a world that seems driven to destroy it by any means possible.

When I think about love, the logistics involved make it seem impossible. Logic makes it seem impossible.

When I think about love, I can’t think of anything more important.

(8 April 2019—posted April 9th)