Tag Archives: poem about work

Building Joy in the World, for NaPoWriMo 2022, Day 27 and Prompts

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Building Joy in the World

If I forgo mere toil and strife
for a more playful sort of life,

and live this playful sort of life
to the accompaniment of fife,

of fife and whistle, flute and drum,
my narrow life might expand some.

Expand from shard to full-blown bowl,
filled to its edges with more soul

’til edges of my soul have filled
the bowl from which it now has spilled.

Spilled out to change the world it touches,
wrested from my lonely clutches.

Freed from their clutch, to build a life
that has transcended mere toil and strife

Prompt words today are narrow, forgo, playful, shard and touch. This poem is also written to fulfill the NaPoWriMo2022  day 27 prompt to write a “Duplex”—a 14 line poem of seven two-line stanzas where the second line of the first stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the second stanza, the second line of the second stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the third stanza, and so on. Then the last line should be the same as the first line of the poem. Image by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash.

Workaholic

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Workaholic

Be it cleaning out the closets or the pantry or garage,
I do not mind the grunt work nor the labor or barrage
of details that may add to the hours of my work.
I do not seek avoidance and make no attempts to shirk.

When I’m on a roll and in the spell of my creation,
the only way to curb me is probably sedation.
for when I’m in the throes of work is when I’m most sublime.
I’m an expatriate from worry. I come unfixed in time.

I do not ask for recess and I only take a break
for water or the potty. These are all the rests I take.
I make no excuses to quit and come back later,
because for me these marathons are a mood-elevator.

I don’t regard the task-at-hand as drudgery or working,
so I make no attempts at avoidance or at shirking. 
Be it working in the studio, arranging, cutting, gluing,
or cleaning out friends’ clutter, I’m happiest when doing!

 

Prompts today are break, sedate, expatriate, regard and elevator.
Image by Neonbrand on Unsplash. Used with permission.

 

Vestiges

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IMG_2725

Vestiges

Crumbs are what’s left when day is done––
Proof you may have missed the fun.
While some were celebrating lives,
you were busy in your hives:
every drudge and every jerk
fussing over busy work.

Yes, do your job and do it well,
but when you hear the ending bell,
close your desk drawers, leave your toils.
When work is over, enjoy the spoils.
Life, in short, is what you make it.
Savor your cake. Don’t simply bake it.

 

The prompt today is crumb.  Love this one! What in the world will come of it?