Norovirus

bay tree leaves flicker
outside my bedroom window
as I convalesce
calm hum of a ceiling fan
soft purring cat by my side

NaPoWriMo Prompt: And now, here is our (optional) prompt for the day! The tanka is an ancient Japanese poetic form. In contemporary English versions, it often takes the shape of a five-line poem with a 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 7 syllable-count – kind of like a haiku that decided to keep going. 

Good evening… it’s taken me all day to have the energy to add this to my site. NaPoWriMo is finally here and I was really looking forward to it then I got sick. Like fever dreams sick and too sick to even finish a poem yesterday but luckily today’s optional prompt was for tanka time. I was able to push out enough syllables from this aching brain and body. Success. A big thank you to my hubby for taking care of me and my good friend Veronica who checked up on me. She’s my poetry sister. Check out her cool poetry site, really good stuff. I asked if I could follow her format because I like the way she sets up her site and posts talking directly to her readers. She got me hooked on participating in NaPoWriMo last year and I’ve been scribbling steadily ever since.

I’ll give writing to readers a try here: Thank you for reading my first poem of the 2026 Season of NaPoWriMo. Everything is fuel for the fire even when energy is low and all you can do is look out the window and be in the present moment. What’s around you right now that can give you peace and calm? My hope for you: health, happiness, and joy. Take care and talk soon.