I’m a couple of hours early, but I will be asleep by the time the night turns over into April, so I’ll fit in my greeting for the new month now.

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Did you know that during National Poetry Month, some insane poets undertake a challenge to write one new poem each day until May brings sweet relief? I did the NaPoWriMo challenge two years ago, and attempted it last year (I flamed out in less than a week). I got some work out of it that I’m really proud of, and some—a poem from the POV of one of Alexis Carrel‘s lab assistants—that was less successful, but at every turn the writing took me to places that were at least interesting. It’s a good lesson in persistence and consistency; if you keep writing and writing, eventually you have to move past your failsafes and into territory that is new and, frequently, bizarre.

I am undertaking NaPoWriMo again, starting tomorrow. I’m saying it here so I’ll be accountable. Writing a poem a day for a month is hard, and I’m sure I’ll skate by on several days with dirty limericks. At the end, though, I might have a few drafts that are worth pursuing. It’s been a while since I’ve dug into a body of new work, and I think it’s about time.