The Witches' Brew

Day 7 Prompt: A List

Today's prompt for National Poetry Writing Month is to write a poem using a list.
I have chosen part of the ingredients listed in the witches brew described in Shakespeare's Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1 for my poem —

"Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and owlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

It is often said, though arguably, that each ingredient in the witches brew is actually a plant, a flower, a seed or herb.
Here's my poem explaining some of those ingredients:

The Witches Brew

Eye of newt and toe of frog
the witches mixed them up
'twas nothing more than mustard seeds
and the yellow buttercup

Wool of bat and tongue of dog
were part of witches creed
The bat wool merely holly leaves
the dog a houndstongue weed

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting
next went into the brew
Neither snake nor worm were boiled,
just a violet, a poppy or two

Then there was a lizard's leg
along with an owlet's wing
— little bits of ivy and garlic
as witches continued to sing

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
07Apr23 2121 hrs GMT+8
Edited 2200 hrs

The Slayer

Day 6 Prompt: Borrowed sounds

La Paloma (The Dove), originally composed around 1863 by Spanish composer Sebastián Iradier. The first stanza and bridge is reproduced below:

"Una canción me recuerda aquel ayer
Cuando se marchó en silencio un atardecer
Se fue con su canto triste a otro lugar
Dejó como compañera mi soledad

Una paloma blanca me canta al alba
Viejas melancolías, cosas del alma
Llegan con el silencio de la mañana
Y cuando salgo a verla vuela a su casa"

---

A poem in English using sounds borrowed from the lyrics of the above Spanish song —

The Slayer

An ancient me recruited as a slayer
Marched in silence with Ataxerxes
Consumed by thirst to ambush like a cougar
Day and night accompanied by solitude

Then I turned pale and blank in a battle
A wave of melancholy filled my armour
Trembling in silence 'neath my fierce demeanour
Will I be vanquished by this invincible warrior?

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
06Apr23 2006 hrs GMT+8

He laughs

Day 5 Prompt: Inappropriate laughter

Our beloved Teacher

Teacher made a silly mistake
with an answer to his sums
We laughed

Teacher missed a little step
he stumbled in front of us
We laughed

Teacher jumped up suddenly
a bug crawled on his desk
We laughed

Teacher forgot the lyrics
singing our old school song
We laughed

Teacher lets us laugh at him
He makes us laugh with him
He laughs

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
05Apr23 2317 hrs GMT+8

A triolet

Day 4 Prompt: A triolet

• a triolet consists of eight lines with the rhyme scheme ABaAabAB —
• where A, B are repeated lines;
• and a, b are rhyming lines with A, B respectively,
• with each line written in iambic tetrameter

"A verse in rhyme" — a triolet

It is so hard to write in rhyme
A verse in rhyme I'll try to write
I may not get it done on time
It is so hard to write in rhyme
What seems to me an uphill climb
To make the matching words sound right
It is so hard to write in rhyme
A verse in rhyme I'll try to write

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
04Apr23 1920 hrs GMT+8

An opposite poem

Day 3 Prompt: An opposite poem

Today's prompt for National Poetry Writing Month is to write an opposite poem. My poem is based on the following original verse by William Blake —

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour

(by William Blake, in "Auguries of Innocence")

---

** Opposite **
Ignore the sand that builds our world
and wild flowers that make our heaven
Our finite hands are held by infinity
An hour a captive of eternity

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
03Apr23 1707 hrs GMT+8

Surreal

Day 2 Prompt: Surreal

The heavy laden aeroplane
floats lightly through the air
It crawls like a snail among the clouds
soon it's no longer there

I hear its engines hum and roar
in a silent voiceless sky
The huge craft passes high above
like a sparrow flying by

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
03Apr23 0950 hrs GMT+8

A Book Cover

Day 1 Prompt: A book cover

A book is discovered when
you see its elegant form
with vivid colours and
pretty pictures on its cover
you'd want to take a closer look

A book is uncovered when
you find its meaningful title
clearly written and
boldly printed across its cover
you'd want to get a glimpse within

A book is recovered when
you encounter its profound story
quietly lurking and
patiently waiting beneath its cover
you'd want to wake it up from sleep
and read it through

from cover to cover

#GloPoWriMo #NaPoWriMo
By Harold B Huang
02Apr23 1135 hrs GMT+8