April 30th poems
So this is it: the final prompt of the April PAD Challenge. We’ve made it; we’ve made it. I’d be sad that it’s all over, but I think in some ways we’re only beginning. (For more on that, check back tomorrow when I do the April PAD Challenge Wrap-Up.) Today, I want you to finish your poem, thrust your open hands high in the air, and say, “Go me! I did it!” (Or something to that effect, I understand that poets can be a reserved bunch–so maybe a simple smirk and fist clench will do the job just as well.)
The main thing is to realize that you accomplished something great in participating throughout the month. After all, you should now have 30 (or more) poems to play with and revise. But here I am trying to stall on the final prompt of the day–not wanting this month to end. 
And today’s prompt is probably predictable if you go back to Day 1’s prompt, which was about beginnings and firsts. Day 30’s prompt is to write a poem about endings, finishes, finales, etc. Because we’ve reached the end: great job!
FINI
Look inside.
Can you handle “The End?”
The words seem sad, almost regretful.
“The End.”
Whether a life, a journey, a poem, a story,
“The End” slams a period, a big round dot, a bullet hole
In a continuum that comes to a screeching halt.
But . . .
Think about it.
Is “The End” really “The End?”
Is what came before suddenly without existence?
IT’S STILL THERE, LOVED ONES.
Bach’s music didn”t end with the final tocatta.
Shakespeare’s plays didn’t end with Act III.
Sculpture didn’t end with the death of Michelangelo.
Does Michelangelo still live? Does Bach? Does Shakespeare?
Oh, yes, yes indeed.
“The End” just comes down to this -
How did you do?
“The End” is a myth.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:01 am