{"id":137990922,"date":"2026-04-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jahangiri.us\/2020\/?p=137990922"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:05:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:05:03","slug":"energized-day-5-of-national-poetry-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jahangiri.us\/2020\/energized-day-5-of-national-poetry-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Energized: Day 5 of National Poetry Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 5: National Poetry Month<\/h2>\n

Today’s prompts: “energized,” “safety,” and “being so grumpy you hate everything,” like Charles Darwin hated clover and bees. It is also, conveniently, “E” – happy Easter to those celebrating it. I hope you woke to a beautiful sunrise!<\/p>\n

Energized<\/h2>\n

black sand soil sizzles \u2014
\nice-sparkle starlight
\non alien hills, craters<\/p>\n

dress for the Arctic \u2014
\nfirst light will dazzle,
\nkiss away frost breath<\/p>\n

Haleakal\u0101
\n<\/span>dawn calls forth purple
\nsilverswords.<\/p>\n

ZipOdes<\/h2>\n

Returning, for just a moment, to my personal “forms challenge<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks to the poet Jane Honchell, whom I met through The Stafford Challenge, I learned about a poetry form called ZipOdes, invented in 2015 by O, Miami Poetry Festival, and WLRN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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What a great way to celebrate the state in which we live!\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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First, write out your ZIP code, vertically, down the left side of the page. Each number is the number of words per line – write each line to the right of the numbers. If you have a zero in your zip code, that line is a wild card! You can leave it blank, insert an emoji or symbol, or use any number of words between 1 and 9. If you are coming to this post from a place that uses alphanumeric postal codes, Kris Archie\u00a0<\/a>came up with a solution: When the line has a letter instead of a number, that line has one word that must begin with that letter.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\"Billboard
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An example using zip code 77070:<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Tropical Cypress hosts magnolia, palm, loblolly pine<\/div>\n
7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0along creek-border between wilderness and<\/div>\n
0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0suburbs<\/div>\n
7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0raccoons, possum, gators, armadillos thrive – coyotes howl –<\/div>\n
0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0joy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Give it a try! Post yours – or a link to yours – below.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Other National Poetry Month Posts<\/h2>\n