As the world rattles past all fairground noise and flashing lights
New poems from last month's theme of 'Awakening' and an invite to all subscribers to join us in April for daily prompts and much more.
Hello everyone!
I’ve been writing one poem a day with paying subscribers of Plant Your Poetry on Substack on various themes since the beginning of 2025 and so far its been incredible, inspiring and heart-warming. The theme for March was ‘Awakening’ and today we write on the final prompt of the month together in the community chat before embarking on a whole new month of daily poetry prompts.
This month has been a huge awakening for me as I step into motherhood, which is at times raw, stunning - and exhausting. As a result, writing a poem a day has been more challenging. I’ve had to dig deep and figure out how to pivot, how to lower my expectations without coming to a standstill or regressing and most painfully, how to ask for help and articulate my needs (whilst trying to meet the needs of everyone else I love, phew!).
One thing that hasn’t changed, is the feeling of pure light I get when I go to the community chat and see you showing up for yourselves and each other, leaving supportive comments, expressing your love and poetry, being vulnerable. Every time I’ve thought, ‘how on earth can I be a mum and do everything my heart wants to do?’, your words have pulled me back and centered me back on track.
I have a few poems for you as well as an exciting gift for ALL subscribers of Plant Your Poetry. To celebrate National Poetry Month and my book, Plant Your Poetry: 365 Poems and Prompts to Grow Your Writing Habit being published one year ago, I’m opening up my paid subscription tier to EVERYONE and anyone who would like to join us.
If you would like to join our community and receive themed daily prompts for the month of April to your inbox, including a live writing session where I share poems I’ve loved from the community chat, then simply subscribe as a free subscriber AND send me a private message with your email address so I can upgrade you for one month to the paid benefits.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this small collection of poems that I have written this month, in the hopes they bring you a little bit of magic.
Thank you for being here.
Three poems from March
Day 1 - YAWN
After Gratification to the survivors of daily damnations By Oladejo Abdullah Feranmi
See this trapped time I’ve left for you to live all over?
So bleary-eyed, yawn your new self awake and into being,
open your mouth like a daffodil drunk on Spring mornings—
your body is a new sun not yet risen in this sky
so watch it acutely, notice the hues, the streaks of pigment
across a cerulean sky, marvel morning, noon and night,
follow her wherever she is going, for she knows
the arc of her passing. All you need to do is lift your chin
and wonder wide-eyed like a newborn, open your hands
like Daisies in a meadow and be full of time,
this is where you live, here, only here—now.
DAY 27 - GOLDEN
I see light, sun, and think—
dying.
For is not all that is golden
a brilliant goodbye before
black, and gone?
A final attempt at impact
or—translation
whilst we all coo and caw
as the light enters our eyes
and at the same time—leaves them.
Golden is a flavor of real sustenance,
a lollipop melting in the summer heat,
all the more delectable in its attempt
to diminish under our tongues.
What will you think of now
when I say—Golden?
The last few seconds of this long year
Golden
A final squeeze of the hand before…
Golden
Stargazing ghosts
Golden
Burying yourself in their clothes
despite every touch pushing their scent
further into oblivion
Golden
Firsts that are also—lasts
Golden
The flowering of anything,
which is to say, so much of its life
has already passed unnoticed—
and still it blooms.
DAY 31 - AWAKEN
I am the pupil in the eye of the night
folded within the early yawning dawn,
awake whilst you dream, staring at the stars
by which I mean her precious skin,
each silk floss strand of hair hugging her head,
my hands holding the universe as I learn
how to be hers.
I ride the elevator of exhaustion
as my lolling head jolts each time we reach
a new floor by which I mean her suck and swallow
and a little sigh that says I’m home.
I am no longer alone even if I wish it,
which I never will again for I am tired of the silence,
the holes in womanhood, feigning independence
whilst craving connection, to curl up at another’s chest
and feel our heartbeats fall in step, drunk on togetherness
as the world rattles past all fairground noise and flashing lights.
Stay fabulous,
Louise
(A Poet on the Road)
If you’d like to extend past this free month and receive 365 days of prompts sent straight to your inbox, available as a monthly downloadable and printable calendar, you can upgrade to a paid subscription for just 3.50 a month. You can put the calendar somewhere where you will see it often and tick off the prompts as you go. This is perfect for anyone wanting to gather some writing momentum, share their words with a supportive community and receive encouragement and inspiration.
It also includes a private chat space to share your poems daily and a monthly writing session where we will write on the first prompt of the month and I will share some of my favorite lines and poems from the previous month.
Watch your poetry evolve in ways you never imagined. Let it be the spark that ignites your passion for writing, helps you overcome creative blocks, and keeps your practice fresh and exciting all year long. Make every day a poetic adventure. You deserve it.