Fay Roberts #NaPoWriMo: loneliness

Sunday, 26 April 2026

19 - I’m Not Done

#NaPoWriMo Day 19 (actually, finally!) and today I’ve been writing an acrostic inspired by the prompt of “Loneliness”, thanks to my bodged-together-at-the-beginning-of-the-month Prompt-o-matic Spreadsheetatron (which I may or may not make available to the public once this month’s done and I can take a short breather). I live alone at the moment, and I make no apology for the slightly obscure/ punning nature of my nodding title.

But it isn’t the 19th anymore, Fay! I hear you say. Ah, yes, well... that’s because, Imaginary Interlocuter, I got too in my head about how to do an audio version of this, and have been blocked for days as a result.

Remember that, if you’re a subscriber to my Patreon, you can hear said recording of this piece (and the eighteen preceding it) there. The link to the relevant post is here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/im-not-done-156565304 (but if you’d like to get hold of the recording for accessibility purposes, just let me know).

It’s not how others think of it, apparently;
Nothing like the terror and tedium they
Seem to imagine. Drifting in echoing emptiness,
Unable to cope with only my own voice? No:
Loneliness is rarely something I experience
Alone. Solitude is soothing, safe, sufficient.
The thing that absolutely breaks me
Is being cut out in company, unfit puzzle piece.
Ostracised, voice drowned; that’s confounding,
Not this blessed peace (with the means to reach out).

A vivid, colour photo of a sealion on a golden beach in bright, tropical sunshine. The water is bright blue, and in the background, across the water, is a nearby rocky promontory to the left, and what looks like a volcanic outcrop further across the curving bay. The rocks in both cases are reddish brown, with sparse greenery. The sealion is sitting at the water's edge, back towards the bay, his upper body raised on its flippers, head back, mouth open, looking as though he's bellowing at the sky.

Photo by Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC BY-SA, via Wikipedia

If you’d like to write your own acrostic, why not make use of my handy-dandy shareware spreadsheet that can help get you started? https://bit.ly/poemrep

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

13 - Weathering

#NaPoWriMo Day 13 and tonight I’ve been writing a triolet inspired by loneliness (well… specifically missing someone).

Remember that, if you’re a subscriber to my Patreon, you can hear a recording of this piece (and the twelve preceding it) there. The link to the relevant post is here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/weathering-155564589

“I miss you” seems repetitive and trite,
and yet, it is the only phrase that fits.
Alone, the world is dull, and with you, bright.
(“I miss you” seems repetitive and trite.)
See, when you’re in my arms, the world feels right,
and holding you will smooth my jagged bits.
“I miss you” seems repetitive and trite,
and still… it is the only phrase that fits.

A grainy mobile phone camera photo in low, warm light, of a living room with two empty chairs at slightly more than right-angles to each other, both a cozy red. The one on the left is narrow, with a high back, and is covered in a velvety throw, a throw cushion decorted with alternating bands of large, dark red and light circles sitting in it, along with a TV remote on the left arm. The other chair is broader, with a much lower back, and three velvety cushions - two red and one black somewhat haphazardly stuffed into one corner - and a segment of a round footrest just visible in the bottom right of the photo. Behind and between the chairs is a silver exercise ball, and beyond that, a pale wooden bookcase stuffed with books. There is a bay window beyond the larger chair, sporting white, venetian blinds, mostly pulled down except for one which is slightly contracted and pulled up at the bottom, and a creamy white curtain held back by a large, brass hook. There is a very dead-looking pot plant on the windowsill. Oops!

TV room poet’s own

If you’d like to write your own triolet, why not make use of my handy-dandy shareware spreadsheet that can help get you started? https://bit.ly/poemrep