NaPoWriMo 2024, Day 26, Billy’s Benevolent Bedlam

Today NaPoWriMo-ists, like me, were to write a poem that “involves” (includes) consonance, alliteration, and assonance. TMI follows (but if you want a review):

Consonance (literary) is the repetition of consonant sounds (coming home, hot foot). It is counterpart to the vowel-sound repetition known as assonance. (Sibilance is a special case of consonance as in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”: And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.)

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. It is a special case of consonance as in “few flocked to the fight” or “around the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran“.

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in, or across, words that are close together. Rhyme is a special case of assonance. Examples include, Light My Fire, Crying Time, great flakes, between trees, the kind knight rides by, and (from The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems):

If you can boogaloo
boogaloo
I can do
the boogaloo too
for I’m the boogiest
hopaloo kangaroo

Confession: I love this stuff and had way too much fun today.

Billy’s Benevolent Bedlam

Bronco bouncer Billy Bob Butler,
advisedly and explanatorily was told not to
babble in the scrabble or to write
clichéd adverbial conquests, but to eschew
some few buffoon modifications.

Billy bought beer, bratwurst, and beans.
Faithfully and frivolously his fast fingers
freely flowed past; creatively composing
craftily as he constructed compositions,
purportedly passing on poorly penned
prepositional phrases padded with
crispy mystery, in dumb opposition
to some cat’s torty affirmation.

Look both ways and use all the tools in the box.
Play the crux of the tune with a sax, but mind the gaps, and love the turd’s words.
Lyrics matter more to the baritone in a cappella.

12 thoughts on “NaPoWriMo 2024, Day 26, Billy’s Benevolent Bedlam”

    1. Thanks, Dale. Toward the end of the month (today is the final day) I start grabbing at anything that meets the prompt or assignment. I start telling myself that good is the enemy of done.
      I think that if Maureen Thorson (mistress of NaPoWriMo) or Rochelle can resurrect five+ year old prompts, I may respond in kind.

      This was a trimmed down rewrite of an alliterated prose story turned poem with added consonance and assonance. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Oh I know today is the final day… Yay! (Ooops, did I say that out loud?)

        It’s so funny because it never ever crosses my mind to resurrect older pieces. I figure if I’ve got nothing, I’ve got nothing and call it a day. Then again, I am not participating in such a challenge.

        I really enjoyed it.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I bet you are. You did more than well, mon ami. And your choices of verse were always entertaining to moi.

        I bet a rest will feel nice!

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment