#napowrimo #poetry
Today's challenge from Catullus' poem 'Odi et amo,' and Darwin's letters write a grumpy poem.
I must confess, the idea of being so grumpy that you have come to hate clover and bees is highly amusing to me. Today, your challenge is to take a page from Catullus and Darwin, and write a poem in which you talk about disliking something – particularly something utterly innocuous, like clover. Be over the top! Be a bit silly and overdramatic.
Happy grumpy writing!
DIATRIBE
I hate being old.
There is no fun
in this cloak of
invisibility!
I dislike beetroot
since early childhood.
Eating gooseberries
for dessert, too sour!
Oh my body has
ceased to work as
it should - exhaustion
haunts everyday!
Damn the endless
rain rattling against
the window pane.
I loathe the damp!
My joints ache with
a persistent pain
resistent to meds,
I destest insomnia!
Foods I loved have
turned against me.
Now they give me
Indigestion - heartburn!
I have a box to contain
my medications delved
into daily - I think I hear
them rattling inside me!
Please do not ask me
how I am - I fear I will
detain you an hour at
least with tales of woe.
No, best to leave me
well alone until I write
it out of my system, this
odious dislike and hate!
There, I feel better now,
but abhor that you should
read this diatribe - hey hum
It's better out than in!
©🦊VixenOfVerse, 2026
VIXEN of VERSE 
I can relate to so much of your diatribe, Carolyn, except for the beetroot and gooseberries! We must be of a similar age.
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Well, I am coming up 71 on the 9th of this month but I have suffered with the chronic pain of arthritis for 25 years now. Now with my various other conditions, which I won’t bore you with, I can add chronic tiredness to the list. 😢😣
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