#napowrimo #poetry
Finally, here’s today’s (optional) prompt. Amarjit Chandan has a pretty wild biography, but his poetry is often focused on place and memory – with his hometown of Nakodar appearing repeatedly. His poem “Uncle Mohan Singh” recounts, with a sort of dreaminess, a memory of the titular uncle playing the accompaniment to a silent film. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that recounts a memory of a beloved relative, and something they did that echoes through your thoughts today.
Happy writing!
AUNTIE HILDA
Auntie Hilda was old school.
Worked half-time aged thirteen
In the cotton mill and tipped
her wages up to her mother
and received 'pocket money'.
Danced her way to her first
engagement to a sailor
during the second world war.
He was sadly killed, and two
years later, she married Uncle Bob.
Another sailor, he came from
Barrow-in-Furness, youngest
of ten children, he settled in
Oldham with Auntie Hilda and
Rex the dog, and Ruin the cat.
He had a motorbike and sidecar
and my mum rode pillion and
Auntie Hilda and us rode in
the large sidecar with Rex.
Off on a day out to Blackpool.
Auntie Hilda had no children
of her own but was always an
expert in how to bring us her
nieces up. It drove her sister,
my mother to distraction!
Underneath her gruff exterior
she had a heart of absolute gold.
She took us on holiday every
year with Uncle Bob, who had
such a good sense of humour.
He took us on fair rides and the
big wheel while Auntie Hilda
clutching, our coats waited so
anxiously below, glad when we
returned to her and Terra firma!
Uncle Bob used to tease her quite
a lot, and she fell for it every time.
When painful arthritis reduced her
mobility, he lovingly pushed her
around in a wheelchair, cheerfully.
When she died, he missed her so
much and kept to her household
routine as if she was watching him.
Auntie Hilda was a strong woman,
Who we all loved and missed her still.
©🦊VixenOfVerse, 2026
VIXEN of VERSE 