"Songs I'll Never Write" / "Still Yours, Truly"

Paint Chip Poetry #19-20: April 19 & 20, 2025

“Songs I’ll Never Write”

The saxophone solo echoes—
  the drum beat arrives just when its meant to.
  the bass line kicks in, and I am utterly lost in it. 
  the melody soon follows in its own time, only slightly legit. 
While I suck up the dust bunnies under my bed
  and wipe down the kitchen counters, 
  my ears take in the luscious soundscape—the spread
  of sonic goodness I create with my mind.
My eyes close and see the songs I'll never write,
  for as many pomegranate seeds as I could eat,
  for as long as I could chase the lost balloon,
  for as much as I long to traverse the endless dunes
  and embroider new stars into the Milky Way, 
I will always be just a careful dreamer by day,
   letting the world hold me to my word
   promising not to let my voice be heard. 

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“Still Yours, Truly”

I'd like to rest my head on your cedar chest. 
In the dark, the elephant between us doesn't exist. 
The avalanche has not yet slid down the mountain,
and the timber wolf inside me does not yet pose a threat.
In this place, we are still the innocent children;
haven't gotten our shit together or even felt the urge to.
The cup is still full, 
   the tea leaves have not yet set.
Your old leather boots are by the screen door 
   on the back porch. 
I still have my left wisdom tooth,
   still afraid to tell nothing but the whole truth. 
There, in that place, I am still yours, truly.

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Prompts & Paint Chips from April 19 & 20, 2025

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What is Paint Chip Poetry?

While browsing an art supply store recently, I came across a small game box filled with small paint chips and prompts—simple building blocks with which to create infinite poems and colorful sequences.

I’ve always adored poetry but never felt particularly adept at writing it. This year, I’d like to try and get better. With it being National Poetry Month, I thought it would be a fun writing challenge to use this game box as inspiration to write a brand new poem every day for the entire month of April.

The Rules

1. I must choose a prompt and four-to-eight paint chips at random. I get a single opportunity to re-draw a sample if I’m not feeling it, but that’s it. Just one. However, I can redraw if I get a repeat.

2. I must write a poem using the prompt and all of the paint chip words/phrases within the text of the poem. They must be bolded and italicized.

3. I must post the poem each day to Substack & include a photo of the paint chips in every post.

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