—Not lest ye be also judged But lest ye fail to act An honest word has often nudged A theory into fact #vss365 #prompt #judgement #poetry #poem #amwriting

"I used to wonder about that—" I caught myself mid-litany. When did my musings render flat the many peaks of mystery, To #tether to the trite mundane those nuanced views I'd once proclaim? #vss365 #prompt #tether #poetry #poem #amwriting

Those empty sockets don’t bother me like the eyes did Bones that once rattled in the wind are sinew-seized and still And the moans might accuse but age brings fewer fucks and my hearing isn’t what it was I was #haunted yes— but only when I entertained so many ghosts #vss365 #prompt

I was the piece that didn’t fit— Until you clipped my corners With the right attitude any wrong attribute can be snipped into submission coerced into conformity But fitting is not belonging #vss365 #prompt #misfit

You transform humble cobwebs into silken subtleties Beacon of the dawn grasses imparting such import in your iridescent orb #vss365 #prompt #dewdrop

A ghost A #phantom— No fairy I Prowling the periphery Creaking even carpet underfoot To observe pagan rites Denials #dear on my tongue A lie An effigy So why do I cry when the role is over When the world’s last believer Has lost her last tooth? #vss365 #prompt #toothfairy

#vss365 #prompt for 5 May 2026 is #dear you're dear to me but you should hold yourself dear as should I

Nuzzle near— until your breath and mine are bound between our lips Without fear a little death define the instants we eclipse In love and in #affection we transcend the everyday Indelible upon our lives such moment where we lay #vss365 #prompt

#vss365 #prompt for 3 May 2026 is #affection my affection for you is a fountain not stopping cascading even when we quarrel and don't talk for days even when I kind of hate you and want to stop loving it still keeps flowing sweeping away all doubts

“Three times I speak and summon thee, Padrach O’Curmullion-Wong.” Displaced air rippled from the ritual circle. “Bound by your true #name, I would ask a boon before I release thee.” “My name, ye say? Spake truly? Thy, er, ‘boon’ then: Cantonese is a tonal language.” #vss365 #prompt

#vss365 #prompt for 1 May 2026 is #name there are numerous words in language numerous words we utter and hear every day my heart jumpstarts and my eyes scan the surrounding upon hearing a word your name

“She’s a veritable #lion in the chamber.” “Lithe and powerful?” “What? No. She kills off the sick and the elderly at every opportunity, yet somehow still garners respect.” #vss365 #prompt

It's my last day as your host, as April 30, 2026! Today's #vss365 #prompt is: #lion, in reference to the oldest known myth, The Epic of Gilgamesh! In the epic, lions represent untamed natured. The story also features the goddess Ishtar, whose sacred animal is the lion. 🦁

You claim that none acknowledge you— The depth of your duality It’s not a flex to count to two When most contain pluralities #vss365 #prompt #dichotomous

It's April 29, 2026, and today's mythology inspired #vss365 #prompt is #dichotomous! Like the complementary aesthetics of Artemis and Apollo, twin Greek gods of the moon and the sun, respectively, in addition to other complex responsibilities. These two are among my faves!

These tactics derail the moral momentum we claimed at the start of this brief intervention Perhaps we were hasty to cut off his fingers revenge was important but infamy lingers Let's adapt and move on: We will disavow violence and start on his toes while they ponder in silence #vss365 #tactician

Tell me once again how when surrounded by the foe with overwhelming odds... You laughed because they didn't know That this was the crescendo of a strategy devised by such a bold #tactician as ever analysed— Not really 'twas a goatherd who concocted the surprise #vss365 #prompt

He dabbled where the dappled dusk cast moonbeams into shade reflected in a stagnant pond arose the thing he'd made His curse was to desire all the dread unknown things But Hecate released him as her crescent cut his strings #vss365 #prompt #lunar

It's April 26, 2026, and today's mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt is #lunar! As in the beautiful Japanese moon god, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto (ツクヨミノミコト, 月読命). He has both benevolent and malevolent characteristics, as a keeper of balance and order!

Give me Dying for Dummies an easier text My grip on this life bodes ill for the next Give me Trite reassurance with glimmers of hope And lie if you must it will help me to cope Give me Gentle transitions to soften the blow that the hatred I harboured lies waiting below #vss365 #prompt #psychopomp

Define nonchalant with each lofty air you deign impart Slink Let subterfuge speak in the deepest recess of the room Own uncharted corners and cardboard castles Be difficult Reject the offerings of blunt mortal hands Claw out the respect you require They'll love you in spite #vss365 #prompt #cats

It's April 24, 2026, and today's mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt is #cats! In reference to the so-very-cool Norse goddess Freyja, a deity of love, beauty, fertility, gold, war, and magic, and whose chariot is pulled by the cats Bygul and Trjegul. Her day is Friday!

So you want a compliment? I’ve seen you #fishing these sad waters before— Lacing those hooks through sodden platitudes, freshly unearthed words still white and wriggly No anticipation of the kill Trawling such barren bottoms long devoid of life— You could do So much better #vss365 #prompt

It's April 23, 2026, and today's mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt is #fishing! Something that often factors into myths of the demigod Maui from Polynesian mythology. Some myths hold that he created the Hawaiian islands by pulling them up with fish hooks!

They run rangy Lean of jowl Strong of bite Their growl is rare but more menacing for it The hunger that drives them is the hunger of the pack and a righteous thirst Do not come between them and the water These leaders are like #wolves Let their howls resonate in our bones #vss365 #prompt

It's April 22, 2026, and today's mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt: #wolves! As in the wolves of Odin, Geri and Freki. The Allfather of Norse mythology, Odin is a complex and extremely cool god after whom Wednesday (Odin's day) is named!

Trawling through the Ladies' Market in search of meaningful mementos while high on a mélange of incense, curried fish balls, and durian; A detailed figurine in #jade caught your eye "It reminds me of childhood," you said "It's how much?!" I replied moving on #vss365 #prompt

It's April 21, 2026, and today's mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt is #jade! Like the Jade dragon from Journey to the West. This culturally defining Ancient Chinese epic features a wonderfully colorful main cast, helmed by the wonderfully rebellious Monkey King!

Did you hear he bleached his coral? Oh, that's such a human fad— Ever since his daughter joined them he's less royalty than Dad From the oil on the ceiling To those plastic turtle ties As she sings another chorus it's our dignity that dies... Under the sea #vss365 #prompt #undersea

The April 20, 2026 folklore-inspired #vss365 #prompt: #undersea! As in the coral palace of the Japanese sea god, the dragon Ryūjin (龍神). A tumultuous and powerful god, Ryūjin can take human form and can be as helpful and benevolent as he can be formidable.

The April 19, 2026 folklore-inspired #vss365 #prompt: #trickery! Inspired by the West African trickster, Anansi. Often (but not always) depicted as a spider, Anansi represents wisdom, wit, cleverness, and defiance. He originates in southern Ghana, with the Akan people.

Deceit R Us Is us? Are we? —We'll sort the branding later (and the matter of our fee) We have conmen and connivers who can fabricate a fiction to facilitate a falsehood while forestalling any friction #vss365 #prompt #trickery 1/2

Take upon you now a cloak of competence and grace; Your actions set the model that our followers embrace What followers you ask? It is a pity what befell: Your predecessor’s actions had them hurrying to Hell #vss365 #prompt #investiture #poetry #poem #amwriting #writingcommunity

It’s April 18, 2026, and today's mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt: #investiture! As in Investiture of the Gods. This sprawling, violent, very cool Ancient Chinese epic introduces Nezha (哪吒). One of my very favorite gods, I find him to be awesomely rebellious and punk rock.

I long to return by shell and by sea into the surf beyond the lee Subsume this long forgotten soul beneath the waves into the whole; Oblivion— and then rebirth when once more Beauty roams this Earth #vss365 #prompt #seafoam #aphrodite #greekmyth #mythology #poetry #poem #amwriting

The April 17, 2026 mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt: #seafoam! In reference to the birth of the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and fertility, Aphrodite.🦢 Friday is associated with her, and with other goddesses associated with her. A day of love and beauty!

His first word was #hammer he’d follow his Dad by nurture a tinker— by nature a gad His curse was to falter to fumble and flail His passage so pointless for want of a nail #vss365 #prompt #poetry #poem #amwriting #writingcommunity

It’s April 16, 2026, and today’s mythology-inspired #vss365 #prompt is #hammer! As in hammer of the gods. The prompt feels appropriate for today, because it's Thursday; a day of the week named after the Norse god Thor!

You can have my hand my body but my #word went long ago; It was uttered with abandon to a deity I know And I've forged a thousand fables but the morals mostly melt I have worn a thousand labels— but betrayal's what she felt #vss365 #prompt #poetry #poem #amwriting #writingcommunity

My run as host ends with another false cognate, which has the same spelling but different meanings. In Afrikaans, this one is to become, but it's a unit of language in English. Many people want the last one, making it apt for today. The #vss365 #prompt for April 15, 2026 is #word

My cursive’s indecipherable (my printing struggles too) A lefty left to scratch and scrawl no #loops or curlicues Thank Buddha for the printing press (YMMV) Escaping years of smudgy stress The keyboard set me free #vss365 #prompt #loop

For my penultimate prompt, I'm changing course. A false cognate (or false friend!) has the same spelling in English and Afrikaans, but different meanings. Today's means walk in Afrikaans, but it's a circle or cycle in English. The #vss365 #prompt for April 14, 2026 is #loop

“And what are your #letters, son?” she asked, with condescending glee— “An MBA? A BSc? Or maybe PhD?” The boy replied before a blink could countermand his cool, “I weigh a person for themself; not where they went to school.” #vss365 #prompt

In English, it's a retro way of corresponding. In English and Afrikaans, it's a cognate word for the characters, symbols or script in which we read and write. There are about 150 to 300 such systems globally, some no longer used. The #vss365 #prompt for April 13, 2026 is #letters

“These #waters grant forgiveness these waters grant relief from any guilt that ails thee — the answers lie beneath!” The sermon summoned sinners who were duly dunked and drowned We righteous were the winners when that preacher came to town #vss365 #prompt #water #poetry #poem #amwriting

Our bodies and the earth mostly consist of it. Some fear it, but we need it to live - or to drown. It separates us and keeps us apart. But we can cross it to explore, escape and reunite. It's a cognate in English and Afrikaans. The #vss365 #prompt for April 12, 2026 is #water

The plumber knows the secrets that linger down this drain The blood The tears The makeup smears All #sink — And all remain The traps are not eternal But residue will grow: A bioactive journal of the secrets plumbers know #vss365 #prompt #poetry #poem #amwriting

In English, it's another word for a washbasin. In Afrikaans, it's a type of metal. In both languages, it's a cognate word meaning to go under, to submerge, to descend, to plunge. The #vss365 #prompt for April 11, 2026 is #sink

The acoustics here — inside my head — are perfect I wish you could hear #vss365 #prompt #sing

Those nightmares where the fade to black is imperceptibly slow and then all too real Eyes gasping like lungs for a photon to register a receptor to fire And the dawning realisation that this place is different in the dark #vss365 #prompt #blind