Hey, y’all. I decided not to follow today’s writing prompt for National Poetry Writing Month. Here’s what I came up with:

NO MORE SHAMBLES

By Farah Lawal Harris, © 2023

A shitty gamble?

A short preamble?

A bull that’s a sham?

I don’t know

what a shamble is—

just that my life was in ‘em.

Not no more, though.

No, no…

I avoid bets and bulls,

liars and fools,

and stupid rules.

Mm-hmm.

No more shambles for me.

Consider them history.