A writing challenge? Why not?

Years ago, I participated (badly) in NaNoWriMo. I thought about doing so again this year - after all, it's not as though I have much filling my time besides work and wishing for death, right? But today, I discovered that there's also a writing challenge for October: OctPoWriMo. This intrigues me, particularly since poetry is not in my writing comfort zone. At all. And I always used to be a woman who loved stepping out of my comfort zone. I do not love it now, which is precisely why I'm doing it. (Yes, that really does make sense; to me, at least.)

Can I really write 31 pieces of poetry in 31 days? Hell if I know. If I can, will any of it be even remotely good? Probably not, but it's a creativity exercise - not a contest. May as well give it a shot.

There are prompts each day; I may or may not stick to them, but for today, I'll use it (though I'll no doubt stray from what the organizers were expecting)... 

Shine your light is the main prompt for today, in fact it is the theme for this OctPoWriMo. Some have taken this time during the Pandemic to explore their talents and share them with others. How can you shine your light? 

OctPoWriMo 2020 #1: Untitled

I wake
    goosebumps in the morning chill    
    watching the word slowly come to life with the sun's light

We loved
    the warmth of our bed in the cold mornings
    the smell of a pot of chili on the stove
    the sun low in the sky and streaming into the back of the house

We began
    in October
    in the dive bar where we met up for drinks
    and where we knew: this was something different

We married
    in October
    in a tropical paradise
    far from chilly mornings and sweaters and cider

We ended
    in February
    dreary, cold, brutal, endless February
    when you left me and I lost my light

The sun
    began its return in March
    then the whole world lost its light

We all
    lost our routines
    and our comforts
    and our normal

For everyone
    nearly everything changed
    fear and uncertainty still hang over our heads

As though
    Earth herself and all of humanity
    were mourning you with me

Some day
    this will be over
    most everyone will return to their normal lives
    their lights will return

For me
    there is no normal to go back to
    only the empty void of a life planned but now out of reach
    my light left forever when you did

Autumn
    will never be the same