Five Poetry Prompts, a Writing Exercise
This year, I’d like to get back to writing poetry regularly. I used to write poetry every single day, and as a result I have hundreds of poems in notebooks and in the writing files on my computer.
For the past few years, I’ve only written a few poems here and there, because the focus of my writing has shifted dramatically.
Poetry prompts are a great way to trigger creativity and sometimes they inspire a truly wonderful piece of poetry.
For today’s exercise, I chose a few poems I’ve written over the years and selected five words from each poem. The objective is to write your own poem using all of the words from any one of the groups below.
Of course, one poem with all of the words would be fantastic! Any combination will do, really, so pluck the words at will. I think it would be fun to compare the ones I wrote to any of the ones you write from this exercise. Will they be about the same topic or have a similar sensibility?
Five Poetry Prompts
Poetry Prompt #1
- steel
- theory
- saving
- imitation
- chisel
Poetry Prompt #2
- mirror
- hazardous
- dandelion
- famine
- committed
Poetry Prompt #3
- tapestry
- sings
- eye
- din
- collide
Poetry Prompt #4
- slippery
- fantasy
- casting
- chameleon
- lives
Poetry Prompt #5
- deadline
- boom
- children
- shallow
- dirt
If you try these poetry prompts, feel free to post the poem you’ve written in the comments section. Hopefully we’ll get some poems that resulted from these poetry prompts. Have fun!
Do you have any poetry prompts you’d like to share? Post your prompts in the comments.
Melissa Donovan is a website designer and copywriter. She writes fiction and poetry and is the founder and editor of Writing Forward, a blog packed with creative writing tips and ideas.
You do not strike me as before
Your touch is cold steel
I try to pull fragments of truth out from your eyes
Only to find endless depths of deception
You are simply an imitation of the
Man I fell in love with
I must now chisel my heart
From your hands
Saving what is left of it
For my theory of true love
-Tanya Pyle 1/04/08
Nice Tanya! I especially like:
You are simply an imitation of the
Man I fell in love with
I’ll have to think about this one, but it’s a great exercise, Melissa!
I love these sorts of challenges. Any chance you’d consider making poetry exercises a regular feature? I’ve allowed my poetry to lapse as well, this is the first since October and they were sporadic before then too.
I would love to get back into writing poetry regularly but like you found my priorities turning elsewhere. A regular challenge could be the kick needed to keep producing despite our busy lives.
Anyway, here is my result. I’m into heaping the challenge so instead of picking one list, I used them all and was very surprised with the direction it went.
What do you think?
Children of War
Hidden in a prison of steel,
broken glass mirroring the darkness,
dankness, destruction, are shallow graves
built to house bones of ash death,
and wisps of children, clothed in famine
and washed in dirt. They shiver in the shadows;
chameleons within the chiseled rock,
crumbled stone, and shards of lives.
Memories collide with the din of distant thunder.
Casting off the shackles of youth
they pull about them, the shrouds of manhood;
an imitation born from the womb of survival.
But in the hazardous dreamtime, they cling,
with hungry glass eyes open,
to slippery fantasies
of dandelion fields in the summer.
They fear the boom, the clang, the metal teeth,
that heralds the moving dead-line, the only escape,
and sing silent songs in a woven tapestry
of light and laughter long forgotten;
saving raw throats for their most tortured gasps.
Sitting on the cold hard floors of institutionalization
they are nothing more than a theory,
the committed, a mind lost before the soul.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Laffar-Smith
http://www.writersroundabout.com
hi! my partner in crime (jillypoet) and i have a poetry site called “fertile ground poetry project.” we started working on this prompt via free writes at this post. we’ll pull poems out of them soon.
i posted a draft poem here. (my poetry is password protected. email me for it art [at] polkadotwitch [dot] com). thanks for this prompt.
Wow, Rebecca! What a vivid piece. I especially love the lines:
But in the hazardous dreamtime, they cling,
and
…the boom, the clang, the metal teeth,
You’ve made me long for a poetry workshop. I used to get great enjoyment from them, and they sure helped me improve my poetry! Perhaps we should start one here at WF…
carolee, freewriting is my favorite type of writing exercise, and I love that you and Jill used the prompts to do freewrites! I’ll look forward to seeing how you evolve your freewrite. Do come back and comment again!
I like what I read here. If I gather my courage, I’ll be back to participate.
Thank you for putting this site up.
Tom
Sequim, Washington
Thanks Tom! I hope you do come back and participate. Keep writing
Well I just found this because I searched for poetry prompts to get writing again too! So this may be a little late but…here’s mine.
The sounds that I hear
Paint a tapestry in my mind.
My eyes, though they are closed
see everything;
Every motion sings out
Shouts to be heard.
Nothing is missed.
Though to some
all sound seems a din
and all noise simply
collides
to me
each word
each sound
is different.
I follow
the conversations
eavesdropping
in plain sight.
Once again
I go unnoticed
as I paint
this tapestry.
Hi Christie, Aren’t poetry prompts helpful? When I want to write a poem but don’t feel very inspired, I often use prompts and writing exercises to get going. You did a good job on this piece; it has a really soft, gentle cadence. I’ll have to get more prompts and poetry exercises up on the site soon. Thanks!
I would greatly appreciate any writing prompts that you have! So far I can’t find any really good websites. Most of them are too easy, such as “write a poem about your first pet” etc. etc. I like challenging ones such as your prompts better. They kind of get my thoughts going, and let me spend a bit more time. Thanks!
I’ve made a note to do poetry prompts for the next writing exercise, which should go live this Friday or next. I’ll try to make them nice and challenging too
I finished the next batch of poetry prompts and they’ll go live early tomorrow on 1/2. Hope you enjoy them!
This is supposed to be centered but I couldn’t do that here. It reads better.
The Job
She tiptoes to the study,
quietly closing the door,
ready to writes people’s lives,
just like she has before.
Some call it “dishing dirt”,
others, “lowering the boom”,
but either way it is truth.
She gets paid only
if the deadline is made.
She taps out shallow promises
politicians use.
and uncovers the powerful
by telling how they abuse
their power, then makes it news.
It’s important to hurry
before the children rise.
After all, she’s only a mom,
in their eyes.
So she wraps it
all up neatly and ends
with a smile, and sighs softly,
As she finally hits, “send”.
Hi SKingrey, I like your poem very much. You’ve managed to convey a sense of secrecy and create a strong image of the narrator’s life (or two lives?). Nice work!
Thanks. I love prompts but I can’t get the hang of what’s good and what’s drivel. .Thank you for the opportunity.
With a little practice, the good will separate from the drivel. Reading a lot can also help with that
To the children of Uganda
a deadline is a line
that can’t be crossed -
if you do, you’re shot dead.
It has nothing to do with time.
To the children of Uganda, boom
boom is the sound of war
The repeated sound a gun makes -
not a box that plays loud music.
The disposable children
of Uganda lie in shallow graves
tucked under gritty blankets
of blood and dirt.
A sound piece of work BTownsend. You could probably get this poem published!
Melissa,
Thank you for your kind words.
BTownsend
She stood in the doorway
casting a glance
around
the darkened room,
hoping not to find him.
But there he was,
the slippery chameleon,
at the end of the bar
draped all over
the blonde,
his inconsistent lives
changing colors.
Right in front of her eyes,
a bitter end
to a sweet fantasy.
Lovely! My favorite stanza is the second one and the lines “his inconsistent lives / changing colors.”
Moon Song
Lift one thread in this tapestry
of life and everything
comes with it. The eye
of the hurricane is not blotted
out by the din of the wind,
they do not collide.
Every night the moon sings
the sun to sleep.
That closing line is beautiful!
Kids for Kids
In her rear view mirror,
their emaciated bodies faded
from sight, but the face of famine
and terror was etched in her memory.
She vowed to return to Darfur
and do something
when no one else would;
but she didn’t leave home alone,
entirely.
Ahead of her, the southwest wind
blew dandelion wishes
for peace,
hope,
and happiness
from the children of the UK
to the children of Darfur.
Patricia brought things more tangible:
goats and crossbred donkeys,
carts and handpumps,
Baobab seeds and ploughs.
When Patricia returned to Darfur,
the whole world followed.
Another wonderful piece. I love poetry that deals with social, political, religious, and humanitarian issues. Nice job!
Truth Saving
Chisel away each thought.
Steel yourself against theory
in favor of direct experience
only. Accept no imitation.
Sift through every experience
in favor of truth-saving only.
I love short poems! Thanks for sharing this.
I used all five prompts and created set of poems I titled “Verses in an Empty Travel Guide.” They came out quite nice. I’ll post two here.
II.
I’ve been told
I’m insane.
I won’t argue with those
who don’t speak to mirrors
Or who don’t butter both
sides of their toast.
Not a single dandelion grows
out of my palm
since the day I was committed.
And Earth’s famine (mankind) gives me
heartburn.
III.
View this tapestry:
A young man’s metal god
drinks to the health of
the molten core.
Unaware, he sings a din
while violins revolt
and set his piano on fire.
The fire.
That is what catches the eye.
.-= Brian Minnick´s last blog ..Poetry Contest =-.
Wow, these are great Brian. Thank you so much for sharing them here. I hope you’ll come back with more. I especially love the ending “That is what catches the eye.” My favorite poem endings are ones that make you think and visualize an image. Awesome.
Five Poetry Prompts
Mirror of my Past
Standing in a dandelion field,
With my eyes upon him, my heart did yield.
If only a hazardous sign had been erected,
Maybe my heart wouldn’t have been rejected.
The famine for passion I felt inside,
Set me up for a rollercoaster ride.
As I look into the mirror of my past,
I see love committed that would never last.
Nice job, Patsy. Thank you for sharing your poem with us
(um, this is in response to poetry prompt #3)
This Is Not An Orgy
the tapestry wraps itself
about her nude body
colours collide
lights flash
blur
someone is burning
a pungent incense
an artsy type
would slit your eye
for the sake of allusion
the din hammers you
into tomorrow’s headache
the woman sings
smiles at you
lasciviously
while you’re too
‘sophisticated’
to take this all
at face value
there is something to be said
for surrendering to the moment
finding the eternal in the transient
maybe embracing
the whole ‘paradox’
sort of thing
and as she takes you
into your arms
you’re lost in the
total effect….
(Greg Cameron, Poem, July, 2010, Surrey, B.C., Canada)
I love when these prompts inspire beautiful works. Thank you for sharing this.
I really like this poetry prompts feature–hope it continues.
I’m working on a new one right now!
I’m going for poetry prompt #4 here. I’m improvising at a library terminal so regard in a charitable spirit, as it were. Here goes…..
Intertwined
I’m a chameleon
oh yes I am
this colour and that
twisting in your long fingers
weaving in and out
slipping and insinuating
knowing the touch
of your skin
our lives stand
in contrapuntal relation
oh no…it’s a fugue!
sound but no echo
we just intertwine
so fine
curl up and down
and all around
so much pleasure
there ought to be a
law against it
oh darling touch! touch!
and if all this
seems a fantasy
well, permit me to add
another twist
and you’ll see
just how much
I love you
we’ll both change colours
and sprinkle this
grey universe
with rainbows
paintings
collages
sprays of brightness
counterpoints of colour
and when our
faces meet
our tongues will
flick out
at each other…..
(Greg Cameron, Poem, December, 2010, Surrey, B.C., Canada…with a flick of the tongue!)
Nice! I’m glad these prompts inspired you to write a piece of poetry!
(I’m going for poetry prompt #2 – I’m tired so don’t expect too much)
Every Mirror Cracked
how can you look in the mirror?
outside the sky is falling
the sun prepares to explode
introspection is a hazarous activity
news of the world -
another famine, another genocide
leaves lick the wind
dandelion seeds scatter
clouds try to get away
waters turn to blood
white turns black
the whole thing threatens
to screech to a halt
everything depends on you
glance at the clock
your dog paws at the window
drops of moisture start to
run down the wall
you remain committed
to the cause
hopeful everything can be
‘fixed’
salvation is but
a click away
and when you press
everything goes up
with a
BANG!!!!!!!!
(Greg Cameron, Poem/Improvisation, December, 2010, Surrey, B.C., Canada)
Hi Greg, That’s excellent. I love the ending: “salvation is but / a click away.”
Hi
Ths is one of the best writing-prompts websites l’ve found in a fair while, so firstly: thanks for that!
Although the original lot of resposnes to the set of poetry prompts have been done and considered some time ago, I’d like to offer this one I did today, for #4 -that included words ‘chameleon’, ‘slippery’ etc:
A wizard’s chameleon
A wizard’s chameleon keeps a tight grip
on its slippery branch,
considering its next prey
while the robed figure in the study
practises casting spells that might or might not affect other lives –
the wizard is not as strong with his magic
as his reptile is at keeping its grip.
Thank you Tim. There are plenty more writing prompts coming
And thank you for sharing your poem. You did a great job!