Yes, it is a trap, I mean, prompt from Steve Ramirez of the Two Idiots Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug. His prompt even has its own samples poems from Reginald Dwayne Betts and an introduction by Jericho Brown.

If Steve’s prompt doesn’t spark anything, let’s ask more questions until the answers start new questions. Think about the cages or the boxes we build for ourselves or allow others to put us in. What is it made of? Concrete and iron, cardboard, a picket fence, a closet? Why did you stay there? How long did you remain? How did you finally get out? Or are you still waiting for a key, a pair of scissors, a Facebook post, a zeppelin, a lit stick of dynamite to help you escape? What will it take for you to free yourself, or can you only hope for a rescuer? If so, who is that person(s)? What are they wearing, and do they ride in on a horse or a dragon, a VW Bug or a pet fish to release you? Do they bring a toolbox or a lockpick or a chainsaw or a blowtorch?