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Letter to a Deity—Prompts Inspired by Traci Brimhall

These prompts are inspired by Traci Brimhall’s two poems entitled “Dear Thanatos,” and “Dear Thanatos—“both of which address the obscure Greek god of peaceful death. Choose a minor deity, one that calls to you, and write a letter addressing the god/goddess. If you wish to also write to/about Thanatos or another Greek deity, this link is a good resource.

The next prompt is a word list compiled from both poems for you to use in your poem: “bridge,” “coiled,”bruise,” “fossil,” “damn,” “ease,” “liver,” “feast,” “testament,” and “wracked.”

The third prompt is to use the line “Damn the daylight, too. Dream me” as a ghostline. Remember to erase the line after you finish and credit the poet for the inspiration.

If you wish to read more of Traci Brimhall, check out her website. I love her book Rookery and have her next two on my list to buy.

For a final prompt, write an ekphrastic poem from the image below. You can be historically accurate (refer to the link provided above) or whatever you wish.

Good luck!

https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Thanatos.html