Some poets only need a few lines to astonish me.

For the first prompt, think about the poem’s title. What does this choice indicate about the poem itself [From Merriam-Webster, “exoteric” means “suitable to be imparted to the public”; “belonging to the outer or less initiate circle”; “relating to the outside”/“external”]? Write a poem that asks universal questions and provide your own answers.

As you write or edit, consider whom you are writing this poem for? Whom do you generally picture as your audience? When you imagine yourself performing your poems in front of a crowd, who is there? Everyone you know, faceless blobs, or just a few particular people? Do the people change for each poem? Who is the general public now? Silent or vocal, majority or not, who needs these questions asked and answered?

Again think about the title and how it so encapsulates the poem’s lines. How would the answers differ if the title had been its antonym, “esoteric”? For the second prompt, write a poem using the title “Esoteric” to discover what happens. What questions—or perhaps only the answers to these rather universal questions—are restricted to only the few? Who are the insiders or the experts in your inner world and of what do only they know?

For the next prompt, take one of the italicized lines and use as a ghostline. Be sure to credit the poet.

This is an old picture of my daughter with a strand of seaweed she named “Lemony” and dragged behind her for the entire day. Rotting and crawling with flies, the seaweed didn’t seem sweet scented to me, but to her Lemony was golden. (Btw, she was not allowed to bring Lemony home.)

Bonus prompt: write about an imaginary friend or some cherished childhood item that others didn’t understand or appreciate in the same way.