I love the simple power of this short poem by Andrea Cohen. So much in so few lines! Tone, language, and form all working together.

For the first prompt, think of a pair of connected nouns like “lamp” and “lamplighter” to set up a relationship between the two that the poem explores. Here are some suggestions: fire/firefighter, garden/gardener or tree/arborist, canvas or paint/painter, cave/spelunker, and safe or vault/banker. See what sparks for you. Do be careful that you don’t follow the poet’s structure too closely, and you may need to provide credit for the inspiration with an “After Andrea Cohen” under your title.

For the next prompt, use the lines “and someone, must in bereaved rooms sit, unfathoming” as a ghostline. Do remember to erase the line and give the poet credit.

The third prompt is also a ghostline. Use the line “Someone must be the ____” as a jumping off point. Again, remember to erase the line and credit the poet.

For a purely writing exercise, simply use the poem as a mad libs exercise. The structure will of course be too close to the original. However, if after inserting your own nouns, verbs, and adjectives, you find that the ideas resonate, you can choose a different form. Make sure to create your own overall structure and syntax/line structure.

Bonus prompt: write a poem as if the photo were your hometown you were returning to after years away.