So at least I am reading more than previous, but definitely not every day. How are you all doing on the challenge? I hope better than I have!

Even though I haven’t read as much as intended, I at least have read excellent books. Kelly Gray’s Instructions for an Animal Body is wonderful, filling my head with dripping moss, the shadows of wings, and transformation. I particularly loved “The Fox as Form.” Another of the poems from the collection, “When the Shooter Comes: Instructions for My Daughter,” was used as inspiration for the workshop I attend. It is powerful.

It was of course difficult to choose just one poem, and I realize now that “The Season of Motherhood” is a little less surreal and dark than most in the book, but I am missing my daughter, so this one called to me.

For the first prompt, describe two people in relationship antonyms—perhaps of seasons as shown here. Notice how the daughter is “Spring,” movement, sky, and brightness whereas the narrator describes herself as “Winter,” “stillness,” and earth. Binary oppositions have long been used in poetry, but focus on where the opposites meet and what pulls them together.

For the next prompt use the line “We intersect where the long grass is ice flat” as a ghostline. Go from there. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration.

The last prompt is a Mad Libs writing exercise. Take the poem’s structure but replace all of the nouns and action verbs with your own. See what happens. Perhaps a line you’ve recreated will inspire a poem of your own.

Good luck reading and writing!