I spent a week in Minnesota, weeding and painting after attending a lovely wedding. It was great spending time with family, and I needed to feel the sun and cool breezes rather than sitting in waiting rooms and hospitals, worrying. So while I am still behind on reading and writing, I have better grounding. This gorgeous poem by Kelli Russell Agodon embodies my sense that I may bounce back from the last few weeks. It does seem appropriate that my screenshot is all cockeyed though.

For the first prompt, write a “ransom letter to an old self” in whatever form that takes.

The second prompt is to write in a poem or essay about a moment you interacted with a small creature—bird or insect, spider or lizard or frog—and how that interaction mimics some aspect of your life. Or make up a story about meeting or affecting a fictional creature.

The third prompt is to write a poem or story using the following word list: “leaves,” “squeezed,” “hourglass,” “slip,” “pain,” “knot,” suncatcher,” “web,” “rising,” “numb,” and “center.”

For the fourth, describe “normal” as something other than a box, or write a list poem of what “normal” feels like to you or how it has been dictated.

The last prompt is to write a poem for story from the spider’s perspective.

For a bonus prompt, write about the spider in this photo.

For an additional prompt, write as if climbing this monument were to return to your center.

(For more context if you want it, the previous photo is from staircase of the monument and statue of “Hermann the German” from Hermann Heights Park in New Ulm, MN.)

Have fun writing! Good luck!