There was good news in the world today, but it has been a hectic week, and I needed this poem. I hope reading it helps you too. If you want to listen to the poet read it aloud, click on the link: https://poets.org/poem/instructions-not-giving.
For the first prompt, write what spring (and hope) means to you.
The second prompt is to write about what you see outside your window or on your way to work: what ordinary thing—the neighbor’s tree, perhaps the trilling bird calls, or the purple house you pass by—brightens your morning or welcomes on your way home.
I love the descriptions: “cotton candy-colored,” “taffy” and “confetti.” While I enjoy the narrator’s admiration for the steady green leaves, let’s celebrate the gaudy. Describe a world of sweets and carnivals.
The next is to write a poem using the following list of words: “funnels,” “limbs,” “slate,” “taffy,” “trinkets,” “confetti,” “plodding,” “skin,” “slick” and “palm.”
For the last prompt, use the partial line “When all the shock of white” as a ghostline. Remember to erase the line after you’ve drafted the poem and credit the poet in your title or in an after statement.
Yes, I know I should post a photo of a tree in all its green glory, but this bottlebrush is the one I see outside kitchen window. This is the tree that welcomed us into this home and entertains us and the cats with the birds it provides a landing, the same tree we thought lost to the harsh winter and had to cut down to almost the ground. It is back and beautiful. The shadow is mine, as I admire its healthy blooms.
So for the bonus prompt, write about coming back from the cold in glorious fashion.
Good luck!