Great Pantoums for Bad Times—Prompts

Joseph Fasano posts great poetry threads, and his own poetry is beautiful. If you are on the bad place (Twitter), give him a follow. I find the pantoum he shared particularly powerful, connecting to my own writing and subject matter.

For the first prompt, write a poem in which the first line is where you hear the name of a loved one who is gone or mistake a stranger for a loved one. The second line is what you heard or a description of the person you saw, and the third provides the setting. The stanza’s last line is your action in the moment. See where you go from there.

The second prompt is to use the line “I sometimes go months without remembering you” for a ghostline. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration.

“Another Lullaby for Insomniacs” was included in the thread—such a lovely poem.

For the next prompt, write a persona poem of a medical disorder or condition, such as insomnia, anxiety, reflux, asthma, etc. And of course you can use the pantoum form if you wish.

The powerful “The Black Girl Comes to Dinner” was also included in the thread. Taylor Byas is an expert of the pantoum—so much to learn from her.

The next prompt is create a poem or story using the following list of words from the poem: “belly,” “brakeless,” “mirage,” “shimmers,” “brimming,” “tires,” “croon,” “calm,” “face” and “mantras.” Try to switch the nouns to verbs and vice versa.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or story based on this image.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Earth Day—Prompt and Poem from Jared Beloff

I love this poem and the prompt. Jared Beloff is a wonderful poet to read and to listen to at readings. I still haven’t gotten his book Who Will Cradle Your Head, although it is on my to-buy list. You can buy it and read individual poems on his website (listed below).

Btw, I have really enjoyed all the poems and prompts posted by Moist Poetry Journal.

For a second prompt, write a poem or story starting from the line “our hands swooping” (or rather the image). As with all ghostlines, erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration.

A third prompt is to write a love poem or story using the following words “kept,” “pockets,” “sprinkle,” “bare,” “curve,” “rustle,” “skin” and “song.”

Bonus prompt: write about a moment under skies filled with birds and their cries. Connect their flight, the sounds of flapping and calls to your own emotional state.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Fun-guy Prompts

While this is a prompt meant for Bluesky, I think it works for others too (especially the description used). I am a huge fan of mushrooms, lichen and fungus, so I am using today’s prompts as an excuse to post photos of these fascinating organisms.

For an additional prompt, use the following words from description and the alt text: “sprout,” “spores,” “bracket,” “rings,” “skinned,” “caramel,” “hint,” “crumple,” “dampshine” and “tones.”

A third prompt is to research lichen or fungus and see what sprouts (pun intended of course) an idea. Perhaps this article will prompt a poem or story: https://www.discovery.com/nature/the-largest-living-thing-on-earth-is-a-3-5-square-mile-fungus.

Write an ekphrastic poem or story about these cuties.

Or this frilly girl.

Or write about the one below as if it were an alien being. What does it want or do? How does it communicate?

Is there cooperation or competition here?

And, finally, write a poem or story using the photo and the given title (crediting both to William Aegerter).

Good luck! Have fun with fungus!

Revenge Redux—Prompts!

Hey, I found a great revenge poem that I should have included with Thursday’s blog post prompts and added more prompts to that.

The first prompt is to threaten to put someone’s name in your poem or story and why that person deserves to be shamed. If you decide to use the same title, be sure to credit Katie Berta for your inspiration.

The second prompt is to write a list of all the things you wish you had said to a person who treated you badly. Next write a list of crimes by a famous cartoon villain. Now mix and match, using at least three of your imagined retorts with at least three supervillain crimes. Your title should indicate that this is a letter (perhaps unsent) from a superhero or famous “good guy” to the villain.

For the third prompt, write a letter by hand, addressed to someone who hurt or betrayed you. List all the terrible things the person said or did to you. Burn the sheet of paper until only ashes are left. Scatter the ashes on grass, at the base of a tree, on a flowerbed, in a lake or river or the ocean. Now write a poem or story about letting go.

For the next prompt, describe what you wear if you wished to wear the “fur” of your enemy? A mummy-costume of bills and grocery receipts or collage of rejection letters? Maybe dress up as the box for an HP ink cartridge? The Jordache jeans and feathered hair of your fourth-grade nemesis? A suit made of alarm clocks, calendars and to-do lists? A TSA agent uniform in honor of your last flight’s pat-down? A replica of a McDonald’s manager uniform? Be petty.

Bonus prompt: Choose your weapon and explain why in a poem or short story (can be a weapon not shown here in the photo of an exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art).

Good luck! Have fun!

The World of Poetry reading on Sunday! And Prompts!

I am so happy to be invited to participate again in this televised international reading. I am astonished to be included with such prestigious poets. I hope you will be able to join. I will post the recording later though.

The first prompt is to write a poem or story that will convey meaning to an international audience. Humor often relies on local or cultural context as do national politics and of course references to pop culture. Tragedy is easier to translate across languages, but overreliance lessens the impact.

For the second prompt, write about being invited to a party of people who completely outclass you (asking for a friend—me, asking for me). What do you do to try to fit in?

Bonus prompt: What do the lions ask you to allow you to passage through the doorway?

Curses and Blessings—Prompts Inspired by Lady Marshmallow

I am still a little stuck for a poem, and Magic 8 Ball is saying, “Reply hazy, try again.” So let’s resort to silliness and see if that sparks something.

For the first prompt, write a list poem of ridiculous, or annoying, curses. One of the best ones I’ve seen is “May all of your shoes be stolen and your house filled with Legos.” Ban someone from the rapture of cheese, the glory of dry socks, the ecstasy of the first sip of coffee in the morning.

The second prompt is to create a blessing that is the equivalent of “May you live in interesting times.” Write a monkey-paw-curling poem or story. Enjoy!

Good luck writing (and please wish the same for me)! Have fun!

Fashion a Poem—Ekphrastic Prompts

I hope you are all keeping up with the challenge. Today did not go as planned. Yesterday’s poem was little more than a draft and today was dry as Saltine cracker in the desert. Since my well of words has dried up, let’s turn to photos.

All of the prompts will be based from the Fashion & Design exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, which I highly recommend, along with all of the other wonderful exhibits there.

For the first prompt, write a persona poem or story of someone wearing this dress, perhaps a modern siren or mermaid.

The second prompt is to write a poem or story about a god trapped in a dress. What blessings does this deity bestow; what is asked in return? Or just describe the dress and how it would make you feel wearing it.

The photo above displays the headdress of a ruler. Describe the country and disposition of the ruler. Or imagine the weight of that upon your head if you must always wear it. How do you move through doorways, along crowded streets and sidewalks, the world? How does it change your relation to others?

Write a poem or story about a conversation between these two mannequins or two people wearing these outfits. What are their perspectives, motivations or five-year plans?

These are created by Sebastian Errazuriz, 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers (The Gold Digger, The Heartbreaker, The Boss). Imagine what the others in the series look like and write a poem or story about these other imagined shoes and who wears them.

If none of the previous photos interest you, here is another possible subject for an ekphrastic poem or story.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

It’s Adventure Time and Other People’s Prompts

My brain hurts, and I have no idea what I will write for either a prompt or for a poem (so far I’ve kept up with writing a poem a day). To save some of my gray matter (more like dryer lint at this point), I am going to share prompts from other people.

The first prompt is from a roleplaying adventure, but it could work for a fun story or poem—definitely will create a steamy scene (sorry, not sorry).

This prompt below is from Kelli Russell Agodon, whose poetry is beautiful.

2. Write about a poem about a superhero coming to your house and confronting you about something. Somewhere in the poem, you have to state what your superpower is.

For the full thirty prompts posted (which include word lists, a twist on a family recipe and various line restrictions and other constraints), check out her website: https://www.agodon.com/uploads/2/9/4/3/2943768/writing_prompts_by_kelli_russell_agodon.pdf

But if you want another adventure prompt, here is Dice Company to the rescue:

Of course you can always change the stagecoach to a motorcycle and the Bag of Holding to a purse or backpack to make the prompt less fantasy-like for your own writing. Or you could make it more surreal: chased by a deep regret, describe what you throw to help you escape or to finally sate its hunger: your abandoned manuscript runs after you, pages flapping madly, and you throw pencils and ink pens at it until its pages bleed blue. Or something even weirder.

You could use a random generator for a fantasy location and describe it in a story or poem, applying it to your own life if possible.

I definitely could describe myself wandering around a medical center today, late for multiple appointments.

For the next prompt, imagining yourself as a castle, describe the person for whom you’d lower your drawbridge. How would you let the person in?

Moving from castles to forts, personify your own or a former lover’s defenses and boundaries but gradually shift the warlike framing to one of gardening and tending. See what happens as you shift the terminology.

And for the final prompt: Write a story or poem based on this image of group of people/the tunnel.

Good luck! Have fun!

“Graveyard of suns”—Prompts Inspired by Lara Coley

We are at the midpoint of 30/30! I hope you are enjoying the process of writing, if not daily, then more often than usual. Or if you are someone who already writes daily: wonderful!

Such beautiful lines in this poem by Lara Coley, I hope they will inspire your next poem or story. Here is the link if you are interested in her book: https://buttonpoetry.com/product/ex-traction/.

For the first prompt, use the first line “You are disappearing into the shadows of the past” for a ghostline. Remember to erase this line and give credit to the poet for the inspiration.

The second prompt is to imagine all of your body as territory staked to a current partner, former lovers, a child, a pet or even the sun or a plant. Perhaps your lap is designated to a cat, your left hand to pet a dog, your cheeks to redden in the sun. How do the different owners navigate your borders?

For the third prompt, write a poem or story using the following list: “shadows,” “darkness,” “mangled,” “ghosts,” “flesh,” “stake,” “luminous,” “whispering,” “graveyard” and “shine.”

The last prompt is to create a list poem of graveyards. Who or what is buried there? What characterizes each? Which will you go to when it is time?

Good luck writing! Have fun!

An Ant Farm Full of You—Prompt by Todd Dillard and Poem by Russell Edson

I know I’ve already posted a prompt by Todd Dillard, but I had so much fun writing a poem from this one, and I adore the sample poem he provided. I think this prompt would work for flash fiction too.

Here is the full poem by Russell Edson.

Good luck writing! Have fun with yourself!

“God is red”—Prompts Inspired by Arminé Iknadossian

As is obvious from previous posts, I love poems that use color as the throughline, and this poem is gorgeous, as are all of hers that I’ve read. I know I will turn over and over to the imagery and power in Arminé Iknadossian‘s All That Wasted Fruit. 

For the first prompt, begin a poem or story by personifying a color as the first line here does: “Red is so needy; so eager / to spill onto the floor.”

The second prompt is to use the line “You taught me that God is,” replacing “red” with your own adjective or noun. After you have finished the poem or story, remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration, perhaps in the title or in an after statement under the title.

The last prompt is to write a story or poem using the following list of words: “needy,” “cracks,” “palms,” “bridge,” “blush,” “field,” “reminders,” “bare,” “blood” and “slap.”

Bonus prompt: imagine that each golden pollen is a sentient being, longing to be carried away or even to be consumed, and write a love poem from the pollen to a bee. Or use this variant: write the poem as a prayer from the pollen to its god to be blessed with the bee.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

“little knives”—Prompts Inspired by and by Rachel McKibbens

I was excited to learn that Rachel McKibbens is writing daily prompts for this April. I loved the previous prompts she has posted on her blog, http://rachelmckibbens.blogspot.com/. In fact her prompt 104# on the site is a great one if you are stuck.

I wanted to share this poem, which I love. Here is the link if you wish to listen to her read it: https://poets.org/poem/remember-boys. Her books—blud, Into the Dark & Emptying Field and Pink Elephant—are ones that I turn to again and again.

For the first prompt, write a poem or story about the group you wanted to join and why.

The second prompt is a to use the lines “How different would I be, / how much bigger, if I had been _____ as the start of your poem or story. As with all ghostlines, remember to erase the lines and credit the poet for your inspiration.

A third prompt is to use the following words from the “Remember the Boys” to write your own poem or story: “nest,” “hum,” “sting,” “knives,’ “crawl,” “storm,” “gospel,” “flinch,” “room” and “terror.”

Below is a prompt on Instagram from the poet. Be sure to follow her for more prompts.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story from the photo below.

Good luck writing this month! Have fun!

Know This—Prompts Inspired by Kelly Grace Thomas Vojdani

I love poems that originate from an obscure (to me) fact, and this wonderful poem is no exception (I admit that I am biased though—I think her poetry collection Boat Burned and the individual poems I’ve read are all fantastic).

For the first prompt, take a random/obscure fact—perhaps that it is illegal to get an elephant drunk in the city of Natchez, MS—and build a poem or story from that.

The second prompt is to use a factual statement as a title of a poem or story (“There Are No Stop Signs in Paris”) and the first line/sentence as a result (“So cars and silk-scarved women savor time like it’s theirs”) with all subsequent lines expanding upon the results with concrete details (even if there isn’t a direct correlation).

For a third prompt, use “I remembered what it meant to / call hunger mine” for your first line and go from there. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration. Or if you prefer, use the line for your title, still crediting the poet.

The next prompt is to write a poem or short story using the following words from the poem: “silk,” “savor,” “coast,” “lipstick,” “suitcase,” “hunger, “cost,” “flute,” “drag” and “glittering.”

Instead of the absence of signs, let’s move to descriptive (or ominous) signs.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story based on one (or both) of these photos of bathroom signs.

Good luck writing! Have fun with facts today (or with signs)!

“It’s the End of the World”—Prompts for the Eclipse

…and I feel fine.” The world did not end, but when has that ever stopped a good conspiracy theory? Let’s celebrate all those eclipse apocalypse theories in a poem or short story. Or create your own!

I’ll start first: write a poem or story about a plane flying through the moon and knocking out the sun (courtesy of Bobby Goddin’s photo above).

For the second prompt, write a religious conspiracy theory. This cartoon may get you started, or at least you could write about what you win!

You cannot spell conspiracy and crypto without the letter “C”! Write your own crypto/AI/NFT/techno-bs scam of your own! Bonus points for including Elno Muskrat!

How about an ophthalmologist and US education conspiracy? Don’t forget multiple states allow creationism/intelligent design to be taught in public schools! Yay!

If conspiracies and scams don’t inspire you, how about a nice persona poem from either the moon or the sun. Or write an ekphrastic poem or story of Hannah Hillam’s drawing.

And the final prompt (apocalypse pun intended) is to write about the moon-made-of-cheese conspiracy (perhaps now melted cheese). Bonus points for including Wallace and Gromit. I love that the European Space Agency was my first search result for Wallace and Gromit and the moon made of cheese.

Good luck writing today! Have fun (and some cheese and crackers!)

Poets & Writers Poetry Prompt Inspired by Jessica Abughattas

How is the first week of poems coming? Oof, a little rough for me, which does not bode well for the rest of the month. Here is a prompt from Poets & Writers, which posts weekly fiction and creative non-fiction prompts, in addition to poetry prompts, throughout the year). Here is the link for the latest poetry prompt: https://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises.

While this prompt is similar to a previous one I posted (that one inspired by Beth Marquez who also structured the poem using a repeated “because”), its focus is on what is not said than the anaphora itself.

Here is “Litany for My Father“ by Jessica Abughattas. Check out other great poets and poems at Split This Rock, https://www.splitthisrock.org/poetry-database.

For a second prompt, use one of the lines, perhaps “Because home is too far for the scent of,” for the first line of your poem and go from there. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration with an “after Jessica Abughattas,” or you can use “Ghostline from Jessica Abughattas” in your title if you prefer.

A third prompt is to write a story or poem from the following list: “search,” splayed,” “plastic,” “drive,” “quartz,” “scent,” “beads,” “carving” oven,” “penance” and “upturned.”

Bonus prompt: write a poem describing this old fort or a story in which this is the setting.

Good luck writing this month! Have fun!

Heavenly Foods—Prompts Inspired by Rudy Francisco

I hope you are all jumping in to 30/30 without trouble. I still have to write today’s poem and hope that this wonderful poem by Rudy Francisco can get me started (although I may just have to go to a local restaurant for the plantains instead).

For the first prompt, combine heaven with the comfort food you had as a child. Does it fall from the sky too, does it grow from trees, or is it served at the table with all the loved ones you’ve lost to time. What blessings do you ask for in heaven? What are you given?

The second prompt is Mad Libs writing exercise: replace the nouns and verbs with your own. Once finished, experiment with form: what happens when you break the lines into couplets, quatrains, etc. Remember that this will be likely be to close to the original but works as a beginning draft that you can rewrite (perhaps choosing one line from the exercise to build a new poem from for May, often the month of editing those 30/30 poems).

The third prompt is to create a poem from the following word list: “sky,” “afternoon,” “rain,” “burnt,” “cut,” “step,” “palms,” “buds,” “insides” and “hands.”

The last prompt is to describe what small decadent gift or strange ability you would ask God or some other divinity for. Don’t ask here for health or forgiveness or protection of loved ones or world peace, but for something tactile and gratifying, perhaps so absurd that only you would want that.

Bonus prompt: write a poem (or story) about this flower as a sentient being who begins speaking to you after your first sip of the draw.

Good luck with 30/30! Have fun!!!

Definitions—Prompts Inspired by Dorianne Laux

I am grateful to Tresha Faye Haefner (and Ella Braden) for sharing this gorgeous poem by Dorianne Laux.

For the first prompt, take a concrete object (as Laux did with wound) and write your own definition for it. Expand upon that definition as if giving multiple uses (as with “wound” as a “flower” and then a “fire” but circle back to connect the two.

The second prompt is a writing exercise: take this poem and change all the nouns (and the verbs in order to make sense). Now take the third sentence you’ve made to use or another one of your choosing (preferably a sentence in which you’ve changed the verbs) as the first line of a new poem. Do change the first line’s and the entire poem’s structure—break that sentence into separate sentences, the poem into couplets or other form. Be sure to credit the poet for your inspiration.

For the third prompt, take the poet’s “what becomes of us once we’ve been torn apart and returned to our future” for a question to answer in a poem or short story.

Write a poem or story using the following list of words from the poem: “descent,” “scent,” “war,” “torches,” “tinder,” “flame,” “hands,” “torn,” “naked” and “scar.” Try to switch the nouns to verbs and vice versa. As an added constraint, let the poem be a love poem or the story a romance.

The last prompt is to use the line “Say goodbye to disaster” as a title for a poem or story.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Write Your Own Legend—Prompts Inspired by Brendan Constantine

As the dumpster fire of 2024 burns on, I find myself craving escapism in both my reading and writing, and this poem by Brendan Constantine is perfect for me (full disclosure: I always love his poems). If you want to listen to him read it and another poem published by The 2River View, here is the link: https://2river.org/2RView/28_3/poems/constantine.html. [I somehow lost the ability to add hyperlinks to text and use other features on my iPad, hence the delay.]

For the first prompt, write your own legend or fairytale about forgiveness. As here, leave the reader with some mystery.

Or, as in so much of fan fiction, take the thief here and write a poem or story to provide his backstory. Be sure to credit the poet for your inspiration.

The third prompt is to take the line “This time she did as she was told” as a ghostline to begin a new story. Don’t try to finish this story, but create your own, still giving credit to the poet for the starting line. Remember to erase the line, or alternatively, you could keep it as a title, again acknowledging the poet in with an “after Brendan Constantine.”

This next prompt is only an exercise: take this poem and replace the verbs and nouns with those of your own. Now take a line you’ve made in this exercise as the first line for a new poem or story. Be careful that you are not writing too close to the original.

A fourth prompt is to write a fairy tale for “when the world was” not “a forest.” What was the world then? A castle, a broken vase, a high-rise, driftwood, a calculator? Begin there.

The last prompt is to write a love poem or romantic story using the following words: “animal,” “body,” “build,” “storms,” “river,” “hold,” “firelight, “mask,” “touch” and “song.”

Bonus prompt: write about this image as fairytale, bleak warning, however you wish.

Or use this cartoon for inspiration instead.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Reflecting on the Infinite: Prompts Inspired by Mary Ruefle

Today is the start of the new posting schedule—Mondays instead of Sundays (although I often was late). To celebrate my increased potential punctuality, let’s celebrate by starting off with the great Mary Ruefle’s “The Imperial Ambassador of the Infinite,” shared by Simeon Berry (a great poet to follow).

For the first prompt, create a list poem of images that remind you of a particular event. Let readers make the connection.

The second prompt is to use the lines “Except when I run away from home / by hiding under the bed” as a ghostline for a poem or the catalyst for a short story. Remember to erase the lines and credit the poet for your inspiration.

For the third, write a story or poem using the following words: “garden,” “shaded,” “held,” “smashed,” “street,” “loosed,” “mirror,” “drenched,” message,” “stoned” and “forever.”

A final prompt is to create a poem from images of broken objects interspersed with mentions of time and/or the infinite.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or short story based on this image.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

On the Boat—Prompts Inspired by Daniel McGinn

As you’ve noticed, I once again did not post a prompt on Sunday. I think it will be easier for me to post on Monday as Sundays are getting busier for now.

From poems about love to those about death, we are covering all the bases here! I’ve been meaning to post this wonderful poem by Daniel McGinn for a while. I love that it works both as an ekphrastic of the tarot card and as a persona poem of Charon from Greek mythology.

The first prompt is to draw a card from a tarot card deck and flip it over. Write a poem or story that incorporates the card’s imagery and symbolism but also incorporates a well-know character or story from mythology, literature or pop culture. If you prefer, you could combine the card with a current event.

For the second prompt, write about a place in which you “are almost there” / “were always there” in your memory or your dreams. This place can be a house that you lived in as a child, the pervasive forgot-you-had-an-assignment/test school dream, or a recurring dream of a place you have only imagined. What place do you always return?

The third prompt is to use the line “while my back is turned away” as a ghostline for a narrative poem or short story. Tell us what happens next.

For another prompt, build a poem or short story from the following word list: “map,” “need,” “carry,” “just,” “hangs,” “net,” “breath,” “back,” “iron” and “shore.” Try to switch nouns to verbs and vice versa.

The final prompt (pun intended) is to describe the “other shore” and create your own afterlife. What will you find when you reach the shore? Buildings, plants and welcoming loved ones? Dust and wind and a distant wailing? Or perhaps you would prefer to give vague hints from glimpses your narrator takes on the journey across.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or story with the photo above as your setting.

Good luck writing! Have fun!