Mercy in Its Myriad Forms—Prompts Inspired by J. Sullivan

I am always fascinated by how differently people perceive kindness and how vast the distance is between intent and reaction in social interactions. J. Sullivan’s poem “Mercy” embodies these discrepancies in a clear narrative.

For the first prompt, write about a scene or a past event in which two people commit contrasting acts of mercy or kindness.

For the second, use the line “And I was about to leave you” as a ghostline, erasing the line and crediting the poet after you have drafted the poem.

The third prompt is to write about a time you attempted to save a creature and failed. Did the animal or insect understand you were trying to help? Did it cling to you or attempt to flee?

For the last prompt, write a poem or story using the following list of words: “garden,” “summer,” “praying,” “bright,” “fizzled,” “fingertips,” “save,” “pain,” “softly,” “surprised” and “mercy.”

This photo is of a luna moth I tried to rescue from a river. I am unsure if it had already drowned by the time I saw it floating on the water or if my movements and subsequent splashes are what ultimately killed it. Write whatever this photo or story inspires.

Good luck writing.

Golden—Prompts Inspired by Anila Quayyum Agha

Tonight let’s do something a little different. Rather than posting a poem for inspiration, I would like to share visual art that brought me joy. Years ago, I got to see the art installation “All the Flowers Are for Me” by Anila Quayyum Agha at the Peabody Essex Museum, and I was enthralled.

Here is the link to experience a short video of the installation: https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/anila-quayyum-agha-all-the-flowers-are-for-me. If you would like to read an interview with artist about a previous installation, check out this link: https://www.pem.org/blog/seeing-the-world-in-a-new-light.

For the first prompt, write whatever the photo or video of this installation inspires.

The second prompt is to write a poem about whatever art enlivens you—a painting, photo, song, movie, whatever form.

The third prompt is to read the interview (link posted above) and write an ars poetica poem, a poem about your writing, poetry and its purpose. If you want to learn more about the form and read examples, you can learn more at the website of the Academy of American Poets: https://poets.org/glossary/ars-poetica.

Good luck writing.