LINE BY LINE

For We Write Poems


Stacy’s prompt:
“Often there are days when I want to write, yet when I put pen to paper, I draw only a bank.
When this happens you can forget a particular structure, much less legible subject matter.
Hence, my “Line by Line” poetry prompt was born.
My initial idea was to create a poem which delved into many subjects and topics,
all the while staying on the same page.
I was looking for a great reserve of creativity, some off-the-wall references,
and a lot of interesting tidbits to make one awseomely perfunctory piece of work.
Now, when there are no available prompts (or when a prompt just isn’t doing it for me)
I grab my “Line by Line” rules and am well on my way.
I hope you will find this prompt as much fun as I do!
There are fourteen parts (sort of fill-in-the blanks).
I usually require myself to write one line per question
(except for the questions that ask that you write more than one line),
which results in an eighteen line poem at minimum. Sometimes I go for more.
To prevent my poem from being just a body of random statements,
I try to tie them into one general idea.
For example, perhaps you are recalling a memory, or telling a story.
If you find yourself wanting to skip one or two, that’s fine too.
Writing should be a release from real life. Just let loose and have a great time!

1. A feeling 2. Observe the scenery of your immediate surroundings 3. Personification of an inanimate object 4. Use a metaphor 5. Spend four lines recalling a prominent memory 6. Use symbolism in a statement 7. Associate some form of weather to the feeling in #1 8. Tell a lie, about anything 9. Make a reference to a holiday or season 10. State a fact about a favorite artist or poet 11. Compare yourself to a specific piece from the artist/poet you used in #10 12. Negate the lie you told in #8, or further support or restate it 13. Describe a daydream or parts of a dream you’ve had 14. For the last two lines, refer to a vacationing location

I couldn't fit parts 10 & 11 into my piece:


WILDERNESS

Despondency, anxiety
Rice fields bear no rice
Fat Cats’ grain stores taunting me
My glass half-empty now
I toiled long hours; prepared the ground
Seeds I planted prospered
The sprouts I nurtured spread too thin
Too few and far between
Alarm bells rang; I overslept
My clock was running slow
The rain fell hard; too hard for some
Perished plots bear witness
The rice I reap will make me rich
Christmas harvest bonus
But drought has come to visit us
The worst we’ve seen in years
A vision, a recurring dream
Parched grass that bears no grain
Phuket’s tsunami in reverse
The carnage in its wake