Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 113

Wow! Has it really been 8 days since our last prompt? I have to admit that I was a little poemed out after the November challenge, but now I’m ready to go again. I hope you are too!

For today’s prompt, write a poem about a generalized group of people, animals or things. In fact, make the title of your poem the subject; then, write the poem. Possible groups might include “Lawyers,” “Zombies,” “iPads,” “Bottled Water,” “Athletes,” and so on. Your poem could be a wide sweeping epic on this group, or it could focus in on one example that represents the whole.

Here’s my attempt:

“Kids”

Kids kicking rocks and hanging off fences
and swinging on gates and waiting
for no one and throwing rocks–
the same ones they’d earlier kicked–
and picking on dogs and cats and ants and
anything smaller than them
that’s not poisonous or scary-looking
and chasing each other with thoughts
in their heads and touching each other
with feelings they don’t understand and yelling
and hiding and loving and hating and fearing
the world that is bigger than they are,
these kids just want to know everything
will be all right.

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Get metrical!
Sure, my poem above is about as free verse as it gets, but it doesn’t mean poets should completely ignore metrical writing. If anything, learning how to write in meter gives a poet one more tool in the poetic toolbox. That said, check out William Baer’s Writing Metrical Poetry, which is currently available for less than $7 (as of this posting).

Click here to learn more.