2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 12

After yesterday's challenging prompt, I think it's only fair to have a bit of a softball (of course, I still need to write my poem; hopefully, I didn't jinx myself).

For today’s prompt, pick a color and write a poem. The color could be the title of your poem (or part of the title). Or the color might show up somewhere in the poem. Or it might not be mentioned at all; instead, it might act as a sort of "spirit animal" or compass for your poem.

By the way, want a fun poem to read and use as inspiration? Check out Frank O'Hara's "Why I Am Not a Painter."

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them. If you have a wild idea, follow it.

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Writer's Digest is celebrating our 20th Annual Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards with new categories and prizes. We’re looking for your best poems of 32 lines or fewer or un-published chapbooks 25 pages or fewer. Any form of poetry is eligible including epic, free verse, odes, pantoums, sonnets, villanelles, and even haiku. This is the only Writer’s Digest competition exclusively for poets. Win cash and an article about you in the July/August issue of Writer’s Digest.

Click to continue.

(Note: This is completely separate of the November PAD Chapbook Challenge.)

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“The Bag”

She tells me to grab the blue bag,
but I only see a black one,
so I say, "There's just this black bag,"
but she says to grab the blue bag,
then someone asks, "the purple bag,"
and I look over at my son
holding the blue-black-purple bag,
though I still think it's a black one.

(Note on today's poem: I used the triolet form, because once I get started on writing poetic forms, it's hard to stop.)