2011 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 17

Good morning, all! Before I get to the prompt today, I just wanted to send a note about my recent limited edition chapbook ESCAPE (click here for more details). I'm down to the final five copies, so if you'd like one for yourself (or a friend), then now is the time to order. To claim your copy, send an e-mail to robertleebrewer@gmail.com with the subject line: I Need an Escape. Once I confirm that I have a copy to send you, I'll send along payment information--the collection is $10 (and includes shipping to anywhere in the world--so you international types really get a bargain).

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For today's prompt, write a poem that reveals something. Maybe it's something physical (like light revealing an intruder or pulling back a sheet to reveal a new car). Or maybe it's something psychological, emotional, or spiritual. Today's the day to reveal.

Here's my attempt:

"By the time you read this, I'll have written another poem"

Sometimes, I just can't control myself: line
begets line, and I find my wheels spinning
through the same exhausted vocabulary
searching for a better combination, or,
at the very least, something slightly new.
I do it without thinking most times,
because it's better that way: no sense
in forcing a square peg where the triangle
belongs. These songs, these blasted songs, make
me long for the good old days when rhymes
were the structure and the meaning and the way.

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Follow me on Twitter @robertleebrewer

And read my other My Name Is Not Bob blog to learn more about writing, publishing, and living in general.

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Have a question?

You're not alone. In fact, Al Katkowsky's Question of the Day: Where the Truth Is the Dare is filled with questions. With questions ranging for light to heavy, this book is filled with great queries that could prompt a poem or start a meaningful conversation among friends.

Click to continue.