2013 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 14
Two weeks! We’ve made it two weeks into the challenge. I don’t know why I ever doubt it, but this month is flying by as it usually does. For today’s…
Two weeks! We've made it two weeks into the challenge. I don't know why I ever doubt it, but this month is flying by as it usually does.
For today's prompt, write an exploration poem. Maybe you're exploring a new land, the depths of quarks, outer space, the mind, the soul, etc. Your call. In fact, it could be said that most poems are an exploration of one sort or another. So get at it.
Here's my attempt at an Exploration Poem:
"North American Cities"
Dig a little deeper and see a door
held open in Lincoln, an umbrella
offered in Seattle. Then, a whole
meal purchased for a family
in Albuquerque after their four-
year-old daughter sang songs
for the entire restaurant. In West
Lafayette, a college student tutors
children for free. A single mother
in Minneapolis coaches a youth
baseball team when no one else
has the time. In Birmingham,
a black woman protects a biker
with a swastika tattoo from angry
protesters. A man in Savannah
plays his trumpet and accepts
tips that he donates to homeless
shelters. Everywhere, throughout
this country, in every large city
and small town, there is so much
beauty it hurts to look at it too close.
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Robert Lee Brewer is a Senior Content Editor for the Writer's Digest Writing Community and a person who believes there's more good than evil on the planet. He's the author of Solving the World's Problems, a book that examines both good, evil, and the blurred lines that exist between both. He's married to the poet Tammy Foster Brewer, who helps him keep track of their five little poets (four boys and one princess). Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
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Check out more poetic posts here:
- 2013 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 13. Just in case you missed yesterday's prompt.
- Nancy Posey: Poet Interview. A previous winner of the November PAD Chapbook Challenge.
- 5 Ways to Revise Poems. A few revision strategies.

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.