2013 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 2

What's more challenging than taking that first step? Taking a second step. Let's keep November going.

For today's prompt, write a "news of the day" poem. The poem should use some sort of recent news event as a springboard. It can be a news story from today (this morning), but it doesn't have to be. In fact, you could even go "old school" and find news stories from archived sources--like the "news of the day" from 1936 (to pick a random year).

Here's my attempt at a "news of the day" poem:

"Des Moines"

After he drove away in her minivan
with a 10-inch knife, she told her family
how he was acting "extremely paranoid."

Her family called the police, who found him
quick enough in the minivan. Officers
attempted a felony stop, but he would

not roll down his window and ignored commands.
Then, he fled at high speed before completely
leaving the road. He jumped out and ran northwest

through houses before circling back and being
arrested. Police discovered a glass pipe
for smoking meth in his pocket. Earlier

that day, he beat a woman with a hammer.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer's Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World's Problems, a collection of poems about love, forgiveness, and modern life. The inspiration for today's poem came from an article he found in the Des Moines Register (click here to read). Robert is 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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