Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 094
For this week's prompt, take the phrase "The Meaning of (blank)," replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: "The Meaning of Life," "The Meaning of Algebra," "The Meaning of Meanings," etc.
Here's my attempt:
"The Meaning of Death"
Jonah breaks the silence: "People
die in this game." Once, Reese told me,
"Aphids are hated by many
gardeners." Not the kind of thing
expected from six-year-old mouths.
"Daddy, I'm dead now," says Jonah,
who thinks he's still in the belly.
Ben hits him and yells, "No, you're not."
Will squeals. Some ants protect aphids,
so they can use them as livestock;
they eat the honeydew produced
by the aphids. Jonah and Reese
chase each other as Ben follows
Will, who runs between the tombstones
with a watergun. Ben says he
wants to be a soldier. "I will
probably die before you do,"
he tells me. I say, "Over my
dead body." He smiles and says,
"I knew you'd say that." Jonah asks,
"Daddy, who's going to die first?"
I wish I could say nobody.
*****
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