The August 20th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to write a poem of seven-syllable lines about a dream. I’ve been going through a stretch where I’ve been having dreams, but don’t remember them very well (if at all) when I awake, so…
Martha Silano
That laugh she had (a poem)
The August 19th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to write linked haiku, with the last line of the first verse becoming the first line of the second, and so on. It also suggested writing about a favorite flower, tree, or vine, but I chose to ignore that. I did, however, start this one with the last line of the haiku I posted the other day…
The first day of something new (a poem)
The August 15th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, commemorates the opening of the Woodstock Festival on this day back in 1969. It suggests listening to the music of any of the performers appearing that weekend, then writing a poem based on one or more of their songs. ‘If you are unable to listen to their music today, write a poem about a concert you’ve attended.’ The poem I wrote is based on my experience attending three of the concerts on David Sylvian & Robert Fripp’s March 1992 Japanese tour.
Port Townsend acrostic (a poem)
The August 2nd prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to find something purchased on a trip somewhere, then write a poem in which each line starts with a letter from the name of the city where the item was purchased. The poem is supposed to incorporate the item and describe an event that took place during the trip; I mentioned the item, but no specific event.
hotel room (a poem)
The July 31st prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to write “a gritty, gutsy, and/or groveling poem that includes at least six of these words: stilettos, hangover, whiskey, cigarette, dying, love, begging, naked, jail, dog, hotel. For extra credit, address the reader.” I’d already written something, but decided to give this a shot, anyway. I don’t know that it’s particularly gritty, gutsy, and/or groveling, but here it is…
The place where I belong (a poem)
The July 28th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to write a pantoum—a poem consisting of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of one stanza become the first and third lines of the next.
This proved to be a bit tricky, as my initial attempts didn’t lend themselves well to this form. It was only later in the evening (it is approaching 11:15 p.m. as I write this) that I got anything I was reasonably satisfied with—and just a few minutes ago that I got something down that I thought would be worth posting…
27 Reasons I Still Have Anxiety (a poem)
This was a tough one. The July 19th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to “write your own list poem using ‘because’ as your refrain word.” (Their main reference was Juan Felipe Herrera’s ‘187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross The Border’ poem.) The tough part wasn’t getting something down on paper, but the subject I chose to examine. I’m almost hesitant to post it, except that I remember the words of Henry Rollins and others, who note that it is those things that are the most revealing, that give artists the most pause, that they are most worried about putting out into the world, that tend to have the greatest value. So, instead of worrying about what it reveals (or doesn’t reveal) about me, I am trusting that this poem (as such) will have some meaning for a few people.
A poem about a job
The July 18th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to “write a poem in everyday speech about a job you once had.” This is kind of a long one, covering the three years at the job I had in Tokyo with a very large corporation.
Reality Gap (a poem)
Catching up with the July 15th prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano: “Write a poem in which each line ends with the same rhyme.”
What Do I Know? (a poem)
The June 23rd prompt in The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, by Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano, is to write a poem “about what you’ve taught yourself.”
Ordinary Average Thoughts 