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.
poetry
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…
Empty vases on the window sill (a poem)
Today’s poem was inspired not by a prompt, but by a line in a new poem posted today by Talicha J, Something has tried to kill me and failed… My poem is not as evocative, nor is it a response to Talicha J’s poem; it’s an impression based on a photograph I made yesterday. Either way, the line in question, “I gave him hours he didn’t deserve”, had me rushing to pen and paper…
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…
Water Dream (a poem)
A dream fragment…
Reflections on a Conversation (a poem)
No prompt today. Instead, a combination of a conversation with a friend and the Japanese drama (Long Vacation) I’ve been watching the last couple of days..
One Sunday Morning (a poem)
Early morning, watching a David Sylvian video on YouTube.
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.”
Ordinary Average Thoughts 