Our poetry prompt today came from Dave. He asked us to create a Blackout poem. I chose the lyrics to Black Orchid by Stevie Wonder to create my new poem.
April 13th: Breakbeat Blackout Poem
April 12th: A Golden Shovel Inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio
Today, Anna challenged us to find a poet born the same month as our birth month. I veered away from a poet and chose Leonardo DiCaprio because we were both born on November 11th. I chose an 11-word quote of his and used it for my striking line of my Golden Shovel poem.
DiCaprio’s quote: “I need somebody to bring me back to who I am.”
April 11th: Lines in My Prime
Erica prompted us to write a poem about an abstract concept using prime numbers as our syllable count! I chose 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11 for my prime numbers.
April 10th: Whimsical Science
Brittany challenged me today to write a poem with some reference to science. Serendipity would have it that I’d listen to a poetry podcast and hear the words of the intro and knew that’s where my poem would be found. I loved Major Jackson’s introduction and used it to write a blackout poem.
Here is what he said and below it is my poem:
“As we stroll slowly beneath the earth’s giants, amidst fungi, moss, lichen, and ferns, we are being workshopped in dappled light. What’s restorative isn’t merely the smells and sounds of woodlands, chirping birds and glimpses of wildlife. We are forced to confront the illusions of modern life. We are awash with a simplicity that takes us to idylls of clarity, that encourages introspection.”
April 9th: Breaking the Rules
Today, Wendy prompted us to break the rules! Yay! First, I wanted to break the rules in a poetry form. Then, I decided to focus on when it’s okay to break rules in general. The times that we are in evoke a constant pushing and pulling of right and wrong.
April 8th: Something You Should Know
Emily prompted us yesterday to write about ourselves using small and mundane details others may not know.
April 7th: Death in a Poem
Today, Denise prompted us to explore death in a poem. I read Nikki Giovanni’s poem, Rosa Parks, to inspire my Golden Shovel poem. The strike line I chose was when Emmett Till’s mom said, “I want the world to see what they did to my boy.”
When my mom passed in 2010, she orchestrated her transition by protecting my sister, my stepdad, my daughter, and me from the final phases of her passing. She saved that special moment for the hospice nurse and my son. 
April 6th: A Sijo (Korean Poetry with a Twist)
Today’s prompt from Barb was to write a sijo poem. It’s a Korean poetry form with 3 lines and a twist. The syllable count should be between 44-46. It was tricky but I worked with it until something made sense and felt beautiful.
April 5th: Poetic Drive-bys
Today’s prompt from Bryan asked us to write a poem as a gift or an offering to someone who would least expect it. 
April 4th: Write a Grammatically Ungrammatical Poem, Break the Rules!
Today’s prompt came from Jennifer asking us to break the rules, make new words, verbify our nouns, or rearrange words to our heart’s content. My word play was fun with JOY!
