Witing Prompt – Poetry Society of Michigan

Prompt: Changes

Published on February 15, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Write about something that changes over time. Could be you and an attitude. Could be a chair gathering snow. Could be the deer settling down. Could be your car rusting away.

Prompt: Recipe for a Poem

Published on August 16, 2020 by Editorial Staff

This is another fun prompt. Write a poem using a recipe as your guide. I could give you a bunch of advice, but It is possible to stir loathing into a batter of glitter and regret. Bake at 485 for six years.

Prompt: Junk Drawer

Published on July 16, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Today’s poem is waiting to be discovered in your junk drawer. I know you have one. Or in the closet you’re afraid to open. Find it in there.

Prompt: Syllabic Verse

Published on June 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Syllabic verse: count syllables. It can help shape the poem. I had a poem yesterday that was doing nothing, so I thought maybe syllabics would help. I counted the first line: 12 syllables. I counted the second: also twelve. The first four lines were all twelve. This was educational. It’s a better poem now. Like rhyme, syllabics force you to reconsider your word choices. Try it with a floundering poem, not that you have any of those.

Prompt from “The Minds Eye” by Kevin Clark

Published on June 19, 2020June 19, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From The Mind’s Eye by Kevin Clark:

Think of a common everyday activity that you might do: feed the cat, scratch your head, make the bed, etc. Choose one activity. Let your imagination go wild. How can you make this activity into something weird, wild, or bizarre (or beautiful)? Write a poem that does that. Since you want to emphasize the physical as well as the strange, concentrate on good verbs. Limit the poem to fifteen lines.