Personal

Prompt: Pick an animal; make that animal the title of your poem; then, write a poem.

CHICKENS

The family pet is a precarious
decision, like adopting someone
you know will die before you
and yours.

We could not agree on a dog
or a cat; the former too much
like a third child, the latter yet
another unpredictable in-law.

Guinea pigs were a consideration,
but since we left the Bronx,
willingly taking in a rodent
didn’t make much sense.

Six more months into this
recession and backyard chickens
would fit right in with canned food
and ammo in the basement.

Eggs in the morning, amusement
throughout the day, and when times
get rough, heartbreak is lessened
by a delicious dinnertime memorial.

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Prompt: Take the phrase “The problem with (blank)” and replace the “(blank)” with a word or phrase. Make this the title of your poem and then write a poem to fit with or juxtapose against that title.

THE PROBLEM WITH ADAM SANDLER

Dick and fart jokes aren’t
nearly as funny on the fifth
telling, and the sadsack schmuck
with a heart of gold who gets
the girl anyway lost its appeal
years ago.

Well-deserved kudos for Jewish pride
don’t offset the absolutely unforgiveable,
inhumane and sadistic casting of
Rob Schneider in every movie.

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Prompt: Write an outsider poem. You can be the outsider; someone else can be the outsider; or it can even be an animal or inanimate object that’s the outsider.

HEARTBURN

She wears it on her sleeve
because it does not fit
in her chest, too full
of life to be contained,
much too easy to break.

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Prompt: Write an origin poem. It can be the origin of a word, person, plant, idea, etc.

METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING

Pen, pencil, paper,
notebook, Moleskine, laptop,
iPhone, quiet park, café table,
noisy bar, bathroom stall,
lower back, scarred wrist,
broken heart…

A poem is not truly alive
until it is read out loud
for someone else to feel.

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