Today, I was tasked to write poem number 15. It could be an acrostic about a day of the week, or I could write about something in which I have absolutely have no interest. Really? Those are my choices? When I’ve taught poetry to children, acrostics, are my fallback, my dependable old idea that children adore. But I want to write a grown-up, serious poem. Can acrostics be serious? How much depth can a poem have with its subject scrawled down its left side like a banner? And the other idea? Write a poem about something I have no interest in? Why would I do that? Who cares? Whatever!
These poetry prompts have really gotten me to thinking – thinking early in the morning ,and they stay with me all day long. I am getting a mental workout, and it feels so good. I cannot thank Ethical ELA or National Writing Poetry Month enough for their inspiration each and every day in April.
These exercise have taught me persistence. Every morning, I show up. I read. I think. I write. I have opened myself up to possibility. Where once there was a blank page, there now is purpose, creation.
I recently heard a sermon in which the preacher talked about God being an artist, a sculptor, a grand creator. I really never thought of God as an artist making everything from scratch. He was the first maker, and Earth was his grand makerspace, an amazing canvas on which to create. I love the image this idea creates in my mind.
Today, I played with these two poetry prompts. I arranged words, painted images, and brushed them gently across my paper.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 