My daughter was home for spring break and we made a point to write together. She is a Creative Writing major in college so there is nothing sweeter than sitting down at my computer and looking across from me to see her poised at her Mac ready to write. We usually start with some prompts (she has a page on Pinterest gathered specifically for this purpose), and then move on to our blogs or other writing that we’re working on.

On one of our prompts we decided to write a poem. She wrote a poem recently for her college class that really moved me. It’s a poem directly addressing America as a person. I find her work so powerful, but poetry scares me. The last time I learned anything about poetry was during my grade school English class, I’m 50 now, it’s been a few years.

Oh, and I love Dr. Suess, if that counts.

Still the other day, with my daughter close by, I dove in, as one must with writing, fighting against my inner critique, and gave poetry my best shot. Our prompt was to write a poem about the texture of hope. This is what I came up with in our self allotted five minutes.

 

The texture of hope

 Fine. Slender. Forgotten.

Tendrils from a descending spider.

Fat. Round. Open.

The heart of a lion.

 

Poison and passion and periwinkle

The color of dreams.

Woven through time.

 

Now there it is, in print for the world to see and hear, and for me to cringe a little before reminding myself that this is why I’m here. To live, to write and follow the color of my dreams, and part of that means practice. Find time to practice your writing. And don’t be afraid to try new things, perhaps that even means poetry.

Write On!

WRITING PROMPTS:

  • Write a poem about the texture of hope.
  • List five things you believe in, two you don’t and one thing you would never do; combine to create poetry.
  • Write a poem addressing America as though she is a person. 
  • Write a Dr. Suess inspired piece.