Weekly Prompt

Hi All!

This is something pretty popular with other poetry groups and something I thought I could bring here for some inspiration.

Each week, it seems like on Wednesdays, I shall provide a quick poetry prompt. This might be a word, a topic, a phrase, or anything of the sort!

Feel free to use this prompt to write a new poem and post it below!

This isn't a judged thing (unless we want it to be? I would need volunteers to judge), but I just thought could be fun! :)

WEEKLY PROMPT #1 (7/12-18): Saturn
#2 (7/21-28): Complete Silence
#3: Justice
#4: Excuses and Justification
#5: Stress

Write away!

-Lauren

Great start, Lauren!

The Dissipate Soul

There are times I feel my life has
gone upside down for no reason
other than normality is boring:
the madness makes it amusing
but gods know who finds it so.

I am in the Saturnalia of old Rome
where servants become masters,
masters become their slaves,
yet twas for one short day per year
rather than this permanent state.

Feasting and gift giving would
make all this turvy-topsy bearable
but in the drought of human touch
revelry ends up only as drunken
descent to Morpheus’ cold sleep.

Ok for fun and alittle be of humor. I am going to turn every single weekly prompt into a love poem of some sort.

saturn

i found her hula hooping,
next to the other galaxies she was
beautiful.

she had that kind of grace
that you thought if you approached her
you would freeze and fly off to the moon
the other planets didn't get her style
but oh how the asteroids loved her.

i wished she was more into my atmosphere,
i was only light-years away
sipping away the milky way when i realized
that i should a been next to her.

i wished i was still finding her cosmic radiation
pulsating through the black matter
of our neighborhood but no
i thought that stars and constellations were more endearing

i mean all the magazines
showed how beautiful those little dainty things are
even after intensive Photoshop they deemed Saturn
"unmarketable".

that was when i bit my teeth and floated away
continuing my orbit around the sun.

Maybe next year
Maybe next year

This is very cool, Lauren! Thanks for starting this thread!

Stargazing

Sheets unfolded and laid
next to each other,
You and me
we are but two
in a sea of people
wanting to discover the mysteries
of the star studded skies.

Huge lights started to point
at the heavens
and over loud speakers
each constellation was
called up,
and we learned that they are
about hundreds of them
appearing at different times
and that the sky
changes faces too.

Just before day break
an excited voice on the microphone
announced a peculiar phenomenon
Saturn has out of nowhere
glided itself so near to earth
never in quite a hundred years.
We rushed to the telescopes
and there she was, with her rings
I swear it was the most perfect
The most perfect view I have ever seen.

You let out a soft chuckle
And said I acted like a child.
But I said I should be
Cause’ it’s not something
That happens to earth every day.

You fell silent and we stood there
fixed at each other’s eyes
for we know not how long.

I must have said something wrong
Because you acted like a child afterwards.

This is a fabby idea..

If you gazed into her eyes
for long enough you'd see
the moon's reflection as
those eyes sparkled like stars
and were mischievous enough
without the laughter that
resounded from her ruby red lips
which always looked perfect,
good enough to kiss and

Saturn turned green just at the thought
of those ladys lips and pale white skin:
she was purely perfection

men wanted her on their arms
woman aspired to be like her

but Saturn had other plans.

Thank you for those who participated! I loved reading your works. :)

I'm sorry this is a few days late (the website crashing messed everything up), but I have a new prompt!

Please submit a new piece based on the following prompt:

Complete Silence

ICU

Beep,beep,beep goes
The ventilator
And thug, thug, thug
Goes my heart.

Every now and then
One of the machines will
Drive the sanity out of me.

I am in a place
Where too much light
Had me wishing for
Some darkness...

For the first time
I pray for nothing except
complete silence...

complete silence
in the minutes to come...

But beep, beep, beep
there it goes again.

Thug,thug,thug goes my heart.

The Silence of Our Lives

When we met we were silent
- a glance,
- a lingering gaze
- a smile
- returned

Then I went to you and silence
- was uncomfortable
- was replaced with chatter
- was eliminated with interest
- returned with comfort

We came together and silence
- marked intimacy
- accompanied long walks
- meant hands held in sleep
- returned loving smiles

We fought and silence
- met fury with cold shoulders
- meant the back of a slammed door
- greeted an empty morning
- returned letters unopened

We made up and silence
- was long eye contact over dinner
- was holding each other on the couch
- was tears against my chest
- returned with sleep in each other’s arms

Here's my little piece inspired by the prompt - Saturn.....

As I sped through, the heavens gate
Stopped to stare, at the celestial eight
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
The latest celebrities are all stars

Jupiter and Neptune, make a plan
To repel an over zealous fan
Saturn's wearing something new
His bright halo comes into view

Gorgeous from head, down to toe
Think my hearts just got a glow
Saturn smiles, I've gone to heaven
Dam! Not at me, at the other seven

My buddy
__________

My best friend for 16 years
My loyal companion and protector.
Always happy to see me
So happy you broke my nose once.

It's odd how I still call you my baby boy even though you grow weary and tire easily these days.
You're not so fleet of foot now, but every now and then you get a spring in your step.
Especially if there's a foxy little lady about.

Life in the old dog yet.

How much pleasure have we shared together, walking through those woods.
Jumping into the lake or the river in winter icicles forming on your coat.

Yeah you have been a friend.
It's odd that I still shout at you sometimes, especially when you have your head stuck in the bin trying to get the last of the gravy from the meatballs.

Yeah I shout but I know you no longer hear a word.
I sometimes bury my face into your neck and talk deeply in some hope that you can feel the vibrations of my voice.

It breaks my heart to know that your world is now one of complete silence.

Thank you all for your submissions! I loved reading through them.

The new prompt for this week is:

Justice

Ok so I'm a little late on the silent prompt but wrote something and forgot to post so here it is.

Silent places seem to
Intensify the beating of
Loneliness in one's head
Especially when there is
Nobody around to squish you
Contemplative space and
Eventually one goes stir crazy.

Hi sorry to be a pain but can I make a suggestion.

Instead of making a weekly prompt and adding it to the thread is it possible to make it a new thread each week?

I'm saying this from a purely personal level as I keep missing stuff. I realise most won't be as disorganised and inept as I, but just a thought

Craig

Ps loving the idea by the way

.

If I Could Rename You

Forgive me, of my thinking
Yours is a name so lovely
But...but you are more than it.

I think it short,
Unfitting,
For if you are confined
To be called plainly by it...

I think it an injustice.

You are uncontainable,
In alphabets, much more
In my words...

When I think of you
Your beauty
Who you are...

Ah, if I could rename you, if I could find
A name worthy to equate you
If only I could be creative, profound, concise
If only I can put into one word
Who and what you are...

I would be the greatest artist
To ever live.

Hello! Loved the responses and I'm glad folks are enjoying this!

I hope you like prompt 4: Excuses and Justifications

Hi Craig,

I thought about doing it that way, but I didn't want to spam the forum and thought having them all in one place could be simpler for folks to log on, click the post and see the new prompt and any responses.

I will, however, update the top post with the new prompts each week so folks can see right away if I've posted a new one. Would that be a help?

Aww, no replies this week. :(

This week's prompt shall be

Stress.

Stress (tanka)

There's nothing stress-free
about relationships but
the alternative's
superficiality
and spiritless loneliness.

We're adamant stress
won't rule our emotions but
life's not straightforward

Misspelled

Strengths and weaknesses…
I am crafted from both.

I am a person of numbers
Proven in the times
I have given you
Second chances.

But never of letters though
I miss what you mean all the time
And I have always spelled stress
with
Y-O-U.

Stress (acrostic)
Stretching my pills of eternal happiness
to their absolute max
results in my inner peace
exploding into deadly
shards of glass
shredding everything in its' path...

Stress

Silently brooding and foreboding
Turbulent thoughts tumbling over and over
Rivers of self loathing and doubt flowing
Everything called to question and doubt
Searching for a way to float in this flood
Secure in the knowledge you are doomed to drown

Love this, excellent write

Craig

Yay! Thanks. I meant to spell it that way. :-)

We loved this prompt didn't we?

Yeah it was one that I think everyone could really sink they're teeth into

Craig

These are really good - Brenda I hope you're ok. Much love x

Thanks Em, I'm hanging in there. Hope all is well with you?

I'm hanging in there too if I'm honest thanks

Hiya

Sorry for the slow reply, just seen this. Sometimes my head is up my bum.

And yeah that's cool thanks

Craig

Awww Lauren we miss you here... :-)