Write that Poem

Like most writers, I get stuck in ruts and feel like I can’t write. Worse, I feel like I’ve completely forgotten how to write anything at all. The page, much less the poem, feels like an insurmountable gaping chasm designed to prove my inadequacy as a writer and thinker. When this happens, I write from dreams or other daily nonsense, or I crack a book.

Most of the time, perhaps like you, I am always texting friends. It’s usually never important, just random observations like, “There’s such a thing as a bad donut and I just had one,” or “The cats never let me pee in peace.” Often, I text my best friend what I remember of my dreams when I wake up. If you searched our exchanges you’d find lots of “Dreamt I______” texts. Normally dream poems or dream stories are pretty blah, but many times my friend will text back in response to a dream: “Write that poem!” She’ll say this about other things too, like when I text things like “I’m so mad at my past self for making ______choice” and she’ll say, “Write that poem!”

This prompt, then, is to write that poem. Look at the conversations you’re having on the daily with friends, your closest confidants. What nuggets of life are you sharing that need poems? Write the poem about how your cat won’t leave you alone. And if that doesn’t work, sift through your stack of poetry books or other books. Open to a page at random, and read until you find a line you really like. That’s the starting line. Write that poem.

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