#prompt poems on Hello Poetry

frankie Jun 2023

the cave-in started
with honesty,
a promise
an admiration of agency,
of power and pride.

it was felt for miles
yet went unnoticed
the surrounding area
laughing
"I don't understand,"
a birthday at the next table,
a crying child.

wine bled through the cracks in that cave
as the flow of native water
slowed to a trickle
and receded
to make way for
desperation
at least so it seemed.

weeds and smiles
withered and revealed
selfishness,
loathing,
pain and fear.

what appeared there
in the collapsing darkness
of the once rigid--
and now compromised--
shelter of those
warm catacombs
was,
in fact,

hatred

layers upon layers of sedimentary disgust
that rendered those systems
inhospitable
uninhabitable
anger
and wine
laughter

"I'm not coming back."

from the prompt "the moment you realized you were an adult". a deeply personal and emotional piece

#prompt #emotional #anger #wine #nature

frankie Jun 2023

frozen

i am
settling
floating
suspended in the unsustainable
adrift in fire
and blood
missing parts
the predecessors,
victims,
of unholy theistic ritual

being whole
was a luxury
oneness
a virtue
taken for granted
in the box
we lived and grew
the comfort in the chill
of a fimiliar place,
communities
cracked apart and tossed
separated and forgotten
the box was gone
and elsewhere was hell

to be thrown to the lukewarm sea
facing the uncertain panic of
no more
in no time
we disappeared,
used and consumed
one more brief, familiar chill
stripped of the flesh,
i am

small

i love this piece. born from a prompt that a friend gave me to write a piece about cold water. my brain went from 'cold water' to 'ice', and then, "what do ice cubes think about?" kinda ruins the vibe of the piece when you know the subject, but i like that about it

#abstract #dark #prompt #water #ice

ConnectHook Apr 2023

Prompted

The problem you have is you've nothing to say.
These MFA promptings are good for a yawn..
So scribble some **** and then call it a day
Since most of your readers have long since moved on.

Today’s prompt asks you to begin by picking 5-10 words from the following list.
Next, write out a question for each word that you’ve selected (e.g., what is seaweed?)
owl / generator / fog / river / clove / miracle / cyclops / oyster / mercurial / seaweed / gutter / artillery / salt / elusive / thunder / ghost / acorn / cheese / longing / cowbird / truffle / quahog / song
Now for each question, write a one-line answer.
Try to make the answer an image, and don’t worry about strict logic.
These are surrealist answers, after all!
After you’ve written out your series of questions and answers, place all the answers, without the questions, on a new page. See if you can make a poem of just the answers. You may find that what you have is very beautifully mysterious, and somehow has its own logic.

#napowrimo #prompt

m lang Mar 2023

one foot out

find me
withering,
grinning,
pretending.
ignoring that my world is ending.
sabotaging my sanity
rest assured there is no plan B.
i’m trying,
holding back the whining.
putting on my every day best
for that could be the very day i’m dying.

-m lang

3.4.23, poetry prompt on the phrase “find me”

#depression #anxiety #prompt

Caroline Stradley Jul 2022

Don't Cool Off (September - 2021)

The polka-dotted sidewalk,
beginnings of a rain-soaked street
The dampness of my socks means that my last pair of shoes have finally given out and left a hole in my soul

My gas light came on yesterday morning, so the wet socks will have to do, as I make my way to you

Eyes, then hands, then lips meet
Words pour, but I stop them short
Mental faucet, won't say more
The tap is too hot, and it always tastes the same

Pass it to you, I only play the game
But you see as I hide my ***** storm
You say "Don't cool off. I like your warmth"

prompted by Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

#prompt #prose #summer #rain

Andrew Rueter May 2021

Weak Prompt

I need to save you from writer's block
before you're outlined with chalk
so I outline a prompt
to lift you off
but I don't know what to suggest
your next project a must
my advice you trust
I hand you dust
which isn't much to work with
won't make any short lists
after your ignored fists
abort this
failed attempt to help with ideation
your writing equals my elation
so talk about migration
or my nation
just don't let that shining sun set
I'm sure you'll become unvexed
once you're creating subtext
after finding a subject.

#weak #prompt

William James Crowell Dec 2020

Early to bed Late to rise

Early to bed late to rise
was the man behind in times.
He always slept but he always woke
he was rested well and woken slow.
Early to bed late to rise with heavy eyes heavy like lead.
Early to bed and late to rise, his life was led and then he died.

using writers promt early to bed late to rise

#sleep #meloncoly #writers #prompt

xandra Dec 2020

you could become my whole world, for better or for worse

there is a supernova
that resides in your eyes;
on the cusp of exploding,
waiting to shower everything with the light
you hold within;
soon,
the galaxies and all the stars
will be aflame with the
spark of your soul.

#prompt #supernova #soul #galaxies #love

xandra Dec 2020

seems like the trees and i both went through a change this year

as the trees go through their annual metamorphosis,
I form another internal skin,
purging my existence of every trace of you that i can
and just like the skin of the trees,
i will make sure he
leaves.

#prompt #metaphor #trees #fall #leaves

xandra Dec 2020

i feel like i could drown in this lake of tears

you've never truly cried until
it becomes difficult for you to breathe,
and crying becomes so
normal,
it's now part of your daily routine
that is, if you can drag yourself out of the prison that is your bed,
to even form a "normal routine"
your body is empty and never seems to be filled
you are emptiness, a neverending pit,
and you wish that
it could just be
*******
different

this is choppy, but aren't our emotions, too?

#prompt #choppy #crying