NaPoWriMo Prompts

[I'm making this a sticky post, so that people's poems get noticed.]

These are not your usual poetry prompts; they deal not at all with form. They came to me in the night, and -- though not a poem -- I am going to use them for today's NaPoWriMo post.

If you write from any of these, leave a comment telling me which, and a link, and I'll bring the link up under the prompts so that we can all go visit the results. Who knows, I may use one or two of these myself.

PROMPTS:

1. What color is water?
2. Use these three words: salt, pineapple, chrysanthemum
3. Tell the story of a year in a life (any life) entirely in metaphor
4. Make arithmetic interesting
5. Convince me that wood is erotic
6. What have you learned from your dog? Your cat?
7. That trash bin -- what's in it?
8. Describe the smell of iron
9. Turn me on
10. Write your biography in three lines
11. What is comforting?
12. Tell me: what is the basic, primal metaphor?
13. Why should I love you?
14. What do you not regret, though you should?
15. Write a poem that must be sung
16. Why red?

POEMS:

Prompts 2, 8, 16:  Small Talk
Prompts 1 & 2:  What's In My Journal
Prompt 10:  Biography of a Crow in Three Lines
Prompt 11:  rainy day
Prompt 5:  Eucalyptus Daphne
Prompt 2:  Another Courtship Ritual
Prompt 1:  Blind Perspective
Prompt 12:  Tree
Prompt 14:  Drugs

More prompts here:

Comments

[niki]

What color is water? I am not a poet, but I have been intrigued by this question for years - I study water in order to try to paint it. I have tried to answer that question, and had to laugh when I read your first prompt. I look forward to reading the wonderful poems that will be written in response to your prompts, and maybe even an answer to the question, "what color is water?".

[Small Talk]

Prompts 8, 16 and 2. On my blog. Was fun.

[gautami tripathy]

I write two to three poems a day. However, I am not posting for NaPoWriMo. The day it goes international, I will post one a day, for a year!

[99]

1.) Guy Davenport said water (specifically seawater) was "frogpawn pewter" [sic] and I always felt that was the number one best description, vexing though some of the more literal-minded have found it.

[paisley]

i just love the prompts you have come up with here... this is my firs,, and i do so intend to use a few more... thank you sooo much!!

rainy day

[Tiel Aisha Ansari]

Apparently Eucalyptus Daphne though wood could be erotic.

[UL]

prompt one for me worked well...i love several entries here..i will be back.

[UL]

oops forgot to link, follow me @
http://ul-typingaway.blogspot.com/2008/04/blind-perspective.html

[Robin Reagler]

These are terrific, SB. Thanks so much!

Tree
deep rooted in the earth
laced into sky
map of generations
outliving all
cliche of truth
in a hundred languages. Fran

[UL]

one on prompt 14 : here is the link

http://ul-typingaway.blogspot.com/2008/04/drugs.html

[Evelyn Wangari]

I am not a poet but interested.

[Evelyn Wangari]

Water is colorless!