Warm-Up Writes & Bad Decisions? Prompt

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Warm-Up Write #1

The following are titles of poetry collections from 2019, but posted here simply as phrases.  Scan the list and start to write about a phrase that resonates with you.  Write for 7 minutes.

our weather our sea
soft science
careen
a fortune for your disaster
grief sequence
advantages of being evergreen
near, at
deaf republic

magical negro
dunce
all that beauty
casting deep shade
a piece of good news
invasive species
meet me there: normal sex & home in three days, don’t wash

PoetryBones writers did a similar experiment with mathematical theories and principles in Life Lessons From Math Class, treating the titles as phrases, and wrote, perhaps an imagined theory, or simply wrote in response to what the phrase triggered.  Give it a try, too!
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Warm-Up Write #2

​Here are three more titles of poetry collections from 2019, but these use a conjuction.

• Nouns & Verbs
• Days & Days
• Mosses and Lichens

Using the _____ & _____ format, what would the title of your year be?  Tell me about the year. Write for at least 10 min.
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Mentor Poem

The Whole Shebang Up for Debate
KARI GUNER-SEYMOUR
 
Today I gave a guy a ride, 
caught in a cloudburst 
jogging down East Mill Street.  
Skinny, backpacked, newspaper 
a makeshift shield, unsafe 
under any circumstances.
I don’t know what possessed me.
 
I make bad decisions, am forgetful, 
cling to structure and routine
like static electricity to polyester,                 
a predicament of living under 
the facade I always add to myself.
 
Said he needed to catch a GoBus,
shaking off droplets before climbing in. 
He gabbed about Thanksgiving plans,
his mom’s cider-basted turkey, 
grandma’s pecan-crusted pumpkin pie.
 
It was a quick, masked ride.
Bless you, he said, unfolding himself
from the car. No awkward goodbyes, 
no what do I owe you? Just Bless you
and a backward wave. 
 
At the stop sign, my fingers stroked 
the dampness where he sat minutes before. 
Sometimes life embraces you 
so unconditionally, it shifts 
your body from shadow 
into a full-flung lotus of light.
 
—from Rattle #72, Summer 2021
Tribute to Appalachian Poets

Writing Prompt

• Tell me about a bad, mediocre, or questionable decision.
• If you want to try a suggested structure, describe the decision -- how it played out -- your reflection on it now.

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