First Poetry Assignment

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm participating in a poetry workshop. Today, I turned in my first assignment, and had it workshopped in class--not the most painless process, but overall, I think it went very well! I wanted to share what I wrote here.

Before I do, though, I'll talk about what the assignment was. We were asked to write a poem using twenty different prompts. We were instructed to use as many prompts as we could, and in whatever order we liked, except the first line must begin with a metaphor, and the last line must end the poem with an image.

Below, you'll find the prompts, and even further down, you'll find my poem, which is sadly still without a title.

TWENTY LITTLE POETRY PROJECTS
Jim Simmerman

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.

2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.

3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.

4. Use one example of synesthesia (mixing the senses).

5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.

6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.

7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.

8. Use a word (slang?) you’ve never seen in a poem.

9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.

10. Use a piece of talk you’ve actually heard (preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand).

11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: "The (adjective) (concrete noun) of (abstract noun) . . ."

12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.

13. Make the persona or character in the poem do something he or she could not do in "real life."

14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.

15. Write in the future tense, such that part of the poem seems to be a prediction.

16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.

17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.

18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.

19. Make a non-human object say or do something human (personification).

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that "echoes" an image from earlier in the poem.

______________________________________


Untitled
by Stephanie McLellan

Your alley is lined with shards of glass and old news,
Pungent with the stench of rotting fruits, and
Muted by anemic light and pervasive decay.
Why did Stefania ever live here?

Here, where sounds are suffocated by mildewed air,
And motion freezes like blistering icicles.
Here, where the brick walls lean in to intimidate,
And the abrasive blanket of misery smothers.

When we met, the blue skies burst and the sun blinded.
We promenaded hand-in-hand into happily ever after, and
Our eyes twinkled in akin delight,
Until your smile exploded into gunfire.

Tabitha from Toledo never would have guessed
How quickly our smiles dissipated, and the cracks infiltrated,
Quaking our fairytale and unearthing its faults,
Swaying us to surrender. C'est fini.

One day, another will happen upon your alley,
Tempted by the startling contrast of weeds amidst trash.
She will not think to look down, under her feet.
Stained paper, broken bottles, strewn along the path.