Writing prompts!

  • Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Hey, everyone. I found some really "out there" prompts on Reddit that made me laugh out loud and at the same time made me stop and think because of how innovative they were. Is anyone up for challenging the person below us? Post a prompt and the person below replies (inspiring a poem/prose/quote/paragraph, no restrictions) and makes a new prompt.

    The one I'm still thinking about went something like this:
    You have 20 minutes to meet with one of your emotions. Who do you pick and what do you say to them?

  • Everlasting replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago

    Anger, my friend,
    i lost you a couple of years ago
    when I was young
    and all I could see while on my way home
    was a dog being constantly beaten down
    to make him “strong”

    Anger, dear,
    our friend fear always accompanied me
    and made me run before the owners
    and the dog
    could spot me walking near their gate.
    I was a child. my heartbeat rose pretty fast.
    I was frightened hearing his every Bark.
    He barked. He didn’t cry.
    His eyes were filled with you.
    His teeth were ready to attack.
    So every time I wanted to go out
    I had to make sure the dog was chained
    and their gate was locked

    Anger, my friend,
    I watched him chase kid after kid
    with his teeth ready to devoured them.
    I watched him killed cats
    And fight other dogs
    I was afraid.

    Where we you at that time?

    Prompt: you wake up and realize it’s already 12 pm and didn’t make it to work, what’s do you do?

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    Oh, Luce. That's heartbreaking. When anger can transform a person and make a creature, that should be a companion, turn into a manifestation of everything it's not. That boils my blood. We should never have to fear others or fear the consequences of their anger. But it happens all too often :(

    ____________________

    The sunlight burns my eyelids
    (everything is too bright).
    Emotions flare up after a night
    where I barley made it out alive.
    No one looks twice though.
    As long as I appear functioning,
    they assume I'm limitless.

    My heart accelerates, my mind
    finally forming coherent thoughts.
    The time, what is the time?
    I cry out, realizing it's noon and
    I've missed the most important day.

    How can they evaluate me when
    I'm not even there?
    (I'm barely even here).

    I sink deeper into my covers,
    too tired of myself to cry anymore.
    I will deal with everything tomorrow
    (if there is another one).

    Prompt: You wake up one day and find a warning label tattooed on your skin. What does it say, how do you react to it?

  • Everlasting replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago

    Oh
    The sky is grey and the grass is red
    Those birds keep mocking me
    The winds are swaying trees anxiously
    where am I?

    Lighting strikes
    volcanoes far away erupt in madness
    My arm aches.
    Where am I?

    Lakes boil in desperation
    The ground shakes in fear
    And those birds..
    Oh those birds ...
    they keep pecking at my arm
    where I am?

    My legs are swollen
    My clothes are tore
    My surrounding is on fire
    And those birds...
    Oh those birds...
    Wait?!
    I scream
    “What is this written on my arm?”
    Fudge, where am I?

    The sky turns black
    The ground is burning
    And this arm...
    Oh this arm...
    It aches with a warning
    “Wake up else you’ll die.”

    O_o huh?

    Prompt: Listen to a song and write whatever the melody inspires.

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    "A Place For My Head" - Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory album

    It's like you've infected me,
    no, you've fully taken over.
    I have nowhere to run,
    even the moon exposes me
    when I look to it for comfort.
    You lie, you steal the purest
    parts of me, you've never
    understood -
    I used to be wholesome,
    and you wanted that.
    Suffering became your
    only form of power,
    an energy that I could
    not always fight against.
    My head, my goddamn head,
    when can I ever rest?

    You command me to be
    an obedient servant.
    (I don't owe you anything).

    ___________________

    Prompt: You're seated in an auditorium, listening to and watching your city's orchestra perform, when suddenly, someone cries out in the audience. Everyone stops and stares. What happens next?

  • Star replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    It’s been difficult for me to write this past month, I love this thread ^_^

    “I’m brave “ she thought
    “...my place I have lost
    The harmony needs me!”

    She cries out loud,
    the orchestra pauses
    we all stare.

    “ 'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ey
    I'm on top of the world, 'ey”
    She sings,
    demanding her place back
    between the orchestra
    and the audience.

    “I am the main Maestro”
    ———————————-
    EDIT:
    Prompt: imagine you are walking and something holds onto your leg. What is it, and why is it holding on?

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Star
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    ^ Aw, Star. Hope you're able to break that block! Sometimes a little push helps :)

    I try to move forward,
    it's what you would have wanted.
    But claws sink into my heels;
    I cry out in shock.
    Fear never should have followed
    me here, I thought I'd conquered
    every one of its shadows.
    How mistaken was I.
    Everytime I lift one leg,
    I fall deeper into the floor,
    deeper into its arms.
    If this is hell, can't I go
    peacefully?
    Why must it always end
    with a fight...

    ________________________

    Prompt: Your best friend has the choice of having one superpower for the rest of their life. This affects your friendship. You are jealous and convinced that they have let the power go to their head, that they don't know how to use it without being harmed. How do you approach your friend?

  • Star replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    ^ You should post this!!!
    ——————————————
    She disappeared
    and I was talking for few minutes
    not realizing she‘s gone.

    It is alright I thought
    for I have been always the one
    who does the talking,
    but she keeps feinting silence.

    Now I realize she has sank deep
    in her ego, and I always was
    the side lamp that she never
    bothered turning on.

    **Prompt: what do you want to eat at this moment?

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Star
    4 years ago

    Back before we knew that girls liking
    girls was a real thing, and an indescribable
    feeling, we slept in the same room.
    Innocent teenagers listening to new bands
    and laughing at all the misheard lyrics.
    We would pet your beagles and sneak a
    liter of Coke upstairs and pop M&Ms
    into each other's mouths. We ate sunchips
    and teamed up to make pancakes in the morning when we couldn't bare the
    thought of leaving each other's side.
    This is what I miss the most about you,
    when Coke and M&Ms were more than
    just a snack. It's what we craved, and I
    still shop down the aisles and pick them
    up for you...
    even though it's been years.

    _____________________________

    Prompt: If you lived on another fantasy planet, that no one on Earth knew existed, what would it be like? Its name? Would you ever want to leave and travel to this Earth you've read about?

  • Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Bouyancy is the world learned by the young
    wave tipping comes as second nature
    as shooting up through surface sprung
    the highest effort wins the wager.

    Water is our life and supports
    children of the deep and shallows
    yet I climb onto ancient forts
    finding truth lighting tallows.

    These structures were left by men
    who came and went away so long ago
    we do not know if they were kin
    or just those who books are bestowed.

    But such things in pages to be unseen
    is torture to one who yearns to see
    though my world I dare not demean
    if asked to leave I'd so much agree.

    Prompt: You are studying for a final exam, when you suddenly have an epiphany that the subject is all wrong. You want to share this revelation, but you cannot afford to fail the exam. How do you handle it?

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago

    Don't know if this is what you were going for, but this is all I could think of ^_^

    Sine and cosine,
    there are too many equations,
    too many angles.
    I barely know what's adjacent
    to me in real life,
    demons in disguise all around.
    The math doesn't matter anymore,
    what even are these triangles?

    They got it all wrong,
    this isn't what life means.
    We can't always work out
    all the sides, even if we know
    the exact angles.
    Life isn't an equation.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Prompt: You wake up in a tea or coffee mug. You are incredibly small or rather, the mug is incredibly large. Someone is pouring liquid in and you fear you will drown. What do you do?

  • nouriguess replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago

    Can I like reserve a prompt? Haha.

  • Poet on the Piano replied to nouriguess
    4 years ago

    Lol! Do whatever you need to do :)

  • Everlasting replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago


    Inside of this huge mug I call my world
    I am the size of a small bug
    constantly trying to climb my way out
    by writing words
    but emotions are pour
    one after another
    like hot water from a kettle
    just filling this mug
    almost drowning me with fear and anxiety
    to stop me from realizing
    that if I relax I can float my way out

    Prompt: you are the supermarket and find out that your favorite food is on special. Do you buy more even though you know you won’t eat it? If so, What do you do with it?

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    I tell her it's the little things,
    like frosted animal crackers that
    are currently my favorite food,
    though that will change in a week.
    She takes me to a side aisle where I
    see the white and pink creatures
    in colorful bags, on their own display.
    They're only one dollar if I buy eight
    and I know they'll sit in the cabinet
    for a bit, but my heart sings as if I've
    summoned my inner child.
    "I'll get the eight, life's too short."

    ___________________________________

    Suddenly, eveything you touch turns into a liquid. What is the liquid and how do you deal with everyday life?

  • Everlasting replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    To touch and have the power to transform
    that which I touched into fresh water
    Then I’ll touch not you nor I
    but deserts upon deserts to birth plants
    and an ecosystem for animals to survive
    Then I’ll meditate about this gift of life
    and about the options I may or may not have
    to control my touch so that I too can survive

    Prompt: you have to write a prompt for someone to write a poem without them knowing is a prompt they’ll have to write. How would you do it? Would you write a poem and hope the poem inspires them? Or what?

    Edit: if the above prompt doesn’t inspires try this one instead. Prompt: you are in a desert and you see an oasis, what do you do?

  • Everlasting
    4 years ago

    Bumping this one... bump.

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    They told me you were a mirage,
    but I can feel you,
    freshwater coating my skin,
    releasing me from the wrath of
    dry bones I could not call home.
    Your drops have fallen from long ago
    and I am sure I can now survive.
    My oasis, from underground to the
    surface, you have given me hope.

    _______________________________

    You are suddenly notified that your parents, who have now passed, own a town in the middle of nowhere and you are asked to visit. What do you do?

  • Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    The Coming of the Lord

    What host do these people present?
    In royal carriage, Greyhound Bus,
    do I enter my fiefdom in the desert
    north and east of Las Vegas.

    Plumbers and electricians
    ply their services from shops
    once occupied by gunsmiths
    and the local undertaker.

    No one turns out for my arrival
    nor do they even take note
    that rent now flows my way
    since they send it all the same .

    What do I do with it?
    If I sell it, no one will buy
    wholesale the whole lot
    precious little is it worth.

    I could sell it to the residents
    if they are even interested
    but their sons and daughters
    do not stay in this wasteland.

    Without even announcing
    who I am or why I've come
    simply buy lunch at the hotel
    take the next bus out forever.

    Prompt: You are a foreign national who takes the Soyez to the International Space Station for a 6 month tour of duty. Write about it.

  • Everlasting replied to Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago

    ^ I have no idea what Soyez mean and google isn’t helping much. Mind explaining a bit?

  • Larry Chamberlin replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    Sorry, typo:

    Since the US Shuttles were grounded, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been used for transport to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

  • Everlasting replied to Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago

    Oh, okay. Makes sense. I’ll try to see what I can come up with but if anyone is inspired please be my guess and take up on the prompt. Really, guys. No hard feelings if you do. ;)

  • Everlasting replied to Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Since the US Shuttles are grounded
    (not exactly due to bad behavior
    but grounded nonetheless),
    The Russian Soyuz has been a good spacecraft
    to transports us to Space.

    So today, as you can see,
    I tour this capsule as if it were
    a tree
    composed of three main parts:

    the Orbital Module being the foliage
    were I can rest while in orbit
    And see the sky

    Then there is the Descent Module
    much similar to a trunk
    where I can sit tightly while we launch up to space
    or land here on Earth.

    Then lastly there is the Propulsion Module
    something much like roots
    which are the home to the life support systems,
    the solar panels, and what not

    So as you can see
    this capsule like a tree
    is a means of transportation
    to carry life

    Note: sorry to disappoint this is all I can come up with.

    Prompt: write about a puppy

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    ^ Luce! I was secretly hoping you would take the prompt because I could not think of anything that would suffice. I love what you did with the prompt, and it was not easy thanks to Larry's brilliant mind. I probably didn't give it enough time though, so props to you ;)

    I trudge home,
    emotions as buried as the thick snow
    that I can't seem to move.
    My strength - evaporated
    yet you welcome me with more
    joy than I've ever witnessed.
    You curl into me, your eyes
    fierce in their love,
    and I suddenly know
    the greatest gift
    is four paws and a limitless bond.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Prompt: You wake up one day and do not feel temperature. It's as if your skin is a shield and you cannot discern hot or cold. What are your thoughts? What does this mean?

  • Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Today I died

    Awoke from sleep, troubled no more
    by dreams of slow plodding away from danger
    legs stuck in molasses no voice to scream;
    instead unusual calm and peaceful sleep.

    Then I realized I was not cold:
    no shivering when the covers fell off;
    yet no warmth in the bed either
    simply nothing there at all.

    Jesus said be you hot or cold
    lukewarm he would vomit out;
    now I understand his point
    except you cannot vomit a lack.

    Slowly it dawned this is worse;
    no cool or warm, no register,
    a blank sheet of tolerance
    and no human warmth or emotion.

    That's when I knew I had died.

    [Luce: brilliant!]

    Prompt: How's your week been so far?

  • Everlasting replied to Larry Chamberlin
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Thank you MaryAnne and Larry

    my week has been a raining day so far
    with winds semi-calm and clouds as grey
    as the shoes I am wearing

    (a bit onto the dark shade for those who don’t know)

    there are no sunshine rays
    only chilly temperatures asking me
    to wear boots and sweaters

    though with pregnancy
    this week has been a battle
    between a toddler trying to jump into my belly
    and a baby kicking back
    straight into my ribs
    and bladder O_O

    so, so far
    this week has been
    the same as the other weeks
    but with a due date
    getting closer
    oh closer
    and so much better

    Prompt: write about winter

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    ^ Aww, excited for you, Luce, as the date gets closer!

    Winter

    The world can be a cold, demoralizing
    place. I feel betrayed when November
    chills all the confidence out of my bones.

    Depression sometimes is discrete,
    ambushing me into believing it's not
    that bad, that I don't need help just yet.
    Winter frightens me; I cannot thaw
    when it hides all of my secrets,
    and forces me to never disclose their
    whereabouts.

    I wake up another day, shivering,
    not ready for what today may bring.

    You curl up next to me and
    remind me to live in the present.
    I drape blankets over us
    and settle into the truth that we
    are here...

    the world won't always hurt us.

    -

    Prompt: write about the emotional experience of eating a REALLY good sandwich.

  • Everlasting replied to Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    ^ thank you MaryAnne!

    Title: Who am I kidding? It was the bread!

    When I first laid a bite, I saw black and white;
    a bunch of bright stars. What a delight!

    It was the Ham. No, the tomato, right?
    May be, the mayo?
    Or the incredible sight along with the sprite?!

    May be, it was the pepper, the spice to indict,
    for igniting my voracious appetite?!

    But perhaps, it was the salami I must cite,
    Or the pepperoni that became my taste buds kryptonite?

    May be, it was everything in that plate that night
    the whole sandwich that made feel happily contrite,
    despite me being on a diet
    where carbs should be a red light
    to stop my every bite?

    Prompt: write about visiting the place you always wanted to visit.

  • Everlasting
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Heaven! Heaven! Where are you?
    I searched for you in dreams I dreamt
    while sleeping was my hobby.
    I pictured you as the best place where I could rest
    where I could rid myself of the ache in my chest
    so I searched for you in hills,
    in the sound that rivers make
    in the sky above my head
    where clouds shape-shift to form Gates
    But Heaven! Oh dear Heaven!
    Now that I’m sleep deprived
    I find you here between my arms
    Situated so peacefully profound
    in the embrace of my babies.

    Prompt: write about how you feel.

  • Poet on the Piano replied to Everlasting
    4 years ago

    Luce, that is so beautiful.

    I know it's normal to not have anything
    figured out, but everyone is talking about
    age like it's something to undress.
    I'm still weary of a new day,
    it seems impossible for this energy,
    this mouthful of sunlight
    that others have
    to be in my grasp.
    I will be a quarter of a century old
    in four measly months,
    and though I've survived so much,
    I feel like a carnival ride
    out of service, a memory malfunctioned.

    Prompt: what is something that you lament or something you crave - something tangible

  • Everlasting
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    Thanks MA

    Title: The Eating of a Poisonous Apple

    From within a ground, roots grow deep
    like screams I hear in my sleep
    and from within those roots,
    a tree feeds to grow some fruits

    And just like that hanging from a branch,
    the fruit is suddenly snatched
    then chewed all the way through
    till seeds are all there’s left to plant anew

    Thus from here to there, I hear laments
    from those who ate and ended with regrets

    Prompt: write about depression

  • Poet on the Piano
    4 years ago, updated 4 years ago

    The sun gave us a glimpse of
    paradise today. It's not exaggerating
    when I say it's been weeks since
    any of us have had such a luxury.
    I told my depression that I was
    going to bask in the warmth,
    no matter how strong the shackles,
    no matter how much I wanted
    to stay in the greys of solitude.
    I found your color among the
    blushing winter sun,
    and today, I won.

    Sometimes, I can't fight back,
    and there is no one to blame,
    but today, I let hope embrace me.

    _______________________

    Write about the most random show/movie you've ever seen.