1/ Instructions for the Hostage
‘Think of a time when you stood in your own way of progress, then write a poem in which you offer instructions to show that the door was never shut.’
‘Hostage Situation’
Why can the mind be so suffocating?
The human mind is allowed to think of all things at impeccable speeds,
but why are we confined to a space that we don’t allow ourselves to leave?
That question can be ignored as some of us don’t even have the choice to leave.
We aren’t held hostage, but the mind constructs a box that is comfortable to be in.
What about that box makes it so comfortable?
The box can’t be seen no matter the sight of the beholder.
That very box was never made intentionally neither.
The box is something that conforms to every soul that walks the earth.
At the end of the day, that box was constructed from experience.
The experience that confines me is my work.
Taking the sunniest days to stay in and working into exhaustion is my job.
It isn’t an occasional experience, unfortunately it is every experience.
To all the workaholics reading this, there is your reminder.
‘Drop it and take a break’.
Procrastination should not be the interpretation of those words.
Those words mean that you can drop the weight,
and realize you aren’t confined to this work.
The work that is due next week isn’t due the next time you breathe.
‘Inspired by Valentine and her award-winning first collection, Dream Barker, write a poem that begins with an image from one of your dreams. Allow the internal logic of dreams to guide your lines.’
‘The Life’
I’ve sat in this car for five minutes and it’s a dream. I’ve been given the opportunity to drive it with no limits for hours. It’s me, myself, and I with no one to bother besides the tires underneath me. I’ve always asked, ‘what would it be like to live behind the wheel of a race car?’ Well, let me share something with you, it’s as exhilarating to drive one as it is to say the word. It’s not a just a machine, tool, hobby, or a word… it’s a lifestyle.
3/ Snow
‘Write a poem in a conversational manner that describes how you are affected by certain types of weather. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you look out the window?’
‘The Better Days’
Every time it’s warm enough for the ice cream truck to be out of hibernation, I’m just thinking of the waters I can be in. I can care less if it’s cloudy and the storm warnings are well on their way; if it’s lookin’ good enough for me to take a dive, best believe I’m taking the opportunity to get in that water. I’ll be in the middle off cleaning the house, taking it slow, while dancing to some music as I go. The pace picks up dramatically as the heat increases outside with the pool only seeming to get better as time went on. During the summer time, the sun is just yelling at the earth with all it has; the sun just lighting the day with hours of uncontrollable heat. The sidewalks climbing in temperature as the beautiful trees provide the shade you need. At that point, not even the almighty is stopping me from taking the dive of the century.
4/ Etymology
‘What is the personal history of your name? How has it been encountered in different spaces? Write a poem that seeks to trace the etymology and personal history of your name.’
‘Names’
My name thankfully isn’t a challenge; unless an ID is handed off or it’s written on paper, then it automatically becomes one. The name I was given is Wilbert, and every letter is sounded out like a story off a page. No history, no correlations, just a spontaneous thought that came to life when my grandmother spoke on the day I was born. Due to language barriers, having to answer questions on the pronunciation gets exhausting. It’s always simpler when the name is cut in half to ‘Wil’ and that’s good enough for me. I take pride in a name that short as I have the will and the means to do what needs to be done.
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