Purple Rain and Indigo Blues (A Plum-Good Poetry Prompt)

Welcome to February at Tweetspeak Poetry! As you know, each month we offer weekly poetry prompts inspired by a particular theme, and at the beginning of each month, it’s my pleasure to bring you a theme-based musical playlist. This month’s theme? Purple, plum, and indigo.

It should be no surprise that I’ve chosen a jazz and blues heavy selection this month. Even still, there’s a little something here for everyone. Those of you stuck in the 80s will enjoy dancing in the “Purple Rain.” For the Canadians in the room, I’ve thrown in a piece by the indie rock band Arcade Fire. And for those introspective poetic types (we do well within this demographic), I’ve included a bit of Indigo Girls.

Let the music play, grab your journal, and see what comes. Come back here and share your purple-themed poetry, your indigo verses, your plum-good musings. Who knows, maybe we’ll feature your work in an upcoming piece at Tweetspeak!

So, what are you waiting for? Get to writing!

*Playlist note: This is the first time I recall sharing hip hop on the Tweetspeak playlist. The song, a collaboration between Nas and his father Olu Dara, is a good piece demonstrating the transition from blues to modern rap. I’ve always loved this piece. I hope you enjoy it.

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Tweetspeak’s February Purple, Plum, and Indigo Poetry Prompt:

This month’s poetry theme at Tweetspeak is Purple, Plum, and Indigo, and we’re composing poems that play with the theme. Perhaps you can gain a bit of inspiration from this month’s playlist, from a particular piece of artwork, or from your local purveyor of plums, eggplant, or purple-hulled peas. How do you participate?

1. Think about the colors purple, plum, or indigo. Do the colors remind you of a particular place, a type of food, an experience, or a certain mood?

2.  Compose a poem inspired by the theme.

3. Tweet your poems to us. Add a #PurplePoetry hashtag so we can find it and maybe share it with the world.

4. If you aren’t a twitter user, leave your poem here in the comment box.

5. At the end of the month, we’ll choose a winning poem and feature it in one of our upcoming Weekly Top 10 Poetic Picks.

Last month, we played with coffee and tea themes here at Tweetspeak, and there was some great work. My favorite among them, though, came from Darlene, who took the “Battle of the Beverages” poetry prompt to a bit of an unexpected place, interweaving current political themes and coffee imagery. She writes:

What if I didn’t speak
of The 2nd Amendment
today?

But only of fine
China teacups
Saucers, blue -n- white

Hand-painted flowers
And
Poetical stuff

Then I’d be a darn
Blasted fool
Pretending
To be
Someone
I am
Not.

Despite misconstrued
Ill-conceived, stereo-
Types,
Pistol-packin’
Momma’s don’t
Wanna
Fight.

Maybe, just
Maybe
I drink
From
A similar
Cup

As
You.

(or maybe mine
is a mug,
chipped,
stained
from
gloppy
coffee puddles)

Thanks for this piece, Darlene. It’s fun to see an author engage a tricky topic.

Now, it’s time to throw caution to the wind and dance in the purple rain. Who’s first?

Photo by Lady-Ro, Creative Commons via Flickr. Post by Seth Haines. 

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Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99 — Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In February we’re exploring the theme Purple, Plum, and Indigo.

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Seth Haines

Seth Haines is a writer and photographer who loves the Ozarks, his wife and four boys, and a good collection of poems. He's the author of two books, both of which touch on addiction, sobriety, and spiritual formation.

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