Animate is a poetry prompt that focuses on speaking as if we are a particular object. This time, we’re speaking as a river valley.
Prompt Guidelines and Options
1. Speak in the first person.
2. Be specific. Think nouns instead of adjectives.
3. Consider where you—a river valley—are located, or where you came from, or where you are going. Or, speak as if you have a special desire or concern: maybe you are hungry, missing something, afraid of a sight or sound, in love with another thread that is like you or not like you. Be creative. Any type of situation is fair game.
4. Consider doing a little research about the object you will speak as: its history, associated words, music, art, sculpture, architecture, fashion, science, and so on. Look for unusual details, so you can speak convincingly and intriguingly about yourself.
That’s it! We look forward to hearing you speak poetically, from the viewpoint of an object— a river valley.
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Featured Poem
Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Megan took us along on a mountain hike in her poem:
Bear Lake
When you were two, one
hike was all I — pregnant — could handle.
We picked the easiest, most popular hike.
Bear Lake, elevation 9,450. But a trail
the length of a lonely football field
threaded between boulders and pines
was almost too much for me.
“Where are the bears?” You wanted to know.
I said, “It’s hot. They’re napping.”
They weren’t
They were watching
—by Megan Willome
Photo by Tony, Creative Commons via Flickr.
Browse more writing prompts
Browse poetry teaching resources
How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.
“How to Write a Poem is a classroom must-have.”
—Callie Feyen, English Teacher, Maryland
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Bethany R. says
What an inspiring prompt, Heather. 🙂 Love that description of the trail, and the ending of your poem, Megan.
Heather Eure says
Thanks, Bethany. Hope you’ll jot down a poem with us!
Donna Falcone says
All weather
flows toward
my own heart.
Heather Eure says
Thanks for sharing your poem, Donna. “Flow” is such a good word, isn’t it?
Donna Falcone says
So happy to see your poem again, Megan!
Michael C. Garcia says
Glen Rose State Park
“Glen Rose State Park.”
“Dinosaurs.”
“Dinosaurs?”
“Glen Rose State Park?”
“Yes. Glen Rose State Park.”
“Dinosaurs.”
“Ready?”
“Yes!” you replied; “Let’s go!”
Off to the Texas Hill County
To see where the dinosaurs
Once roamed, 113 million years ago.
“This is a National Natural Landmark.”
I mentioned to you. “Because of their
footsteps being preserved in limestone,
sandstones and mudstones deposits.”
We went down to the riverbed
to searched for their presence
that occurred so long ago.
An impressionable young girl
you enjoyed the moment;
though lamenting the dinosaurs’ fate.
And just like those dinosaurs
our relationship unfortunately
became extinct; though the moment
forever etched in my memory.
Copyright by NewLife2008
Megan Willome says
Glen Rose! Michael, I love this, especially where you took this memory, applying it to a relationship.
Signed,
Hill Country Girl
Michael C. Garcia says
Thank you Hill Country Girl – It was a trip I took my daughter too a long time ago. Though no longer in my life, I still cherish the moment.
Michael
Laurie Flanigan says
Outlook for Falling Rocks
A stiff ridge held and claimed me,
until water broke and liquid stoked
my crumbling, ridged shape.
Then gravity splashed my
fragments to a lithe and fluid place –
where I can’t remember my molten core,
or its magma scent, or anything but sediment.
Prasanta says
I enjoyed thinking and working on this prompt. It’s late, but thank you for the inspiration!
River in Coosa Valley
I am running, most days,
through the Coosa Valley
in the Great Appalachian chain
My heart pulsing, most days,
pushing me onward
Beautiful green hills and grassy lands
stretch beyond my fingers,
rest beyond the lap of my shores
The quiet sounds of rushing waters
soothe aching souls
of those who walk on foot
when they rest and glide,
washing over a soul
in need of solemn beauty
I cannot be contained
I am connected to a force
mightier than myself
with the strength of a thousand men
Follow me
to find where i go
I wonder what I am to you:
transport
beauty
stream of rushing loveliness
serenity, solitude, rest
sustenance
coolness upon the brow
i give all to you
pouring from my depths
The source of all I am
I spill at your feet
Loving you, a source of joy–
and pain when you are absent
leaving me with a thirst–
Waves and currents
cannot bring you to my shores
but a memory of delight
when you first beheld me
sunlight sparkling in your eyes
Even my current
does not belong to me
nor the wind
nor may I drift backwards
only meander forward,
onward
I travel alone
your memory ebbing
in the wake
of your presence
Megan Willome says
Thank you, Heather!