You may have written a poem before with a “ghost line” as a prompt: beginning with a line (perhaps from another source), then erasing it to complete your poem at the end…
This time, try editing an already complete poem of yours by removing the final lines or stanza. What now?
Write about an inanimate object that has ceased to fulfill its purpose, so goes back to tell the other objects what awaits them.
Bonus MacKenzie family prompt: “The Future.”
Start your poem with a household chore.
Write about something that shouldn’t be decided by a coin flip. Or: something that should.
Try out a poem wherein you have a conversation with inanimate objects.
Bonus MacKenzie family prompt: see if you can be inspired by “water.”
Find a word you don’t know the meaning of. Let your poem be its definition.
“Mail-Order Groom.”
Good luck!
Write about where you will actually be when the rumor surfaces that you’ve disappeared.
Unsubscribe from updates it is impossible to unsubscribe from. Think: retail Xmas music, rain, your ex’s drunk dials.
Consider something borrowed, overheard, or stole that ultimately became distinctly associated with only you.
Bonus MacKenzie family prompt: try on “guilty pleasures.”
Boston Poetry Slam Online