Time for another prompt! This one a favorite of my hometown poetry family at the CMC Poetry Jam. Or, as we affectionally call it, The First Church of the Word.
This one is very simple, and requires two or more people. Simply put, ring up or text a writer friend, and ask them for a line. A nice and juicy one, a deceptively simple one, an incomplete one or a stupid long one. A line. And you, friend, (if we’re being true to the exercise, which I admit to taking liberties with over the years) have to start with it. The best results usually come with combining this a tad with automatic writing. Get the line, sit with it for a sec and roll it around in your head, and then start writing, and keep going after you write down that starter. Whatever comes.
We’ve found that this results in pretty different stuff, considering that all of our styles are pretty radically different. Which is mostly the point. The rest of the point being to get you writing, especially when you’re feeling stuck and dry as a summertime creek bed.
So, enjoy! I’ll start you off. Your starter line today: “When the ghosts refuse to yield the field…”
Happy writing!
Johnny
When the ghosts refuse
To yield the field
We must be our own light
To pass through the darkness
Slice through brush and bramble
On faith alone
As we claw our way atop Mt. Sinai
We are the broken leading the blind
To find our own truth