One of the Ways to Unleash Your Creativity
is to try your hand at prose poetry with this writing prompt
I was given a writing prompt to try my hand at prose poetry, a simple prompt that starts with “one of the ways” and continues with “is to”, or a variation of it. There are really no rules here on how to go about it, except to unleash your creativity to write prose in a poetic format.
You can choose any theme if you like. My theme is about “being human”.
Here’s what I wrote:
One of the ways I stay human, is by breathing, taking one whiff of clean unadulterated air, in through my nose, to fill up my lungs, to breathe life to the rest of what makes me human, a human who takes breathing for granted. One of the ways my wife stays human, is to regulate her breathing, by taking one whiff of compressed air, air that is adulterated with steroids, steroids that opens up her air waves, so she can take another whiff of clean unadulterated air, in through her nose, to fill up her lungs, to breathe life to the rest of what makes her human, a human who doesn’t take breathing for granted. One of the ways the 70-year-old man I knew tried to stay human, is to place a mask on his face, a mask that was fitted with a tube, a tube that ran down the sides of his wheelchair, a chair that was fitted with an oxygen tank to its back, a tank that was filled with clean unadulterated air, air that he whiffed in through his nose, to fill up his lungs, to breathe life to the rest of what made him human, a human who had a zest for life, a life he lost when he couldn’t breathe anymore. One of the ways we save humanity, is to save our forests and to plant more trees, the trees that help clean the adulteration in the air, the air that we breathe, in through our nose, to fill up our lungs, to breathe life to the rest of what makes us human, humans who take our trees for granted.
This is my first attempt at prose poetry using a prompt.
While it lacks the line breaks associated with poetry, the prose poem maintains a poetic quality, often utilizing techniques common to poetry, such as fragmentation, compression, repetition, and rhyme. The prose poem can range in length from a few lines to several pages long, and it may explore a limitless array of styles and subjects.1
Writers, like Dessa Wander, have perfected this form of literary art. They have a method to this madness, a format, and a structure that they stick to. But if you are just starting out, I say go wild with it.
Try it out. Choose your own theme, or build on mine.
Add repetitions where possible.
Make it as long or short as you want it to be.
Let it be as rhythmic as you want it to hum.
Make it as metaphorical as you want it to abstract.
Allow your creativity to take control.
https://poets.org/glossary/prose-poem