by Jill Crammond Wickham
After receiving a rejection from an editor that said my poems didn’t have “oomph,” I have been thinking a lot lately about what gives a poem oomph. You know, the heart of a poem, its meat. The lines that let you know what the poet is really thinking or feeling, the ah-ha moment in the poem where the reader identifies.
On the heels of the Halloween holiday here in the United States, I came up with this prompt: What are you afraid of?
This week, start by making a list of all the things that frighten you. Include both concrete and abstract fears. Move from typical fears like bats, spiders, snakes and the dark to such abstract notions as being alone, losing your health, speaking in public and forgetting your children at the supermarket. Let it all hang out.
Choose the one fear that stands out in your list. Write to your fear. How do you conquer it? Do you face it head on? Curl up in a ball and wait for it to move on? Perhaps you don a cape and battle it superhero style. If your fear is spiders, consider the opposite of killing every one you see. Imagine caging them and turning them into pets.
Try using a thesaurus to give your fear multiple identities. Rename it. Pack it up and mail it to your great aunt Tillie in Topeka. It’s your fear. Your poem. Have fun!
Oh. And be sure to include the oomph!
I think your poems already have a lot of oomph, Jill, but it’s still a good prompt. I’m always in favor of digging deeper, to ask myself what I really mean when I say…whatever I say. Looking forward to this one!
Just fell into this while surfing… hope you guys like my close to the chest held fear.
http://wecampbell.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-sin-of-fear.html
Thanks for the imput!
[...] This piece, which uses chained hay(na)ku inside, was written for Read Write Poem Prompt # 52: Face Your Fears and Do It With Oomph! [...]
Fear of having nothing to say.
Here.
On the edge: To Fly
[...] Another readwritepoem prompt – this time to face your fears and do it with oomph! [...]