read write prompt #64: out with the old, poem the new

by Jill Crammond Wickham

Here in the United States and, in fact, around the globe, there has been much lively discussion over Elizabeth Alexander’s poem commemorating Barack Obama’s inauguration. Indeed, it is a tall order, writing a poem for the new president. Many poets have tried. Some succeeded. Some failed. Some didn’t try at all. (Check out Odes to Obama: A poem or 2 for the new president. Form your own opinion and get inspired!)

You can’t just call them [poets] up and ask them for a poem. Not even for an inauguration. Or so say the newspapers. But that’s just what we’re going to do this week at Read Write Poem. Write a poem for the new president. Not particularly political? Write a poem for anything new. How about a poem for a new baby? A new year? A new car, house, pair of roller skates?

This week, write a poem for something or someone new. The possibilities are endless: the new fish in your tank, the new neighbors, your new haircut, the new leaves about to bud (or so we hope here in the northeast). New snow. New slush. New ice. New back brace.

Embrace the new! Celebrate the shine, the veneer, the glitter. Exult and delight in all that is to come. Or, perhaps, head in another direction: lament the passing of something greater. Mourn what has been replaced.

Come back next Thursday when you see the Get Your Poem On post and paste a link to your new poem. And, because we like poetry even when (sometimes especially when) it doesn’t follow the rules, if you got inspired by something else, share that too!