2010 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 19
For today’s prompt, write a poem with a hole in it. The hole could be referenced in the poem, which could be about subjects such as hitting a golf ball…
For today's prompt, write a poem with a hole in it. The hole could be referenced in the poem, which could be about subjects such as hitting a golf ball in the hole, punching a hole in the wall, or even visiting a hole in the wall bar. Of course, with everyone flexing their concrete poetry skills lately, I'm sure at least a few poets might take a stab at writing a poem with an actual hole in the middle (maybe a doughnut-shaped poem?). Another possibility is to write a poem with a hole in its logic, but I'm sure you can find any number of loop-holes for attacking this prompt.
Here's my attempt:
"We're not strangers"
We're not strangers, but we are
visiting. Tonight, we will worship
the moon--not because we think
it's a god or ghost rising over us.
Instead, we'll worship it, because
the moon is the closest object
that doesn't touch the earth.
We, who are not strangers, will
praise the moon and consider
those close to us who we do not
touch--those beautiful men and
women who might destroy us
if we were ever to collide.
Like stars, our hearts surround
the moon with smaller hopes
as it reflects the bright hope
of the nearest star toward us.
We, who are not strangers, are
unable to speak. Instead, we
reflect all that burns and hope
to be praised like the largest
orbiting hole in the evening sky.
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Find more helpful resources on Poetic Asides:
- More than 50 interviews with poets
- More than 30 poetic forms
- And advice on other topics, such as Evaluating Poems for a Collection and using similes vs. metaphors

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.