2020 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 5
For the 2020 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today’s prompt is to write a ruin poem.
For today’s prompt, write a ruin poem. The poem could be about visiting some ancient ruins. Or you could write about ruining a situation or ruining a recipe (I've done both plenty of times in my life). But perhaps you're like me and can appreciate the beauty in things others considered ruined. Either way, write a ruin poem today!
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
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Poem your days away with Robert Lee Brewer's Smash Poetry Journal. This fun poetic guide is loaded with 125 poetry prompts, space to place your poems, and plenty of fun poetic asides.
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Here’s my attempt at a Ruin Poem:
“Power Outage”
Writing by only candle light
is not quite as bright
as one might like. Without
electricity to guide my way,
I flicker and flail for
words to say. In the depths
of the darkest night as winds
rage outside with monstrous might,
perhaps I should put down
my pen and calmly accept
this evening ruin.
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.
