2020 April PAD Challenge: Day 20
Write a poem every day of April with the 2020 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write an isolation poem.
While I write my poems in April, I figure out the prompts in February and March—because I’ve learned it’s difficult to create both at the same time. So when I thought of today’s prompt, I was hopeful that it would be about a time in the recent past, but here we are, so without further ado…
For today’s prompt, write an isolation poem. For many, this is a very real and present subject. And for me, I’ve found that social distancing and staying at home has actually made it harder for me to find the isolation my introverted soul needs to recharge—so I actually wake up before anyone else to get a little alone time. But isolation existed before COVID-19 as well. So there are plenty of ways to dive into this one.
Remember: These prompts are just springboards; you have the freedom to jump in any direction you want. In other words, it’s more important to write a new poem than to stick to the prompt.
Here’s my attempt at an Isolation Poem:
“Ode to COVID”
I’ll never take for granted again
Monday meetings with my Cub Scout den
or grocery shopping without a mask,
sanitizing every mundane task,
and social distancing from my friends.
No sleepovers with isolation
causing my children great frustration
and though earlier it was not cool
now they’ll never take for granted school
or the certainty they’ll see their friends.
And yes, I believe this too shall pass
like a strange dream from which we will wake,
but until then, we can raise a glass
to toast each and every breath we take.
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.
