“Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that similarly resists closure by ending on a question, inviting the reader to continue the process of reading (and, in some ways, writing) the poem even after the poem ends.
Where is Your Crown?
Do you know that you descended from kings and queens? Can you see that you are regal? How will you realize that you will inherit the Kingdom? Do you know how much you are worth?
Do you know that you are a survivor? Can you see that you are strong and brilliant? How will you recognize that beauty that lives inside you? Do you know that you are loved?
Do you know that your dreams are valid? Can you see that you are on the way up? How can I help you see your value? Can you please put back on your crown?
“For our first (optional) prompt, let’s take our cue from O’Neil’s poem, and write poems that provide the reader with instructions on how to do something. It can be a sort of recipe, like O’Neil’s poem. Or you could try to play on the notorious unreliability of instructional manuals (if you’ve ever tried to put IKEA furniture together, you know what I mean). You could even write a dis-instruction poem, that tells the reader how not to do something. Happy writing!”