M Christine Delea's Blog, page 38

What I Learned by R. Erica Doyle

What I learned

by R. Erica Doyle

published in The Rumpus, April 22, 2022

Why was there evenAn axe in the housethere were thorns to pruneIn the garden butWhy was the axeIn the house?

Was it in the closetWith the rifle?I don’t know –

But when he chased you With the axeAnd you ran screaming to the back – Towards the library – Towards the basement – Going to hidePerhapsGoing out the back door–

She stopped him.Stood between for the first timeSaid

NO!

And for a thousand ye...

It's a Word Buffet: Writing Prompt

I love buffets! I can try lots of different foods in small amounts. I don't have to decide between a garden salad and a Caesar salad--I can get both! I can try just a little of the salmon in the unrecognizable sauce--sometimes it requires seconds (or thirds).

This week's buffet is a word buffet. Your challenge is to choose two words from each group and use those words in your piece.

As with all of these prompts, and all prompts anywhere, is to use the guidelines for your first draft as close...

Silver Falls by Melody Wilson

Silver Falls

by Melody Wilson

published in Cleaver Magazine, 2021

We have driven east this bright afternoon,the two of us, young parents on a break from

entropy. I am drowning in something I can’tdefine and the day reels out like un-spliced frames

of someone else’s life. We park the car and skirt pastother people’s happiness, past picnic tables and barbecues.

You take my hand and we climb to the falls. The noiseof life filters up: laughter, singing. I am relieved

when the roar of wat...

So Chinese Girl by Dorothy Chan

So Chinese Girl

by Dorothy Chan

published in The Cincinnati Review, 2018

Anyone who makes tasty food has to be a good person, because think of all the love that goes into cooking:salt and pepper, sprinkle a little extra cheese, and pop open a bottle

of Syrah, or if we’re eating at my parents’ in Las Vegas,we’re drinking Tsingtao beer, my father’s favorite, and he adds more bamboo shoots and straw mushrooms and baby corn,

and fun fact: When I was a ba...

What I Mean When I Say Truck Driver by Geffrey Davis

What I Mean When I Say Truck Driver

by Geffrey Davis

published in Revising the Storm (2014, BOA Editions)

During the last 50 miles back from haul & some months past my 15th birthday, my father fishes a stuffed polar bear from a Salvation Army gift-bin, labeled Boys: 6-10. I can almost see him approach the decision: cold, a little hungry, not enough

money in his pocket for coffee. He worries he might fall asleep behind the wheel as his giant, clumsy love for that small word—son—guides...

Family Lore: Writing Prompt

Today's prompt was inspired by a poem I wrote recently.

My father and I were driving together (no worries--I was the one driving!) and he was telling me about his grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I only remember meeting one great-aunt and her husband, but I did remember hearing about one of the uncles. He was a professional gambler whose existence is mysterious, as he did not keep in contact with the family. My father told me another (new-to-me) story about him during this drive, and that stor...

February by Bill Christophersen

February

by Bill Christophersen

published in Poetry, February 2002

The cold grows colder, even as the days

grow longer, February's mercury vapor light

buffing but not defrosting the bone-white

ground, crusty and treacherous underfoot.

This is the time of year that's apt to put

a hammerlock on a healthy appetite,

old anxieties back into the night,

insomnia and nightmares into play;

when things in need of doing go undone

and things that can't be undone come to call,

muttering recrimi...

Ode to Odes: Writing Prompt

I love odes, as you can tell by the number of odes I have posted on this blog. I especially love odes like the one by Kevin Young that I posted today, poems that are both celebratory and critical (or at least open-eyed) about the thing they are ode-ing (not a word). These odes are more honest and are more surprising for the reader, which is what a great poem should be--not shocking, not out of the blue, but there should be something of a twist.

For this week's writing piece, write an ode that b...

Ode to the Midwest by Kevin Young

Ode to the Midwest

by Kevin Young

published in Poetry, July/August 2007

The country I come from Is called the Midwest —Bob Dylan

I want to be doused

in cheese

& fried. I want

to wander

the aisles, my heart's

supermarket stocked high

as cholesterol. I want to die

wearing a sweatsuit—

I want to live

forever in a Christmas sweater,

a teddy bear nursing

off the front. I want to write

a check in the express lane.

I want to scrape

my driveway clean

myself, early, before

anyone's aw...

Ode to the Midwest

Ode to the Midwest

by Kevin Young

published in Poetry, July/August 2007

The country I come from Is called the Midwest —Bob Dylan

I want to be doused

in cheese

& fried. I want

to wander

the aisles, my heart's

supermarket stocked high

as cholesterol. I want to die

wearing a sweatsuit—

I want to live

forever in a Christmas sweater,

a teddy bear nursing

off the front. I want to write

a check in the express lane.

I want to scrape

my driveway clean

myself, early, before

anyone's aw...