17 June 2009

Wednesday Poetry Prompt

Wednesday Poetry Prompt: 049
from Poetic Asides

"What would you do if you happened to win $1,000,000 today (tax-free, no less)? Would you run out and buy a house? A car? Pay off debt? Throw the biggest party ever? I'm sure we'd all react differently, soooo...

For today's prompt, I want you to write a poem related to getting a million dollars. You can focus on what you'd do with the money. Or you can focus on an object you'd buy with the money. Or you can focus on a related action. You could even write about the negative things that could happen if you were suddenly rich (think John Steinbeck's The Pearl)."



Scratch Off Ticket From The Convenience Store
by Constance Brewer

A million dollars isn’t what it used to be.
I can’t buy enough land to live far away
from everyone, not where I want to be—
the cost of the middle of nowhere has gone
up.

There will always be bills to pay, kids
to raise, temptations to ponder—a million
decisions that persist, day in day out,
whether or not money enters the equation.

I think I’ll take my payoff in crisp dollar
bills, go to county fairs, spend my time
tossing ping-pong balls at goldfish bowls,
flinging darts at limp balloons, giving away
my stuffed animal prizes. Every Wednesday
I’ll hand out tickets to ride the Ferris wheel.




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