Five Word Requests
Hey,
Sometimes when I am feeling like my river of inspiration is running slower than I'd like, and I want to be able to spit out some real work, I ask people, usually people I don't know very well, to give me five words, and I turn those five words into a little poem, usually one line per word. I also ask the person to choose "rhyming" or "non-rhyming" and usually they can't choose, so I do both. These are some examples of Five Word Requests I've done recently.
The Lion, The Bay, A Name - Requested by Jane A
Words List:
Lion
Embroidered
Bay
Jane A
Smile
*no rhyming*
The lion roars, a citadel of song,
Voice embroidered on the wind,
The scene is set,
Confessed,
A smile unconcerned lights up the bay,
The sound, a name,
Jane A.
Spies and Lace - Requested by Guy Whose Name I've Forgotten Twice Now
Words List:
Tantric
Espionage
Solicitation
How
Unpronounceable
*non-rhyming*
The cool espionage, slick, cold, nearing facetious,
Around, like a pie, solicitations of time,
How long last the links of the chain,
Make the taste of the tantric love,
Unpronounceable.
*rhyming*
Espionage, the life of the spy,
How the night has laid claim, to only try,
Tantric eyes have tied me to this,
Solicitation’s sense has left me amiss,
To the beauty, unpronounceable I.
Savannah Night Scenes - Requested by Lucy
Words list:
Blaze
Phosphorescence
Alibi
Savannah
Plethora
*non-rhyming*
Flare, a blaze bright over the breaking trees,
The savannah awash in the crystalline still,
Phosphorescence tenses the verbs of the nocturn,
A plethora of life under moonlight,
The scene an alibi for the horrors of the world.
*rhyming*
The phosphorescence flows the spirit, split,
Alibis for lies that bring the twins to haunt,
On savannah stings like greatest hits,
The blaze a haze that’s come to rock,
A plethora of souls arise from pits,
The desert expands with death’s dance.
Inspired
Here's some work inspired by some of these Five-Word-Requests. Just a little bit of writing that may end up in something more formal later, but that I thought would be interesting to include so you can see how my process works:
One
Body twisting in the splints undone unwed and bent,
Beads jangle in doorways
A haunting voodoo whisper to the setting sun,
Eve blinks, two tone on spears of fear
One spell invoked, for moonlight.
Two
Sanding down the blue of eyes,
She tries, to twist in the wind of compliments,
Lost in nightmare,
One moment more, I’ve asked for,
One slip and I fall,
I call you,
Starlight.
Sometimes when I am feeling like my river of inspiration is running slower than I'd like, and I want to be able to spit out some real work, I ask people, usually people I don't know very well, to give me five words, and I turn those five words into a little poem, usually one line per word. I also ask the person to choose "rhyming" or "non-rhyming" and usually they can't choose, so I do both. These are some examples of Five Word Requests I've done recently.
The Lion, The Bay, A Name - Requested by Jane A
Words List:
Lion
Embroidered
Bay
Jane A
Smile
*no rhyming*
The lion roars, a citadel of song,
Voice embroidered on the wind,
The scene is set,
Confessed,
A smile unconcerned lights up the bay,
The sound, a name,
Jane A.
Spies and Lace - Requested by Guy Whose Name I've Forgotten Twice Now
Words List:
Tantric
Espionage
Solicitation
How
Unpronounceable
*non-rhyming*
The cool espionage, slick, cold, nearing facetious,
Around, like a pie, solicitations of time,
How long last the links of the chain,
Make the taste of the tantric love,
Unpronounceable.
*rhyming*
Espionage, the life of the spy,
How the night has laid claim, to only try,
Tantric eyes have tied me to this,
Solicitation’s sense has left me amiss,
To the beauty, unpronounceable I.
Savannah Night Scenes - Requested by Lucy
Words list:
Blaze
Phosphorescence
Alibi
Savannah
Plethora
*non-rhyming*
Flare, a blaze bright over the breaking trees,
The savannah awash in the crystalline still,
Phosphorescence tenses the verbs of the nocturn,
A plethora of life under moonlight,
The scene an alibi for the horrors of the world.
*rhyming*
The phosphorescence flows the spirit, split,
Alibis for lies that bring the twins to haunt,
On savannah stings like greatest hits,
The blaze a haze that’s come to rock,
A plethora of souls arise from pits,
The desert expands with death’s dance.
Inspired
Here's some work inspired by some of these Five-Word-Requests. Just a little bit of writing that may end up in something more formal later, but that I thought would be interesting to include so you can see how my process works:
One
Body twisting in the splints undone unwed and bent,
Beads jangle in doorways
A haunting voodoo whisper to the setting sun,
Eve blinks, two tone on spears of fear
One spell invoked, for moonlight.
Two
Sanding down the blue of eyes,
She tries, to twist in the wind of compliments,
Lost in nightmare,
One moment more, I’ve asked for,
One slip and I fall,
I call you,
Starlight.