This week’s prompt comes from Crystal Koe, alum of the UMass Boston MFA program in Creative Writing for Poetry. Crystal writes:
Having lost count of the number of times I’ve spiraled into anxiety recently, here’s a prompt that combines a therapy grounding technique with exploring the senses.
1) Wherever you are, write down FIVE things you can see; FOUR things you can touch; THREE things you can hear; TWO things you can smell; and ONE thing you can taste.
2) Go through your list and pick ONE of the things you can see. What does/would it FEEL like to the touch? Write with detail (and simile, if you like). Do this for each category.
a. Ex: One of the things you can touch—what does/would it SOUND like? One of the things you can hear—what does/would it SMELL like? One of the things you can smell—what does/would it TASTE like? The thing you can taste—what does/would it LOOK like?
3) Now take a couple of deep breaths. How are you feeling (right now? today)? This can be used as a title.
4) With this feeling in mind, read what you have written. Using what you wrote and/or writing more, write a poem that conveys this feeling using only concrete, specific details about the things around you. Can you bring to life that (abstract) feeling by utilizing at least three of the senses?
Prompt Accompaniment
Music and imagery reawaken our senses. Crystal shared this video as an accompaniment to the prompt. Listen to the Women’s Chorus of Dallas Virtual Choir, including Crystal herself, sing “O Love” by Elaine Hagenberg in preparation for–or during–your writing.
Write on the DOT 