2022 April PAD Challenge: Day 8
And just like that, we’re starting the second week of this challenge. Poem on!
For today’s prompt, write a what they never tell you poem. I’m not sure who “they” are, but “they” talk a lot, and there are things people tell you, and there are things you just have to learn on your own, because “they” (them again) never tell you ahead of time. Like, for instance, “they” never told me that I’d still feel like a teenager in my 40s, but here we are. Think about what “they” never tell (or told) you, and write that poem.
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
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Writer’s Digest University is pleased to present a one-of-a-kind online event for poetry writers! On April 9, 2022, our WDU Poetry Writing Virtual Conference will provide expert insights from FOUR award-winning and bestselling poets on the finer points of how to write poetry. Spend the day learning techniques for honing your craft from four different published poets, then (if you choose) you can have one of your poems (up to 40 lines) critiqued by one of our participating poets. The poet will provide you with a personalized critique of your poem.
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Here’s my attempt at a What They Never Tell You Poem:
“Nobody Cares”
Nobody cares if you’re the best
or the worst or somewhere between
when it comes to nearly anything–
There’s not some person standing around
with a stopwatch and a clipboard
measuring your progress at life–
Nobody cares as long as you don’t
make their lives miserable or
until you can make them better–
The only person standing around
with a stopwatch and a clipboard
measuring your progress at life–
Is you.