A Writing Prompt

February 15, 2022
1 min
A Writing Prompt

Writing prompts can be like a cattle prod: either a jolt in the right direction, or a pain in the arse.

This one, a poem by American writer Wyn Cooper, is an example of the former. It could be excellent for journalling and fiction writing alike.

Mars Poetica


Imagine you're on Mars, looking at earth,

a swirl of colors in the distance.

Tell us what you miss most, or least.


Let your feelings rise to the surface.

Skim that surface with a tiny net.

Now you're getting the hang of it.


Tell us your story slantwise,

streetwise, in the disguise

of an astronaut in his suit.    


Tell us something we didn't know

before: how words mean things

we didn't know we knew.


Wyn Cooper (2012)

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