Write your own poem in which all the verses contain the same number of lines (whether couplets, triplets, quatrains, etc.) and in which you give the reader instructions of some kind.
Fresh water in his bowls. He drinks from the left side of the bowl in the kitchen, like something’s written there. Feed him around eight. If you’re late, he’ll sit at the kitchen counter and look through you, not at you. Dry food in the silver bowl. You’ll think the white one is the same. He’ll tell you otherwise. When he goes missing, look under the bed in the purple room. He stays there until the house feels right again. He’ll sleep at the end of the bed. Let him. He wants the weight of someone sleeping near. You can go to him. You can wait. Sit in the same room, read. He’ll come when he’s ready. Call me if he won’t eat, two days running. Otherwise, trust yourself. You’ve known him almost as long as I have. We’ll be in a walled city of towers we first climbed twenty years ago, still counting each other’s steps. Think of us there. More likely, though, Jake will keep you too busy. He knows how to need.
Prompt Inspiration
Via NaPoWriMo
Read Robert Fillman’s poem, “There should always be two.”
Thanks very much for reading, subscribing, and sharing the stories, poetry, and essays in this space. If you like a story, poem, or essay, please click on the heart. Also if you are so moved, please leave a comment.
