Contest Entry Prompt:
Write a poem using only a question, then an answer for each stanza.
Hi, Joe, why you look like my moping hound dog?
Hey there, Melton, bet your hound feels better than me.
My bad – something particular nipping at ya today?
My friend, you are not that patient!
How about I feed my face while you talk to me?
Lots too chew on Mel, wouldn’t know where to start.
How about with “Bubba Mac’s” blistering “Sloppy Joe’s” – side of slaw?
Yeah, sounds good, might as well add heartburn to my troubles.
Wife and kids doing ok, Joe?
Now, Mel that there’s a tricky question.
You remember when I taught Bruno not to bite the chickens?
Yeah, but having trouble connecting the dots, dude.
Did Bruno stop biting the chickens?
Trick question, Mel – you sold the bunch of them.
But ask yourself, Joe, – did I make a problem go away?
Okay Mel, you got me there.
-Leika
Author’s Note:
I find writing to contests prompts challenging – it is the definition of “poems” that strikes me funny, yet seriously…much like learning a Bonsai means – a potted plant.
I learned it is creative structuring of words, sentences, that pesky punctuation and particular pruning with tiny scissors that produces either a poem or a bonsai.