Zelda's Inferno's exercise: either
* Write a poem about the "ultimate" poem, or what a poem "should" do.
or
* Write a poem using, "how to...". For example, "how to write a poem", "how to break my heart"," how to distinguish a flower from a frog".
(from http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/tjresources-exercises.php)
the ultimate poem
should grab you by the ears and scream
the ultimate poem
leaves its brand on the brain
the ultimate poem
holds us steady to the truth (says Emerson)
the ultimate poem
will never desert you
the ultimate poem
fills you up but never slows you down
the ultimate poem
inspires other poets (so we do not mean ultimate as "last", never!)
the ultimate poem
is in the language of the people
the ultimate poem
beats a prayer
the ultimate poem
leave ambiguity but no doubt
the ultimate poem
does more for your brain than a shot of whiskey, a bong hit, strong coffee,
and a cup of mushroom tea put together
the ultimate poem
cannot be shot down
the ultimate poem
seems familiar on the first hearing, but new at the hundredth
the ultimate poem
makes a child stop to hear it
the ultimate poem
does not call attention to itself, and for that reason it is heard
the ultimate poem
is never discussed in your high school English class
the ultimate poem
sits down and tells itself to you
the ultimate poem
speaks out for things
the ultimate poem
never gives up on you
the ultimate poem
does not discriminate on race, religion, national origin, gender,
sexual preference, or economic class
the ultimate poem
explains itself
the ultimate poem
never apologizes
the ultimate poem
is both scholarly and common
the ultimate poem
loves everyone equally