Satisfaction
“Why did I write? Because I found life unsatisfactory.”
— Tennessee Williams
I used to say,
life is unsatisfactory,
so write.
I used to say,
writing is dreaming,
so dream.
I used to say
in dreaming your spirit goes a-traveling,
so travel.
I used to say traveling makes the bigger and smaller,
so make the world big enough
to hold all your dreams
small enough
to find what you once lost.
These days I don’t say much,
I just write.
Commentary:
This poem started with a quote (which I included above) and adapted. Tennessee Williams, thought known as a playwright was also a poet. If you read or see his plays you can see the influence of poetry in his dialogue. While not all writers are poets, really good writers, whether they publish poetry or not, usually write it.
Poetry Prompt: Begin with a quote
Take a quote you like and use it as the first line of a poem. Or write a poem about the idea contained in the quote. Or, rearrange the words in the quote and make a new line and begin there. Borrow and start. After you are done, go back and see what happens if you eliminate the first line you used to get started.
