“Writers Cramp” Prompt

Puppet Show
Sunshine on a winter day
Once the clouds have gone away

The shadow of a tree, dances in front of me

Nature’s puppet show - Strings made of wind
Branches sway and bend - Calm subtle flow

Vitamin D depleted from my body’s storage
My mind clouded as each cell is desperate to forage

Warming my skin with a radiant glow
Straining my eyes through diamond glint on snow

It is a day long overdue
Yet when it comes it’s too soon through


(Writers Cramp: 01/10/2021...”use word/phrases in bold in poem”)
[ sunshine - the shadow of a tree - vitamin D - warming my skin - diamond glint on snow]





Clownish Love
What bugged most, was her fictional view of the world
What grew most, was my conventional view of her
In a vortex of misdirected love, we swirled
Inside a web without gravity, morals blur

It was an alien idea, to hold her close
A feeble attempt to quench my own desires
We are opposing sides, yet we remain engross
Enthralled in a heated cycle, igniting fires

Magnified to clownish proportions for others
A life structured to heights of lavish completion
Embers of false ideas, yet it only smothers
The farther we travel, further from creation

We have deceived each other, we are not that strong
Mirage of a life, why did she string me along
Her idea of me, merely lyrics of a song
Deception of herself, that she could do no wrong


(Writers Cramp: 01/11/2021...”use phrases in bold in poem”)
Magnified to clownish proportions - What bugged most - It was an alien idea - That she could do no wrong





A Journey To Utopia
Technological advancements are ingots of gold
Leading to a future so bright and so bold
Yellow bricks form a path where dreams come true
At your fingertips with just one click maybe just two
A push of a button, then a knock at your door
Designed for a glutton, and transgressions no more

Have any question, just a tap of your phone
Classes in session, without leaving your throne
Money is dirty and taking up space
No need for passwords just a scan of your face
No need for sensory, phones hold new memories
Drugs at the dispensary, helps the treasuries

GOD has Ten Commandments, that cuts into our fun
Our past needs reenactments, to show that we won
Our need to communicate, can be done from home
No need to hesitate, you can live like a gnome
No more need for friendships, followers will suffice
We’re past all hardships, no more roll of the dice

The planet continued orbit through days and nights
This future is computers with bright rays and lights
I didn’t realize the price the loss of my rights
When starting this path I expected brighter heights

Technological advancements advanced the few
Most businesses have closed and not many are new
Monopolies legal, political upheaval
Loss of our eagle, most are now evil
Media and politicians sowed lies of fear
Reaping mobs of angry mutineers to adhere

Through climate and lab work all their scripts were complete
They lied and they cheated and pulled the rug from our feet
Hopes and our dreams being banned, gone by year twenty twenty four
apples and windows held In your hand, chipping now more than ever before
Your Pros and your Cons alive in the cloud, so don’t get loud
Don’t be to proud, independence is not aloud

Students taught through windows with brains of cleaning
Money is ones and zeros don’t fail a screening
With a click and a tap your accounts become a wrap
Momentum grew - borders blurring from the map
Most the ignorant thought they were safe, which is odd
Our only way out is salvation, a gift from our LORD our GOD


(Writers Cramp: 01/12/2021.. (‘write about a visit to somewhere that turns out to be very different than what was expected”)





Midnight Showers
Behind the horizon the sun is retracting
Smoldering red with envy, losing the limelight
Over the waters an orange hue refracting
Shimmering and dancing in the darkening sunlight

Wind gaining strength under a now luminous glow
Howling through the night, shifting tempo

Clouds begin to gather in the once starry sky
A drop in temperature - a desire for indoors
A warning from Nature that I shouldn’t defy
This omen has me forbidden to be outdoors

Drops of rain begin to fall all around
It is time to find some dryer ground


(Writers Cramp: 01/15/2021...”use word/phrases in bold in poem”)
Night shift - Limelight - Dancing in the dark - Forbidden to be outdoors





Blizzard of Torment

Looking through the lens at what is seen
Interpretations made from the focus of the scene
Why is the view so unclear
Is it from a phantom fear

My ideas my thoughts flicker all around
What is up where is down
They flurry on their own without a sound

Just yesterday the scene seemed so serene
Suddenly this blizzard has caused a smoke screen
Blanketing all of what I revere
Covering the path, making it hard to adhere




[Explanation: Lens is perspective of life. Through the interpretation of a viewpoint of things thought about (focused on), ideas/thoughts are altered. This viewpoint is also “out of focus” based on skewed interpretations through past experiences. These experiences (many negative) flood the mind. This (e/a)ffects the mental equilibrium (up/down, right/wrong). Being that it’s the mind there is unawareness of this skewed viewpoint (the silence of snow). Yet, eventually these ideas/thoughts compound to a level at which there is awareness, but by that point the mind has been so flooded, it’s trapped, stuck in a mental snow blizzard.]


(Writers Cramp: 01/16/2021: “ Write a story or poem about being stuck in a sudden blizzard”)





Gift from a Crow

Hank woke up before midday, to a video on his surveillance display. Unsure of what is could possibly be, he hit play without any delay. What he saw was a little surprising:

Hushed was that evening, flakes of snow frosted the railing
A noise broke the silence, but nothing was seen
Strange squeaks or caws or some kind of wailing
What happened next could not be foreseen

A black crow landed on the railing of snow
With something wedged in his beak
What it could be was hard to know
But every time he moved he would squeak

Walking through the railing’s white powder
The crow’s head bobbed up and down
The squeaking got louder and louder
The crow was acting like a clown

After some time boredom took hold
And the crow dropped what he held.
On the railing the strange item rolled
From the porch he flew with item expelled

After viewing those strange images on screen, Hank stepped outside with his mug of caffeine. An elephant headed rubber fish, fit in the palm of his hand. It was easy to squish, and with a squeak it would re-expand. It’s color was orange the shade of a carrot. A squeaky toy for a tiny dog or maybe a ferret. What a strange object to see. So Hank kept it, since it was free.


(Writer’s Cramp Prompt 01/17/2021: While reviewing "doorbell camera" footage, Hank observes something very strange that occurred on his front porch the previous day.)





Pressure Cooker (manufacturer: Government)

A prepper unpierced by Mr. Pied Pipper
Pinch of pepper - All that's left by that viper
In a world where our chickens have turned to rice
With only slim pickens, while they roll the dice

Zest reserved for the "best", while the rest simmer
Lest we suffer their jest, our world now dimmer
Many dredge dumpsters, teetering on Life's ledge
No pledge left unbroken - Please, don't say allege



8 line (11 syllables)
"Express it in 8" exercise (04/03/2022), CULINARY TERMS, and words in bold [zest - dredge - simmer]





2034

I'm a second story man
Crammed in this building like beans in a can
It started back in twenty twenty four
Riots ended with streets covered in gore
Times were tough, corporations won the war
Then they closed the last brick and mortar store
A news story titled, "Struggle No More!"

What's the story? A return to glory:

"Citizens, No need for fear"
"Insurrectionist have been stopped. Now Cheer!"
"No more suffering, no one left will starve..."
(With their sharp words, inside our brains they carve)
"One room apartments will be free to all..."
"Lacking no amenities, have a ball..."
"Security cameras and roll call..."

It was a short story. Stopped most worry.

Buildings were built for our stalls
One hundred stories tall, stories all walls
We live in VR, windows not needed
We were all numbered, as they proceeded
Implants override the senses of mind
Bland food now has taste with neurons aligned
Nutritious corn and cricket mill combined

Physical contact? Against the contract!

Friends or marriage, just on screen
Our life now confined to this one room scene
Your door barred and locked - Fed through a wall slot
Drugged through your faucet, if signs of distraught
No sharp objects, in case you wish to bleed
Your kids are pixels on screen - AND DON'T PLEAD!
Sex is through a machine milking your seed

Why need sunlight? Lighting panels just right!

The sun, now for the rich and test tube kids
The only ones spared, were the highest bids
Though, they agreed to sterilization
That or join the rest - Incarceration

I was a coward to not stand my ground
I miss the sun and every natural sound
We could've had the numbers, but bent knee
Now not even in my mind can I flee


(Writers Cramp: 04/04/2022...”use phrases in bold in poem”)
[ what's the story - short story - tall stories - second story man - news story ]





Silly Rabbit

Johnny had a dog who's name was Rabbit
He would jump on everything, a very bad habit
Most evenings Johnny would take him for a walk
They wouldn't go far, just around the block

It started like any other day
A struggle to get the leash on
"RABBIT! CALM DOWN AND STAY!"
With his leash attached, Rabbit let out a yawn
It was the worst part for him
No longer free to roam
Darting outside, he pulled Johnny's limb
Stopping briefly to smell the garden gnome

A wave at the neighbour, as they head along
To the sound of sirens and a bird's song

With a sudden stop, Rabbit's ears perked
Staring at the corner park, he snapped out a bark
Suddenly he started towards it, Johnny's hand jerked
Stopping at a bush, as it started to get dark
Rabbit clammed up and was acting funny
Under the bush, Johnny couldn't see
What could it be? Was it a bunny?
As Johnny got closer, Rabbit tried to flee

Johnny got on hands and knees for a better look
Many feet away Rabbit sat and shook

Reaching under the branches, Johnny felt around
His fingers crossed something half buried in the ground
Briefly, he struggled to pull it out
Rabbit began a whimpering shout

The moment it was exposed
Street lights turned on, emitting a glow
The mystery of what it was disclosed
It reminded him of his childhood, long ago

As a child it was something he had had
He would sit for hours playing it alone
Finding something like this made him so glad
It was a children's xylophone

Rabbit inched closer, shakes subsided
Why was Rabbit so scarred? Johnny was undecided
Yet, he remained happy with what was provided
"What a silly dog." - Johnny decided



(Writers Cramp: 04/06/2022) Write a poem based on following:”)
Your main character is walking their dog around the neighbourhood when the dog finds something unexpected under a bush in the park on the corner. What does the dog find? Why is it unusual? What does your main character do? Write the story or poem - use Mystery as one of your genres.