Wednesday Poetry Prompts Archives - Writer's Digest

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 765

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 11:30:48 +0000

For this week’s prompt, take the phrase “Year of (blank),” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include “Year of the Horse,” “Year of Great Fortune,” “Year of Unbearable Mistakes,” and/or “Year of Reading Not Enough Books.”

An alternate title might be “(blank) of the Year.”

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

Note on commenting: If you wish to comment on the site, go to Disqus to create a free new account, verify your account on this site below (one-time thing), and then comment away. It’s free, easy, and the comments (for the most part) don’t require manual approval (though I check from time to time for those that do).

*****

Write a poem every single day of the year with Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming. After sharing more than a thousand prompts and prompting thousands of poems for more than a decade, Brewer picked 365 of his favorite poetry prompts here.

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Year of Blank Poem:

“Year of Many Years,” by Robert Lee Brewer

I find myself layering the moments
one on top of the other and feeling
that each moment is actually many
moments and that this year may be
many years and that time itself falls
through these layers and moments
and forgets itself as if it does not
actually exist and if not then when
would things begin and end and is
it possible in a year of many years
that I live a life of many lives that
stack one on top of the other and
each with a unique story to tell
about each me of the many mes
who all want a many great things.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 765 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 764

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 05:15:00 +0000

For this week’s prompt, write a fear poem. The poem could be about something you fear, or that someone (or something) else fears. Or maybe you’re fearless or just deep diving into the concept of fear. Don’t fret, and don’t fear; we’re all poets here.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Time is running out! Writer’s Digest is celebrating our 20th Annual Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards with new categories and prizes. We’re looking for your best poems of 32 lines or fewer or un-published chapbooks 25 pages or fewer. Any form of poetry is eligible including epic, free verse, odes, pantoums, sonnets, villanelles, and even haiku. This is the only Writer’s Digest competition exclusively for poets. Win cash and an article about you in the July/August issue of Writer’s Digest. The extended deadline is December 15.

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Fear Poem:

“Heights,” by Robert Lee Brewer

Watching all the others gather
to jump off the bridge doesn’t
fill me with FOMO as they yell,
“YOLO,” into the summer blue
sky. Let them live, or die, how
ever they wish, but I won’t miss
a chance to keep both my feet
rooted to the stable earth with
gravity here to hold me close.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 764 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 763

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 08:00:00 +0000

After a month of daily poeming in November, I hope everyone’s OK with getting back into a more relaxed weekly pace with the Wednesday Poetry Prompts.

For this week’s prompt, write a want poem. The poem could be about something you want, or that someone else wants. Of course, you can play off themes like “help wanted” or “wanted: dead or alive” signs and notices. And if something is in short supply, it is wanting. So there are a few different avenues y’all can travel for this one.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Writer’s Digest is celebrating our 20th Annual Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards with new categories and prizes. We’re looking for your best poems of 32 lines or fewer or un-published chapbooks 25 pages or fewer. Any form of poetry is eligible including epic, free verse, odes, pantoums, sonnets, villanelles, and even haiku. This is the only Writer’s Digest competition exclusively for poets. Win cash and an article about you in the July/August issue of Writer’s Digest.

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Want Poem:

“The Last Thing,” by Robert Lee Brewer

The last thing I wanted was to
forget the last thing that I said
because saying it made me blue.
The last thing I wanted was to
accidentally bother you
or somehow get into your head.
The last thing I wanted was to
forget the last thing that I said.

(Note on form and prompt: The form is a triolet, which is my fallback form, and the prompt is eerily similar to the final Wednesday Poetry Prompt before we started November, which was to write an “I Want (blank)” poem. I thought about changing today’s prompt, but then thought it might be fun to revisit similar territory after a month of poeming to see if our perspectives have changed at all.)

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 763 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 762

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Before we get into today’s Wednesday Poetry Prompt, I just want to remind everyone that we’ll be starting the 18th Annual November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge on Saturday morning (November 1, 2025). Read the guidelines here (and see you then).

For this week’s prompt, take the phrase “I Want (blank),” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles could include: “I Want to Be the Very Best,” “I Want a Little Respect,” “I Want Five Dollars,” “I Want My MTV,” and/or “I Want to Take a Moment for Myself.”

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at an “I Want (blank)” Poem:

“I Want to Forget,” by Robert Lee Brewer

I want to forget the last thing I said
& the last thing she said & maybe
a few more things I said & of course
what she did after what I did & well
maybe we’d do it all over again but
at least for a moment in my ignorant
bliss I might actually do & say a thing
I wouldn’t want to eventually take back.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 762 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 761

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For this week’s prompt, write a posthumous poem. This could be an elegy for someone who has already passed (real or fictional). Or—and I know this sounds morbid, though it doesn’t have to be—maybe write a poem thinking about the world after you’ve moved on. Facing mortality—our own and/or that of others—doesn’t sound like a fun time for many, but there’s no reason we can’t poem through it together.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Posthumous Poem:

“In Memoriam,” by Robert Lee Brewer

Because Emily couldn’t stop for Death,
she poemed for me, and Edgar left
lines by the door—crying, “Nevermore”—
as Whitman yawped like a dinosaur,
waiting for everyone he didn’t know,
like Frost stopping by woods in the snow
or Dunbar wearing the mask that fools
as Brooks shoveled out a fifth of cool;
together, they bring a world to me
with Eliot, Hughes, and Bukowski—
some writing in free verse, others rhyme,
and all worth reading line after line—
may they rest as they fill us with verse
that may be blessing or may be curse.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 761 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 760

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For this week’s prompt, pick an interesting word (just one word), make it the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Everyone surely has their own list of words they find interesting, either because they sound silly, scary, mysterious, weird, or you just like the way they sound. A few I can think of off the top of my head include “humdinger,” “spatula,” “chifforobe,” and “amethyst.” So pick a word and write a poem.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at an Interesting Word Poem:

“Picaresque,” by Robert Lee Brewer

In some lonely alleyway in London or Malibu
waits a roguish lad of maybe twenty-two
who’s up to no good, a true ne’er-do-well,
always breaking or taking as if under a spell,
and if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t know what to do.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 760 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 759

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Before we get into this week’s prompt, I just wanted to make sure everyone saw the announcement for the 18th annual November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge, which will begin on November 1. Click here to learn more.

For this week’s prompt, write a large poem. A few weeks ago, I tasked poets with writing a small poem. So this prompt takes it back the other way. Think big, gigantic, large. The poem could still be as concise as a haiku, but maybe it features a giant sequoia tree…or an XL t-shirt. Or maybe the poem itself runs on for 50+ lines

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Large Poem:

“One Poem in a Large City,” by Robert Lee Brewer

A few pieces of paper ripped from a yellow legal pad
and folded over several times hold the random lines
I scrawl as I prowl sidewalks littered with people sleeping
on benches or tucked up against the sides of buildings
as if they’re lifelike statues and I notice but try not to notice
because what can I do when I’m surrounded by so many
discarded poets filled with stories and pain and hopes
dashed and anyway I want to write about the lights
and sounds and smells of the city as if there could be
one poem to capture a million lonely poems tonight.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 759 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 758

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For this week’s prompt, write a tucked away poem. So what’s a tucked away poem? It could be a poem about a physical object that you’ve tucked away—like an old letter from a loved one, a varsity jacket or graduation ring, or maybe a VHS or 8mm home video. Or maybe you’ve tucked away an idea or a dream (or a feeling). Or maybe you’ve actually tucked away an old poem that you’d like to completely revisit. Untuck it all and write some poems this week.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Tucked Away Poem:

“The Car Keys,” by Robert Lee Brewer

The problem is, you see, that when
I tuck something away, I find
myself forgetting it, and then,
it is upsetting when my mind
can’t recall the original
thought at all, though often so close
it feels more than subliminal,
almost like a ghost, but I chose
to be haunted by moving it
in the first place, so then, I race
on out-of-sight-out-of-mind trails
stumbling on the roots of where it
could maybe be before my face,
always running late for my fails.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 758 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 757

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For this week’s prompt, write an autumn poem. Yes, it may or may not feel like it in your corner of the universe, but we’ve crossed another seasonal threshold. In the northern hemisphere, we’re into that autumn season that may or may not include pumpkin farms, warm sweaters, and Friday night football games (among many other things). Whatever autumn means to you, write it out this week.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at an Autumn Poem:

“Windows Down And…,” by Robert Lee Brewer

I feel the cool air against my arm
driving along this swerving mountain
road smelling smoke and hoping it’s not
a forest fire as the leaves explode
around me in a thousand shades of
autumn and I’m driving myself home
wherever I’m headed because I’m
headed only ever toward you.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 757 appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 756

Robert Lee Brewer — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For this week’s prompt, write a small poem. Your poem could be about a small person, place, or thing, of course, but I’m actually thinking of writing a small poem (as in 10 lines or fewer). But if you feel compelled to write a BIG POEM about something small, well, I won’t get in your way.

Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

*****

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Small Poem:

“10 Suburban Poems in One Subdivision,” by Robert Lee Brewer

Three deer dart across the road, one with three legs. Two
neighbors shout warnings at each other. Lawn services
operate downwind of the cable company and plumbing
services. Every other vehicle drives through the four-way
stop without slowing. A septic system needs repaired. Coyotes
howl and yip in the distance. The county leaves a notice
to cut grass or be fined. A great horned owl shouts warnings
until it doesn’t. Fireflies have disappeared like the children
who rode their bikes into the sunset. One deer stares
down a car in the middle of the road at midnight.

The post Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 756 appeared first on Writer's Digest.