30 Day Poetry Challenge #3: Find the nearest book. Turn to page 8. Copy the first ten words and create a poem.
From page 8 of The Hunger Games: “a few blackberries from the bushes around us. And may…”
Blackberry Time
A few blackberries from the bushes
around us and may
I hold the flavor
on my tongue
now turning purple.
The juice running down through
my fingers staining
my jeans. The vine grows
like a weed
among thorns
with this small gift of plump purple bites
never asking permission
to invade the flower bed.
Like the love of a teenager,
sweetness grows out of pain.
And a prompt from Bud the Teacher: “Some apples are gifts for special people. Others are poison. Which one is this?”
Comment: Sometimes when kids leave home, they leave behind disgusting things.
An Apple
Did you leave
the half-eaten apple
in the drawer behind
the peaches
rotting slowly?
Now that you are gone,
shall I take a bite
to remember you by?
No one is worth
the risk.
Reflections on the Teche 
Wow! I love Blackberry Time. Your poetry is so descriptive that I could see the berries. I thought your comparison to the love of a teenager was the best. I love your writing. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely Margaret. I had lesson plans for the rest of the week about 6 purposes for nonfiction writing. Think I’ll blow those off ’til after Easter and do these 3 days of poetry prompts instead. Hope you don’t mind if I use your acrostic as a model fort kids tomorrow!
Thanks Kathleen. Have some poetry fun. After testing I plan to do a different poetry form for each letter of the alphabet. Not sure what to do for J, maybe jump rope rhymes.
The juice running down and the small gift of plump purple bites just made me so hungry for these delicious gems.
[…] Join the Tuesday Slice of LifeA writing exercise that is often successful for me is to borrow a line. I have done this a number of times to jump start a poem. See The Day, Fallen Oak and also in the poem from the 30 Day Challenge Blackberry Time. […]