This month Women Writing for (a) Change-Bloomington poets are participating in National Poetry Writing Month. Every day we will offer up a new poem by a writer in our community. Check back after 6:00pm for the Prompt of the Day and the selected resulting poem.
Prompt # 8: Today, I’d like to challenge you to think about the argot of a particular job or profession, and see how you can incorporate it into a metaphor that governs or drives your poem.
#8 Transferable Skills for Poets by Amy Cornell
Should your open position need lots of metaphors,
I am the right person for the job.
If you need someone who is inspired by
the break of spring, the cries of children,
or the taste of matzo ball soup, look no further.
I am constantly searching for the word,
the rhyme, the meter, the perfect allusion.
In fact, words and their usage fill my head
from the minute I wake up. If your position
requires a constant connection with the
language and the moment, where do I sign up?
And if you need someone to stare dreamily
into the stars or the clouds or their cold black
coffee and spend eternity convincing you
and your board of directors that poetry is
important and poets have transferable skills,
and if you really need to put your finger
on what is possible and how to hope and fear
and love and ponder the things that make us
whole, please hire me. You won’t regret it.