Passing Through the Lot on a Hot Day Whose parking lot? I have no clue. She probably lives in Timbuktu; Security cams all turned on me, She’ll see each car I’m prowling through. Your big ‘ol mutt is onto me, entering your car without a key. Apart from dog drool, crushing heat; the brightest day you've ever seen. Mutt jerks her leash, the collar breaks. I know I’ve made a big mistake. Her bark so loud, now sirens wail. She pins me hard, there’s no escape. The lot is filled; lights blue and red. I alibi, cops shake their heads. They haul me off, the jail’s close by. I’ve made my bed, so here I’ll lie.
Day Three of National Poetry Writing Month! Today’s prompt from NaPoWriMo.net:
Find a shortish poem that you like, and rewrite each line, replacing each word (or as many words as you can) with words that mean the opposite. For example, you might turn “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to “I won’t contrast you with a winter’s night.” Your first draft of this kind of “opposite” poem will likely need a little polishing, but this is a fun way to respond to a poem you like, while also learning how that poem’s rhetorical strategies really work. (It’s sort of like taking a radio apart and putting it back together, but for poetry).
Okay, so maybe I didn’t quiiiiiiite follow the prompt, but I kinda did, in spirit at least.
The poem I chose to use is Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Here is Frost’s poem:
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost - 1874-1963 Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
To see how others have responded to the challenge, go to NaPoWriMo.net and check out the comments section for links to other participating poets.
What Rhymes with Stanza? 