PROMPT 28:

Victoria Chang’s poem, “The Lovers,” is short and somewhat shocking, bringing us quickly from a near-hallucinatory descriptive statement to a strange sort of question, before ending on the very direct statement of a “truth.” Six lines, three sentences, and to top it off, a title that I think works for the poem but is only obliquely related to its text. Today, try writing a poem that follows the same beats: three sentences, six lines: statement, question, conclusion.

Rupi Cowers

The silly poem
asks a non-question:

Is contemporary verse vapid,
or have we been dumbed-down?

The proof is in the poem,
so the answer is yes.

Gong Show: ¡CHANGggg!

Modern verse
is known for glibness, superficiality.

Must mannered obfuscation
override any/every message?

Truth is: one could
crank these out all day long.

V. Chang OBIT