Even though we may be on a Lenten fast of news headlines, Day 7 of NaPoWriMo has asked us to mine the news for today’s poetry prompt.
“And speaking of news, today our prompt (optional, of course) is another oldie-but-goodie: a poem based on a news article. Frankly, I understand why you might be avoiding the news lately, but this is a good opportunity to find some “weird” and poetical news stories for inspiration.
http://www.napowrimo.net/
I can’t say that their examples really grabbed me. But it was full moon and a cloudless night so I was wide awake even before NaPoWriMo had posted the Day 7 prompt on their website. (It goes on at midnight EDT FYI insomniacs of Europe.)
In the end, I just googled “Weird News Headlines.” So my poem is not based on a single news article. It is a mash up from a series of headlines that caught my attention.
The 2020 Zoo Mr. Fox has gone and done a Leopold Bloom walkabout, strolling over The Ha’penny Bridge. Meanwhile, elsewhere… in Chicago, coyotes are patrolling Cook County on Neighbourhood Watch. It’s reported that the deer have taken Calgary. A lion is loose in an Indian city. Brown and black bears, everywhere are waking grumpy and hungry. Horses are stampeding Singapore’s streets. Chimpanzees are mimicking their keepers, washing their hands on repeat. Outside my bedroom window I can see that the magpies are in residence, roosting in my roof. Copyright © Bee Smith, 2020. All rights reserved.
Featured image Photo by Tj Holowaychuk on Unsplash
