Poetry Prompt | Exploring Contrasting Views
Opposites Attract — or Do They?
Put them in a room together and write a poem about it
I am writing to you from Australia, the place they call Downunder Is my world perspective different to you there in Upover?
If Australia is known as ‘the land downunder’, why isn’t there a country north of the equator that we call ‘the land Upover’?!
Hello to our dear Paper Poetry friends wherever you may be,
I couldn’t resist the temptation to open with a twittle. I think twittles are fabulous little poems, but then again I’m unabashedly biased! Having said that, I’m well aware there are those who find twittles a pain in the brain, and others who have no idea what I’m talking about! (learn more here) 😉
I get it that your opinion on twittles may be completely at odds with mine. And that’s fine. In fact, it’s perfect! Because at Paper Poetry we’re taking a deep dive into contrasting views. Everything is open for cross-examination — including what you think about twittles!
For the Week 19 prompt, Suntonu Bhadra challenged us to explore contrasting views of a world story — current affairs, historical events, controversial ideologies, whatever stirs the pot — and to present those opposing views in an evenly balanced poem.
🏁 When I thought about the prompt, I kept coming back to the war in Ukraine (Putin calls it a ‘special military operation’ while nearly everyone else calls it an illegal invasion of a sovereign state). My contribution to the prompt, War Games, is largely constructed from quotes I collected from news reports and repurposed into a free verse poem.
🏁 Raine Lore also explored the issue of war in her poem, Reveille. She used a poem she’d originally written as a 15 year-old about the Vietnam War and contrasted that with her thoughts on the current war in Ukraine. Her adept use of form and rhyme is evident in every stanza, including this one —
Ah, the young and discontent — Blinkered vision, lacks areas of grey. Would you not halt the despot’s mal-intent? Talk peace in war rooms as they Slaughter innocents?
from Reveille, by Raine Lore, 2022
🏁 Suntonu Bhadra looked at the topic from an anthropological and sociological perspective. His poem, Who Are We?, asks us to reflect on the evolution of mankind and compare that with where we are today.
🏁 Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar served us up an intriguing haiku-tanka composition, Fumes, that took us through the dramas and dreams we navigate on life’s journey.
Travelling life’s path Purpose in fate defeated
from Fumes, by Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar, 2022
Many thanks to Raine, Suntonu, Monoreena, and all those who considered responding to the prompt. Please take a few minutes to read and support their work. 🙏 💞
And now, without further to-do, let’s take a look at our next prompt.
Poetry Prompt Week 20
“It’s this simple law, which every writer knows, of taking two opposites and putting them in a room together.” Trey Parker
Parker is referring to Cartman and Butters, two polar-opposite characters he co-created for the animated sitcom, South Park. His statement plays out in real life as much as it does in the fictional world. Seemingly unlikely friendships and alliances can be forged in a foundry of friction.
Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, put it this way —
“But there is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites; hence it is necessary to discover the opposite to the attitude of the conscious mind.” Source
Jung believed that ‘everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding about ourselves.’
We know opposites attract in the natural world of chemistry and physics, but is there more to it than atomic and electrical force fields?
Let’s explore that idea some more!
Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to write an original piece of poetry that explores the concept of ‘opposites attract’.
Prompt details
Theme: your choice providing your poem delves into the concept of ‘opposites attract’ and includes contrasting views
Word requirements: minimum 20 words; please include the word ‘opposite’ somewhere in your poem
Form: your choice of poetry — anything from micropoetry to hybrid poetry to epic poetry and everything in between
Title/subtitle/kicker: please use ‘Exploring Contrasting Views’ as the kicker; your choice of title and subtitle
Tags: please use ‘W20 Prompt’ and ‘Opposites’ tags when submitting your poem
Image: one image only Please note: your image must incorporate a handwritten/handcrafted element in either paper or digital format in accordance with Paper Poetry’s submission guidelines. For example: a handwritten segment of your poem, a decorative title, an illustration that depicts an aspect of your poem, a digitally modified free-to-use image that relates to your poem.
Extensions: Please include a promotional link to this prompt and invite (handle tag) up to five other writers to join the prompt.
Submission period: Saturday July 9 (UTC-10hrs, the Cook Islands 12:00am) — closing Friday, July 15 (UTC-10hrs, Cook Islands 11:59 pm)
We welcome new writers to join the prompt. Please leave a comment requesting to be added as a writer and include your Medium @ handle; or email us at [email protected]
The next weekly poetry prompt announcement will be on July 23 (UTC-10hrs, the Cook Islands 12:00am)
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Let’s turn this prompt upside-down and inside-out!
