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Poetry Prompts

Monday Poetry Prompt: The Waste Land

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Yesterday I attended a “close read” of T. S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land where we tried to figure out all the references and strange allusions. It was a lot of fun despite the subject matter and now I think all feel like we at least have a handle on what it might mean.

It’s a 433 line poem divided into five sections: 1. The Burial of the Dead, 2. A Game of Chess, 3. The Fire Sermon, 4. Death by Water, 5. What the Thunder Said. So, this week choose one of the section titles and write your own poem using the section title as your poem’s title. You don’t have to have read Eliot’s work, much less understand it. Just use one of those titles as your inspiration then post your poem below.

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is one of the organizers of Living Poetry, a collection of poets and poetry lovers in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit.

Discussion

6 thoughts on “Monday Poetry Prompt: The Waste Land

  1. Tanka-Death By Water

    It was not so true
    When told I would be okay
    As I gasped for air
    Gurgling with water wet hair
    Drowning, my life was not spared

    Liked by 2 people

    Posted by Lisa Tomey | February 25, 2019, 7:21 AM

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