Get loud with these poetry prompts.
It’s easy to think of poetry as soft, flowery, and convoluted. It’s the stuff of Shakespeare, greeting cards, and children’s books. It’s precious, sweet, and erudite.
But some of the most exciting modern poetry defies all those stereotypes, and you need look no further than the slam poetry and spoken word communities to see how poetry can be infused with rage, passion, and humor.
These poets have mastered the art of ranting and raving with passion via performance poetry. It’s no wonder that during live recordings of some of their most impassioned poems, the crowd can be heard hooting and hollering.
Today’s poetry prompts encourage you to write a poem that unleashes your passion.
Poetry Prompts
You can use these poetry prompts to write any kind of poem you want. But for some reason, poems that rant and rave work exceptionally well in performance poetry. These pieces have luster on the page, but they explode when read aloud, so I recommend working on a poem that is meant to be performed.
How to use these poetry prompts:
Choose one of the lists below and write a poem using all of the words in the list. You can also write a poem mixing and matching words from these lists or using all of the words from all of the lists.
| Social Consciousness | Personal Affronts | Road Rage & Pet Peeves |
| humanity corruption eager hunger fair power greed redemption freedom |
insult betrayal violated lost rude bully robbed forgotten liar |
curse line impatience thoughtless chatter hurry spam stop gesture |
Explore Performance Poetry
Need some ideas to help you get started with these poetry prompts? You can find some examples of performance poetry on IndieFeed Performance Poetry, one of my favorite podcasts that is unfortunately no longer active; but the archives remain online for all to enjoy. I highly recommend checking it out.
How did these poetry prompts work for you? Did they inspire a poem? Have you ever explored performance poetry or spoken word? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment, and keep writing poems!
Well, this prompt came at the perfect moment. My husband and I stopped for coffee at Starbucks today. I backed into a parking space. A car was behind me. Suddenly I heard a honk. Long story short, a woman claimed I’d hit her car and broke her license plate holder (which she refused to look at, and which wasn’t broken) and was so out of control she called the police, making a mess of my morning. Here’s my poem:
The Bully
I hit a bully today,
Or so she says-
Yes, she. It has no sex
Anymore,
Nor is it poor.
It owns a Lexus, and it lies.
It says, “You hit my car.
Didn’t you hear me honk?”
I insulted a bully today,
Or so she claims-
Robbed her of her dignity
When I tapped her license plate
Backing into the parking space.
I didn’t tap anything.
I’ve got pictures to prove it.
I forgot my manners,
Or so she told the police
Because I chose to walk away
From a fight she was brewing,
Starbucks in one hand,
Phone in the other,
Lip stuck out, hip jacked out.
Dressed to the nines,
But still no lady.
Now all I have is a headache
And a bad poem to show for it,
And a slow burn
Of betrayal and a violation
I didn’t commit.
I can’t help but wonder,
Who did commit it then?
Because nothing
Comes from nowhere.
Who bullied her?
And who will I bully,
If I forget to forget
What just happened?
That’s awesome, Rose. My favorite thing about this poem is how you bring it full circle to show that bullying is a cycle. Nice job!
Thank you for giving poets a different voice.
All of these listed words I have used.
Pandering To Abnormality
BETRAYAL has left us inhuman:
The fat cat,
The LIAR.
And those in POWER want us to be
Something we are not.
…
Tanya, thanks for sharing your poem. Unfortunately some of the words didn’t pass our language filter, so the poem has been cut off. We try to keep it family friendly around here. I realize you’re probably in the UK, so there might be some differences in age-appropriate language. Keep writing!
Wow! An amazing poem. OI can hear it being read aloud somewhere. You should perform it
I love these words and I just came up with a poem, not with all the words though, even though it might not be all poem. 🙂 Thanks for your awesome blog! You inspired me to write this! In my writer’s block. Thanks so much.
Your mask of humility
First comes admiration, and respect. Then it takes a dark turn of betrayal. Bitterness, loathing, thoughtlessness, and then a betrayal. The insulted gestures that you give, burden me, and one by one they pile up. Turning into something nasty. It oozes and spills out like a long-awaited volcano explosion.
Lies. A better form is liar. Oh yes. I can see through your mask. Of caring and kindness. Love and humanity. Pity if you will. But when you take it off… I see your true colors. Your real face. Behind this mask of humility you wait until the cover of darkness. You wait and wait until the perfect victim. You prey on them. Your favorites are the young, fresh ones. Dreamers, admirers, hopers. Ones who have big dreams.
You act like their mentor, their friend. Until you strike. Each blow their sting even worse than before. You hit them down so they too feel what you did. You created more versions of yourself, so you can feel belongingness. Friendship. Kindness. That’s all you wanted in life. A home. A place where you can hang your hat.
Just reach out your hand. I’m waiting. I can give you your greatest desires and dreams. All you have to do is just that. Simple really. Give me your favor, your tears. Your anger. I see it in your eyes. That’s all you need. A shoulder to cry on. Don’t worry I am here now.
Thank you for sharing your poem.
Bully
Your voice is an insult to my freedom
Your opinions are a betrayal to my rights
Constantly we are violated
By the lost sense of what is right
Your rude remarks
Robbed me of my voice
You are just a forgotten memory
Of what once was
A liar-
A bully.
Thanks for sharing your poem here, Grace.
Here’s my attempt. I missed one word–spam.
I stopped in a line of traffic.
Someone was trying to join
But no one was letting him in.
Behind, a car started hooting.
Impatience personified.
The traffic was slow,
No chance to hurry.
But this man behind
Was not prepared
To let someone else in.
He hooted again when we started to move
Then, in a small gap
He overtook.
Dangerously!
Thoughtlessly!
And hooted again while passing
He made a rude gesture, cursing me.