Writing Prompt: Repeating Line Poem

Once upon a time, I was lucky enough to teach creative writing classes. I was always looking for interesting writing prompts to offer my students. The best prompts, I found, were those that were both open-ended AND a little bit structured. Prompts that offered freedom but also challenged students to include some required element in their writing. I was skimming through my old creative writing class notebook the other day, and came across the following prompt with my own poem below, and I thought I'd share it here:

Prompt: Repeating Line Poem.

The Idea: This can be done a couple of ways. First, you might offer your students a specific line that they need to repeat in each stanza of their original poem. The second option is to let them choose their own repeating line. Both are great options, with the first maybe working a bit better for slightly shy or reluctant writers, and the second being a good option for your more eager, 'ready-to-write' writers. If you'd like to try this yourself and want a specific line to repeat, try this one: "Twelve times a day, I will...".

My Example: "Twelve Times"

Twelve times a day, I will
wonder what it would be like
not to worry
what they think.

Twelve times a day, I will
almost get there, a toe in the water
of that peace.

Twelve times a day, I will
fall back to shore again,
a rocky embrace,
but a familiar one.

Twelve times a day, I will
imagine what life would be like
had things gone more easily.
If the egg had hatched.
If the answer had been Yes.
If a miracle had been on
the tip of your tongue.

Twelve times a day, I will
seek your face.
Twelve times a day, I will
lose you.


Try out this prompt yourself! Thanks for reading, always.

-Beth