Writing Prompt: Soul Food

Postcard Prompt:

What’s one thing that would feed your soul, but you’re not doing?

Soul Food.png

 

Word Prompts

(use these single words/phrases to help spark a scene, a poem, a short-story, even an entire novel!)

Place: A snow-covered pasture in late January.

Person: A stranger in a torn overcoat.

Scent: Lemon cake, fresh from the oven.

Object: A rusted plow.

Color: Deep purple.

 

My take:

“Soul Food”

She imagined once

And often

That the Soul was a large animal.

It took up the entire world

with its searching.

 

Then there was the warmth

Of his hand on top of hers

When they prayed.

 

Then there was the wax

of the burning candle

A deep, resonant violet

That was courage in color form.

 

Soon, she began to see Soul

In every tiny beast.

Winter birds who survive.

Pure white paw of the house cat.

Steam rising from the neighbor’s roof,

Plumes of safety and hope.

 

Thanks for reading. 

-Beth

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Beth H.

Hello! My name is Beth and I'm a full-time high school English teacher living in beautiful western Montana. I'm also a writer. Before turning to teaching, I earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. A few years of adjuncting at small two-year colleges helped me realize how much I love teaching, so I returned to school for a Masters of Education. There, I was lucky enough to meet my wonderful husband. Together, we head off to our classrooms (at the same school, which is pretty great) each morning. Our town is a small one, but also an incredibly beautiful one. I've lived in Montana all my life and feel lucky to know exactly where I want to live. While starting my teaching career, I also published my first novel, The Actor, with Riverbend Publishing (a Montana publisher). When I make time, I'm working on a few other new novels and creating content here!

Thanks for visiting this space; I hope that some of what I offer will provide insight, beauty, and inspiration to your life.

-Beth