Writing Prompts

Caged Animal

Miriam Otto

A year ago, 

I had this dream of a lion sitting in a cage.

I opened his door.

*

But instead of walking to the outside, 

into the wild open,

he was happily sitting within his box.

*

He didn't care at all, that the gate 

was opened suddenly.

*

No, ... wait! 

I have the feeling, that there was a difference. 

A connection between this beautiful creature 

with his huge, furry mane and me. 

*

I asked myself, if I had caged him far too long,

that he already felt home in this tiny prison. 

Feeling protected and save within his space and walls. 

But he still looked so proud, 

strong and powerful. 

And at the same time calm, soft and peaceful.

*

Exactly now - in this moment - I am having another 

thought about this special encounter of us two. 

Perhaps, I haven't caged him at all. 

Perhaps, it is the other way round. 

I opened a door to self-love, courage and elegance. 

The lion - full of dignity. *

*

​

Dolphins

Silpa Srujana

Graceful, without a care
Curious, curiouser?
Splashing, swishing
Goofy, giddy
Giggling and unsteady
No tiring, no worry
No second thoughts, no doubts
Swimming away, in the crystal blue sea
Drinking in all the light, as far as the eye can see
I dream, I'm a dolphin at heart
I dream I'm free and nothing can tear me apart

Borderline Personality Disorder

Anshika Vivek

I am a PRISONER 

of my own,

I am someone who, Tattooed all the emotions 

On my body and soul.

Sometimes...

I feel emotions too deeply

I know I shouldn't

It feels like the slightest 

movement of my bone

Can choke me all.

tearing apart my veins.

Hello!

Can you see me?

Can you feel me?

Sinking in my emotions?

Borderline personality disorder is a demon,

A demon who rules my mind.

The voice in my head,

"Tak- tak- tak" 

I want to get rid of it, escape my own mind.

It compels me to do my first attempt.

Not first, but second.

Maybe third, fourth 

Or fifth.

And I find no answer.

The tak- tak manifest like an echo in my head.

The demon in my heart makes me

emotionally unstable.

The demon,

Lets me feel

Worthless,

Purposeless

To live,

To be happy,

To breath.

(Sigh)

And 

To escape,

Just to escape.

I write poetry, 

To express all that I feel,

I see. It feels like the realm with no border. 

People say, 

"You" write about horrible things, 

And I smile, this is me.

If it was easy to tell them

That I write what I feel,

Deep inside.

The demon is a part of my thoughts.

So beautifully suffering.

And not terrible at all. It is just me and all the spectrum of emotions.

Although I may have BPD as a part of me,

I still find my soul inked 

In poetry.

Incorporating the models, features and colours of atleast three cars into a poetry. (Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet Beat).

Aishvarya Venkatasubramaniam

That ravishing look stumped me out,
I fell in for the beauty of you,
Sometimes a beasty beauty,
A second hand beauty although,
Unleashing my soul,
Killing me apart for the distinct colours you show,
I stare at you for the hatchbacks,
Sometimes, very cosy and comforting, the luxuries you provide,
Your headlights lighting up,
Every nerve of mine,
The seats of your interior providing cushions,
Giving me the feel of buoyancy,
The royal colours alluring my eyes,
And mileage giving me the hope of long term commitment,
The tyres speeding up everytime,
Cheering me up, never tiring my soul,
I put my headphones,
Lay back,
Not sure if I'm inside a car or a heaven.

Pineapple

Divya Gulabani

A bit spiny from the surface;

Sweeter it is from inside,

You get along and discover my phases,

Hello human; I am pineapple this side!

I am a fruit of tropical region;

Though don't relate to the people living there;

As the world doesn't understand the soft in me

And all they see is the hardness I have!

I work for what people depend on medicines,

I have a greater life planned for them

Yet they get addicted to the diseases 

That I try to eradicate from then!

Be it diabetes or hypertension

I have got a solution for all,

Just have a keen look at me

If at all you don't buy me from a mall!

82 calories and 0 fat 

I am good loser of weight

Please ladies mind that!

The grooming they keep doing all around

Yet a great looking piece like me 

Is what they still haven't found!

Be it a smoothy 

Or a cocktail

Be it your salad 

Or a mocktail 

I got all the garnishing you need 

I got the basic beauty you need!

I am stubborn

I am shy

Yet they consume me less

I don't know why?!

Yet I'll be there always 

A reason for them to smile 

​

The Vessel: Write about a ship or other vehicle that can take you somewhere different from where you are now.

Anshika Vivek

Dilapidated vessel,

Tossed up and down

And tripped around the bay 

She couldn't save the ship but herself

She made a Paperboat of her dreams,

Left it to sail towards the peaceful shores. 

to explore all new ways,

to begin a new life.

She dreamt for days within her small boat.

And crossed the ocean

just to find another land made for her.

Where she could continue dreaming freely.

Into The Space

Dhwanil Patel

When Enterprise first launched from Earth

and passed old Sol's great orb,

the site that greeted them in space,

more than they could absorb

Passed massive asteroids inbound,

pulled by Earth's gravity.

A comet in eccentric path,

indeed, a sight to see.  

With her antimatter engines,

the Enterprise was free

to explore the furthest cluster

right through eternity.

Kirk and his crew all knew the risks

of cosmic dust, black holes.

Ignored them with the thought in mind

that they must reach their goals.

The farthest reaches they could see

drew them just like a moth.

Celestial objects and white dwarfs

filled up space like a froth.

While exploring the far reaches,

nebulae and quasars,

intergalactic particles,

waited among the stars.

Each heav'nly body they did greet

with spirits set on high.

A supernova threat'ning doom;

they did not blink an eye.

And so these brave adventures

ventured out into space,

exploring all that was unknown

for all the human race.

The Unrequited Love

Miriam

It doesn't happen often.

And it happens daily.

Feeling loved. 

And at the same time unrequited.

Both feelings like a Yin and Yang,

beating together in one heart.

It already works its way through,

when you don't love yourself.

The voices in your head. 

Not nice, not gentle. 

You have to love yourself first.

This is the hardest step of it all.

Do you have a recipe for me?

Just recognising it, 

is the first move, my love!

Outside The Window 

​

Divya Gulabani

The weather outside is just something 

That leaves me awestruck as the time passes!

Something that strikes my heart, 

The weather which tears me apart.

Something that brings us closer,

The winds blow our mind and love becomes an art.

Right now the winds of separation flow around;

As you are far from my sight;

And there are just my feelings which have a tight bound,

But a hope of togetherness is what keeps me waiting;

Wanting that leisure which will prevent me from fading!

I want a time in my life,

Where I fall in love with this rainy weather;

Where the water falls that emerges out to be

A bond that brings us close forever!

Dictionary Definition: Open up a dictionary to a random word. Define what that word means to you

Abhishek Kumar

Shatter:- to break into pieces, to split,to derange.

Feel shattered at the time,when you don't have space to cover yourself - for atleast 60 second . I know it might be difficult to think but if the condition makes you scrunch in future what type of thought you have in your heart and brain too.

Maybe they will like.

You watch as the  people pass you by,  as they continue on with their normal lives, knowing when  their next meal would be-aware  that you, on the  other hand, have no idea when your  next meal might be because you are Cracked.

They have shoes on their feet and you don't because you are blasted.

Your stomach churns and for a  brief moment you  feel nauseated.  After taking a large gulp and shifting  your aching body  you realize that  someone has  thrown a half  empty container of  French fries at you, and they lay  scattered around  the shambles of you

being. Without much hesitation you  scoop the fries up  into your hand and  gobble the leftovers  greedily. This is not  nearly enough to  stifle your hunger pains because you are collapsed.

Lurching to your feet, you feel there  is only one valid  option that remains. Never before have you harmed another person unprovoked,  but this is a matter  of life or death.You  have no weapons  to utilize other than  the element of surprise, So you creep back into the shadows of an alley and wait.You decide to attack a woman.

She must be walking alone, absolutely no sign  of children with her,  and preferably tiny.  You don’t intend to harm her - simply grabbing her by the shoulders roughly should be enough to frighten any woman into handing over her purse.

You truly are a monster because you are hungry and you are shattered.

​

Eavesdropper : Create a poem, short story, or a journal entry about a conversation you have overheard

Aishvarya Venkatasubramaniam

I heard,

I heard you say everything,

I heard you talk about your strengths and weaknesses,

I heard you talk about your pain,

Your sorrow, your love,

Your everything.

My heart heard every single word of yours,

But I struggled and slipped off a little for a while,

Because my mind secretly heard about all your plans,

Your conversations with heart,

That you didn't know.

Pardon me for everything.

Pardon my mind for everything.

Oh my dear conscience,

Pardon.

Dancing : Who's dancinig and why are they tapping those toes?

Vinod Korappath

I set fire to her pyre..

And I saw the flames engulfing her insane body with all the desire in this damned world..

The flames were dancing in hubris on its claim over her body..

Little did the flames knew about my beating heart..

For all my heart beats were her fast feet tapping in rythm..

How can she die.. 

When Im still here..

When she's dancing within me with all her beauty and grace..

She's to live through me till the day when you can no more feel the click of her feet in me..

That is when I will give her a loud round of applause with my eternal silence..

That is when we will become one forever and will dance together beyond all devouring flames..

But for now.. I see her in those dancing flames..

Random song : Use the shuffle feature on your music player and pick a song. Write something inspired by it.

Simarprit Kaur Bahth

My distressed arched eyebrows

Found it's softened curves

In your uneven ones.

My tear drenched pillows

Discovered desert like dryness

Once we crossed paths.

My smile, my lost Atlantis

I recovered in the glint of your eyes

Restoring me to my former state of bliss.

But then you left me weeping

And again, I like a fool

Reached out for nothing.

Shivering with cold in summer

Your love in comparison to mine,

Was a mere murmur.

“I like me better when I'm with you”,

Beautiful words indeed, but then-

Constructing such a lie is the talent of few.

SONG  "I like me better" by Lauv.

Dragon: Envision a dragon. Do you battle him? Or is the dragon friendly? Use descriptive language.

Silpa Srujana

I close my eyes

eyes burning in my sockets

I feel fire, scorching hot,

fire inside me, not burning me up

glowing like a rage, wicked and strong

rage so strong, vile and ruff 

I feel wind, like a thousand knifes on face, softly

hitting hard on my face, yet so calm, nothing, its nothing

and wings? I feel them heavy

I feel air, I float 

floating in the sea of air

am I flying? I must be 

I drift swiftly below

gently landing on the clear waters

I bend down to take a sip, a sip of the crystal clear water

it's beautiful

I open my eyes,bewildered at the reflection

I AM THE DRAGON. 

Hello

Mainak Guha

"Hello, can you hear Maa?

It's so bright in here and I still miss you much 

No, I don't miss the lies, 

Manipulations and opportunities you took like a stranger, 

A teardrop only rolls down..

Remembering how I used to run to your arms, 

How I used to fall asleep in your arms. 

Hello, can you hear me Neera ? 

I clinged on to you with all my hope

Strength and belief

And one fine day , 

My glasshouse shattered to broken promises 

Wounded, I lied..

Still... I lied 

You went.. I lied 

All alone, still searching answers to WHYs.

Hello, can you hear me friend? 

Don't you remember our joys, our names carved on the benches?

Could you have lent me a shoulder 

An hour out of the busy hours of fading childhoods 

Weren't you a better hope than the alcohol? 

Hello, 

I heard this right, 

Did I call out to self ? 

You are broken, but strong 

You are losing, but it ain't over yet 

You are giving up, but a little spark is left yet 

So, rise 

Rise till you breathe 

Rise, as long as you hear this.

Random Wikipedia Article : Ignorance

Ramya Iyer

“Ignorance is bliss.”

How often have we heard this quote? And how often have cajoled ourselves by saying this out loud?
Let me get this straight: ignorance is bliss, only when it doesn’t question anybody’s existence. The

moment it does, and we think of this, we are failing ourselves.

We should make ourselves observant of our surroundings. Ignore a friend teasing you, fine. Ignore
someone shouting at you for no mistake of yours, fine. But ignore a person pleading for help in a
deserted street at midnight, just because ‘no wise person will get himself/herself involved in cases

like this which might have police involving in’ is wrong.

At times, in a conversation, things are said which are unpleasant. And it is basic human nature to
retort with an equally unpleasant answer. The result? Spoilt relations. Take a moment, and rewind.
Was that answer worth the failed relation? Was what we said completely necessary, or would it
have been better if we had just ignored that remark before? Think over it. We have one short life,
after all. We better learn to cherish it, and to love the people who make it worth cherishing, yes?
Look at the pros of that. You will come off as an avid listener. You will come off as someone very
observant; so observant that you can detect the slightest change or shift in mood. Sherlock fans can
try doing this, and be one step closer to his character.( that said, don’t be a rude, obnoxious,
unrelenting person like him. He is soft, but only with certain people.) we, on the other hand, should

be humble and polite to everyone.

How we behave is what defines us. At times, ignorance is bliss. At times, it is an apathy. Choose what
to do, when to do, wisely. After all, the immortalised words of Joanne Kathleen Rowling say :

“It is not our abilities that define who we are; it is our choices.”
While on this topic, I must also share the wise words of Benjamin Franklin,
“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”

what a wonderful concoction of words! Be willing to learn, and educate yourself. The world is a
beautiful, enormous place. Learn to acknowledge it. Agreed, not everything is perfect. Some
thoughts and ideas are perpetually flawed, but choose to ignore what is not necessary.
The bottomline here is, know what to do, and when to do. Be a gentle and kind human. Educate
yourself, and ignore unnecessary things that blind your eyes and imagination.

After all,
“Life’s for the living, so live it

or you better off dead.” ( Life’s for the living, by Passenger)