Our Host: Angie Braaten
Angie has been teaching English since 2013. She started her teaching career in Louisiana for five years, then moved overseas and taught in Bangladesh and Kuwait. She currently teaches in Mauritius. Her overseas experiences have opened her mind in ways that may have never happened if she had stayed in the states. She has taught grades 6-11 but her favorite would probably be 8th, a grade that will always hold a special place in her heart, being the year she realized she wanted to be an English teacher herself. She is grateful for this community of writers and to have monthly opportunities to write, read, and share poetry. It has influenced who she is as a teacher, and person in general, in many ways.
Inspiration
Leila Chatti is one of my favorite poets these days. She created a poem called “Google”, the inspiration for today’s prompt. (I first read this poem maybe three years ago but was today years old – the day I put this prompt together – when I realized her searches are in alphabetical order, so technically it’s an abecedarian too?) Check out some of her other poems here. One of my favorites is “The Rules”. Follow her on instagram here.
Since online searches are different depending on where you are in the world and what your search history is, I thought it’d be interesting to see what comes up in this space around the world.
Process
- Start searching phrases in your favorite search engine. I only use Google which is probably lame, but I’m ok with it. I started with some of the same phrases Leila used and added a few others. Search any phrases you want.
- Take screenshots, add none or one or some when you create your poem. Record the lines you want to add to your poem.
- Allow yourself creative license to delete some things that show up, add in some you want. A meaning might (probably will) form as you are searching. Play around with it all and see what you end up creating.
- You might be inspired to take this in a whole different direction, and that’s cool too. I’m excited to see what comes up!
Angie’s Poem
Searching
~after Leila Chatti
This is what it feels like
This is what you came for
This is what dreams are made of
Maybe this is wishful thinking
Sometimes I get a good feeling
Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes I run sometimes I hide
Sometimes I lie
I didn’t know what was happening
I didn’t know my own strength
I didn’t know the gun was loaded
I didn’t know I was pregnant
I didn’t know you cared
There will be joy in the morning
There will be blood
Maybe you’re the problem
Maybe you should talk to someone
Maybe you’ve been brainwashed too
I thought you should know
I thought you were stronger
I thought this was America
Where did I go wrong?
I can’t stop thinking
I can’t stop
I can’t
If I could then I would
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.
Search Poem
What if I?
don’t receive a 1099
lost my passport
lost my social security card
don’t fil my taxes
don’t have a real ID
How can I?
watch the nfl draft
watch the pope’s funeral
lose weight fast
see
make
use
Why do I?
owe taxes
burp so much
feel tired all the time
have a headache
fart so much
When will I?
get my state tax refund
die
Hey Angie, really loved your prompt and sorry for the delay in writing this one. I had so much fun thinking what I would be writing about but when I typed why, the list was interesting. Here is my take on it:
Why
Why women kill is no longer a mystery
Women kill because of their man’s affairs
Women kill because they think no one cares
For them, for their feeling or their mysterious airs
Women kill out of love and passion
Or let’s just keep it to women kill because they hate treason
And why do you think I sweat a lot?
You know it can be very distressing and embarrassing
Imagine being a woman who kills and sweats like a pig
Why do you think I sweat a lot?
Is it because I think of the anger when I was killing
Or the effort from when I had to dig
Why is my right eye twitching ?
Is it from stress, fatigue or caffeine?
Or like the old tales mention – A sign of bad omen
Do you think that they will discover the reason behind women killing?
Why is the sky blue? –
When all I feel is blues
From the sadness and loss
Of why women feel they should kill
Not that it’s a source of thrill
But an uncommon solution to their woes.
Why is my poop black?
Is it from too much caffeine or
Is it from the bleeding of my soul ?
Why him?
Why did he have to be same as the others?
Why did no one ever think of poisoning their man’s Whyte and Mackay?
Why did I get married ?
Why did I beg to be with him only to be left –
As another woman killer!
Is this why I can’t sleep at night
Because all I think of is Why?
Why would someone- you think is so soft, so loving and caring- decide to kill;
And maybe, just maybe… that’s why women kill.
Why women kill…wow! That didn’t come up in my search! Lol. But DANG! What a poem. I like how you connect all the others that came up to reasons associated with women killers (them being the killers and them being killed). So good. (I had to look up Whyte and Mackay!) Thanks for sharing Kratjiah!
Visiting the Oracle at Google
What is it like
to be dead
to live in Russia
to be in a coma
to have schizophrenia
when your water breaks?
Why
does my stomach hurt
do cats knead
does Trump want Greenland
does my eye keep twitching?
What do kids
learn in kindergarten
like to eat
need for passports
need to fly?
How will
I know
tariffs affect me
the world end
the universe end?
Can we
talk
impeach Trump
live on mars
go to heaven with tattoos?
“Can we go to heaven with tattoos?” Huh interesting that someone would ask that. I don’t have any but I hope so! Love the unique title.
What a fun prompt! I found it interesting how much my search history says something about me–apparently I search for lyrics enough for it to try to populate for each of the phrases. Interesting!
How do I…
say goodbye?
live?
get a passport?
Do kids…
remember things at 3?
need id to fly?
have school today?
When does…
a moment last forever?
spring start?
the time change?
Should I…
stay or should I go?
remember my dreams?
take magnesium?
Can I…
have this dance for
the rest of my life?
pet that dog?
“When does…
a moment last forever?”
well, that is an interesting question!
I look up ALOT of song lyrics but I feel like common ones that the world looks up always come up in my searches, not ones I’ve actually searched.
Wow, Angie. Thank you. This was so interesting. There are so many lines in your poem that I liked. These are two favorites: “There will be joy in the morning / There will be blood”
I’ve had a very busy day, and I just sat down to this. I can’t keep my mind off the concentration camp in El Salvador that we have sent people to.
when poetry……………started
when poetry……………was first created
when poetry……………ruled the streets
when poetry……………speaks
when torture………………..d poets come out
when torture………………..d poets release
when was torture………….banned
what…………………………..qualifies as torture
when is torture……………..legal
what is due process………………of law
what is due process………………in simple terms
what is due process………………for illegal (sic) immigrants
what is due process………………rights
what is due process………………simple definition
what is due process………………mean
Denise,
Your formatting is very cool. Like you, I’ve been obsessed with the El Salvador concentration camps. It’s a country w/ only the veneer of democracy, which is so sad because there was hope not so long ago. I like the way you split words in the poem and that you used [sic] next to “illegal.” I hope everyone understands your meaning. I think reading The Bean Trees was the first time I understood people can be undocumented but never illegal. Fantastic poem.
Hi Denise,
The repetitive phrases act like mournful refrains of recurring pain that can never go away and the gaps within the lines highlight the cognitive dissonance in trauma victims and people trying to understand the atrocities committed and why they are committed. Thank you for sharing.
The small textual features people have added create something unique and new. Yes, I love that you added the long strand of … and I really appreciate these lines:
“when torture………………..d poets come out
when torture………………..d poets release”
Searching ADHD
So I have problems
listening when spoken to
following through
completing schoolwork
chores
duties
It seems I
lose focus
have (more) problems
organizing tasks
meeting deadlines
My godforsaken desk is messy.
I guess I
avoid / dislike
tasks
preparing reports
completing forms
I lose my
keys, phone, eyeglasses
all that shit
and, frankly, all MY shit
Living in a world that wants me to be otherwise.
Allison— So glad you’re here!! And sharing that strong voice, one that resonates in these days of chaos. Your poem captures the ADHD that IS our world now. Powerful ending line… the word “otherwise” is the perfect word for the discordant way I feel. Again, so glad you’re here. Susie
Allison,
Hello! Happy to see you. Do you remember that poster about a clean desk being a sign of a sick mind? We’re healthy in my household! Sometimes I think my generation escaped many of the diagnoses I’ve seen in my career, and I have mixed feelings about that. As Susie says, this is the ADHD decade. There’s so much to keep track of. I’m drawn to these last lines and your clever phrasing:
“I lose my
keys, phone, eyeglasses
all that shit
and, frankly, all MY shit”
Seems I’m always saying, “Where’s my [fill in the blank].
Hi Allison! So good to see you back and with a doozie of a poem! I’m beginning to believe there needs to be a new diagnosis for all the stuff happening to us. I love the ending. Made me laugh.
Take it easy on yourself.
Allison, it is great to have you here! It’s been a minute since I read one of your amazing poems. So glad you are back. I love your take on the prompt. Searching for ADHD. I do feel it is an epidemic perhaps because of cell phones, I think. “all that shit and, frankly, all MY shit” I can definitely relate to!
Hi Allison! Nice to “see” you again. I don’t think I have ADHD but I am definitely a Type B teacher and most of the things you describe, describe me as well. “Listening when spoken to” definitely problems with that! Thank you for sharing.
Allison,
I love the pacing of this poem. I feel like it reflects how the mind is whirring and winding throughout these thoughts!
Allison! Thank you for your poem, it was a wonderful read. I’ve read books about ADHD and have been told I might had ADD. We are always misunderstood. Thank you for speaking on this.
Angie-
This was a challenging prompt, but it was fun too! Thanks for sending me dow the rabbit hole, lol, and thank you for your mentor poem–
“There will be joy in the morning
There will be blood” is a jarringly powerful stanza!
I Got Questions
When will we
When will weed be recreational in pa
When will we run out of oil
When will we run out of time?
How many
How many feet in a mile
How many weeks in a year
How many lives must be ruined?
What sound
What sound does a capybara
What sound does x make
What sound does Fox make
What is the sound of an echo chamber?
Is JD
Is jd vance catholic
Is jd vance missing
Is jd vance’s wife an immigrant
If so, does she have 10 days to leave the country?
Who eats
who eats dogs
who eats cats
who eats penguins
Who is responsible for paying the eaten penguins tariffs?
Are tariffs
are tariffs paused
are tariffs in effect now
are tariffs paused
are tariffs-what day of the week is it?
What if
what if it all works out
what if i told you so
what if it was us all along?
Can I
can i move to scotland
can i move to canada
can i move to new zealand
can i move anywhere
no, I have to stay.
Dave — I loved the questions but burst out laughing when I got to the penguins’ tariffs…LOL! And the tariffs on again/off again …geez. I’ve actually Googles that whole last stanza myself. Susie
All valid questions, Dave. Did you ever think you’d be asking questions like this?
Never. It’s exhausting.
I love the repetition of “are tariffs paused,” Dave. And the juxtaposition of “what if it all works out / what if i told you so” next to “what if it was us all along?” is so interesting and a bit telling/chilling. And, of course, after I want to know “who eats horses,” i want/need to know “who eats art.” So, (seemingly?) random, lol.
The tariffs section made me laugh–Are they paused? What day is it? So funny! Can I move? Perfect!
Mic drop!
So much of this is perfect—the on again off again of tariffs, the eating of the animals, the desire to live but having to stay. You’ve captured all of the absurdity.
Yep, I’m with the others about the tariffs especially “Who is responsible for paying the eaten penguins tariffs?” LMAO. Also, the JD Vance wife question. Mhm. Crazy world. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been really struggling to write since my father passed last week (two days before his 78 birthday). I haven’t been in a good head space.
No Words
My loss feels most profound
in the darkness
before the break of dawn.
Sitting in lingering silence,
tasting tears of sorrow,
my mind is numb.
There are no words
for this aching,
this sorrow.
My words — gutted.
No words.
No words.
I can’t believe you are gone.
Tammi, I am so sorry for your loss. Sending you lots of love, hugs, and kind thoughts. Please, take all time you need. Take care of yourself too. I am crying with you, friend – no words needed
Tammi,
I know your heart hurts and that it’s hard to know how to respond and write while grieving, but I hope you will write anyway. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is here to hear your voice as you grieve. Peace and comfort to you and all who knew and loved your father.
Tammi, please accept our condolences as your mourn the loss of your father. Trust our Creator to comfort you. Continue to join us here, writing poem that help capture fond memories.
Tammi, I’m so sorry for your loss. I agree, there are no words. Please know that you have this wonderful, nurturing community here. Thank you for writing today. Hope to see you here tomorrow.
Tammi,
I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope that you can find some solace in writing here. I know you must be full of sorrow. I hope you allow yourself some smiles in the memories of your father in the midst of your mourning.
Oh, no, Tammi, I’m so sorry for your loss. Know that you are in our thoughts. Thank you for articulating this so well: “There are no words / for this aching, / this sorrow.” I feel seen in your words today (as I lost my father, too, a little over a month ago and this past Tuesday was his birthday, so yeah, “No words. / No words.”)
Dear Tammi,
I send you my deepest condolences and prayers for your comfort. Your poem captures the raw and profound sorrow we all feel in grief.
Take care of yourself and remember we are here for you.
Hi Tammi, I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for being here today and sharing with us. Hugs
STRAIGHT TALK
Let’s get straight to it.
Silence, the absence of sound?
…not a solution,
…never neutral.
Don’t pass the buck,
… don’t pass on the right,
… don’t pass it up,
… don’t pass me by.
Silence is
…complicity.
Silence is a sound you hear.
Don’t pass Go
Straight to
…hell
Straight to jail.
Let’s get “straight to it.”
by Susie Morice, April 17, 2025©
Susie,
“Silence is
…complicity.” — this is the truth. I just had a conversation with my son on this topic the other day. Our representatives seriously need to grow a pair and say and do something to stop this madness!
Susie,
You’ve reminded me of when I learned about tacit consent, which is how I’ve thought about silence pretty much all of my life. Amen to “never neutral.” Did you hear HCR’s interview w/ Senator Angus King? It’s really good and so important as a reminder of how important it is to “get to it” and to remember “Silence / is complicity.” That said, last September I learned about Critical Ignoring.” Do you know this term? The concept has made me more intentional in my social media life. All this is to say I love your poem.
Yes, Susie, you are right, as always! I really like your direct approach in this poem. Your message is one that many need to hear. I think so many are in shock and don’t know what to do or say, hence the silence. Thanks for sharing your voice today.
Hello Susie!
Yours is the first poem I’m reading after posting my own, and I’m relishing our similarities in repetition and “repurposing” of words and phrases. It might be this prompt guided us, but I am always happy to be your kindred.
Yes! Let’s get to it. This is a much needed call to action.
Wow, Susie, in so few words, you’ve packed a punch! Starting with the title and this definitely wowed me:
“Straight to
…hell
Straight to jail.”
thanks for writing!!
Susie! I was delighted to read your poem, I felt that I was reading a rap song. thank you for getting straight to it.
On the Minds of Millions
By Mo Daley 4/17/25
Google knows everything, right?
The search how can brings up:
How can I directly email the president?
How can citizens impeach a president?
How can a senator be removed from office?
How can a president be removed from office?
How can an American move to Canada?
And here I was hoping to find out how I can watch Paradise.
LOL! Mo… this is just great. It is such serious stuff, critical stuff…. and BAM… Paradise. I laughed out loud! Hugs, Susie
Mo,
I want to know the answers to all these questions, too! Canada is looking like a good option these days, but not so sure they want us.
How can citizens impeach a president?
How can a senator be removed from office?
How can a president be removed from office?
How can an American move to Canada?
Love this!!!! And was I crazy when I saw that the 2nd season was starting but then I couldn’t find it? Such a great show.
Mo,
Don’t hold back! Did google offer a way to expedite any of those “How to…” inquiries? And then you offer up “Paraduse” as the kicker. Well played!
Well, how ironic that you are searching for Paradise and all those things come up. If only! Thanks for sharing, Mo!
Mo! I wonder the same things, especially with how tense it has been I’m hoping for things to lighten up and on another note find out how I can watch the Mindy Project.
Angie, I absolutely loved the chaos this created for my brain. I’m not sure my writing today makes sense, but it sure was a trip getting to this point, since there’s really no one right way or even a destination. So I just packed my bags and stepped onto the conveyer belt and somehow google took me somewhere. When my students ask me for anwers, I tell them they’re not allowed to “Jowett it” – now we know why!
Just Jowett It
When is it necessary to cite a source,
to drip a faucet,
to dilate eyes
Why are these questions I ask myself
only when I laugh
or it is dark enough
–more importantly–
When should you follow your heart
(when you are with me)
When are you with me
(when I am free)
When am I free
(when I have the time)
When do I have the time
(when it’s time to change)
When is the best time to change
(When moving to a new address)
What do I need to do when
there’s only one me
(one day at a time)
Jennifer, your process reminds me of mine, and I just went along with the ride. The questions you ask and responses you provide in parenthesis make perfect sense and seem to lead you to that final one, when there is just one of you – whether it is one day or one step at a time, it is the movement forward, just “Jowett it!”
Jennifer — I love how you made your name into a verb. “Just Jowett it” is so catchy! The back and forth question and answers makes your poem fun to read.
This really made me chuckle, Jennifer. Your path seems pretty clear to me! Your last question is one that I’ve been asking myself quite a bit lately.
Jennifer — HAHAHA… I had a similar strange rabbit hole with Google. I had no clue how to write this, but it was fun. I love how you used “when” and hit on the whole business of our lives having no extra time for all these shenanigans. Ha! It turned out cool! Susie
Jennifer, I vote for Jowett It!!! So clever. And the questions… my favorite:
This poem moves lovely. Thank you for making time to create something even with your busy day! And yes, Just Jowett it is so much more awesome than Google it!!
I found myself conducting lots of searches and screenshotted several and I found “how can they hear without a preacher” to be particularly humorous and in need of inclusion. There were quite a few other lines I really liked, but will save them for another day.
How on earth did I get so jaded?
Hmmm. . . Maybe because . . .
How can they hear without a preacher
How can they live without jesus
What can you do for a toothache
Why are you gay
Why are the flags at half mast today
What to do in case of a nuclear attack
Cheri,
I enjoyed the mix of questions you ask from silly “How can they hear without a preacher” to serious “What to do in case of a nuclear attack.”
That is quite a progression, Cheri. From the practical to a question that goes to the core of being. Wow.
Wow, that title is poweful by itself and the many different lines that come after. What a wide range. Thanks for writing!
Angie, your timely prompt has had me thinking as I waited time to write. Today, here in America, Google was determined to be a monopoly. It seems crazy as it was just a baby in 1999/ No matter what, this is a great format for teachers and students alike. thank you for sharing and hosting.
Way back at the turn of the century,
Google searchers were considered
“Cheating,”
Invalid, one-sided research, said
In that negative tone
Used with AI, these days.
Now, Google is a mega-tech-power,
No longer a struggling start-up,
Who no longer provides employees
Free lunch and Maui Onion Chips,
Fighting the label
Monopoly.
What is a monopoly?
in economics?
in business?
definition?
in the gilded age?
Is Google a monopoly?
Why is Google a monopoly?
How is Google a monopoly?
What makes Google a monopoly?
Federal judge rules Google has a monopoly
All this news got me thinking,
What me might call Google spin offs
(think Ma Bell and her Baby Bells back in the 70’s)?
Anita,
Good call on this form in classrooms. I saw the story about Google. I’m trying to use Duck Duck Go more, but Google has a hold on me in so many ways. I appreciate the reminder about the early days of Google. A student introduced me to Google.
Anita, some things just naturally become a part of our lives (google being one, despite the unnaturalness of tech). it feels as if it will be a moniker like Kleenex for any tissue or Chapstick for balm. One would think that they might still offer the lunches and chips now that they’ve become a monopoly!
Anita,
It realizes is amazing how much we’ve come to depend on this search engine. I’m pretty sure I am addicted to this monopoly.
Anita, between Google and Chat GPT, I’m pretty reliant on information searches. Someone earlier mentioned a card catalog. When I was using a card catalog in the 1970s and 80s, who would have thought the internet would spring up and have information so readily available in a matter of seconds? Love this poem>
Your first stanza really got me because I am really that person who speaks of AI with a negative tone. I don’t remember the first time I heard of or used Google but I don’t think of it as the same because Google doesn’t write things for you, it just gives you information. Anyway, you brought up many things in this. Thank you for sharing!
Didn’t we once
Live on mars,
Have 13 months,
Have tails,
Live on the moon?
Aren’t we supposed to
Get snow,
Fear God,
Drink milk,
Eat meat,
Have a bad winter this year?
When will we
Know who is in the Super Bowl,
Go to Mars,
Run out of oil,
Run out of helium,
Run out of water,
Have flying cars?
Will we
Have a snow day tomorrow,
Get a stimulus check in 2025,
Run out of oil?
Didn’t we once
Care about things
Of substance?
Aren’t we supposed to
Search for caring about others?
When will we stop thinking
About nothing?
Will we doomscroll
Into eternity,
While our brains rot?
Wendy, I love all the questions and searching for answers that defy knowing. That turn in the final stanza toward the intangible, existential is beautiful in “of substance?” and “about nothing? ” and “doomscroll/into eternity.” So true.
Wendy, this is a real statement of our society at this point. Doom scrolling is a scary term but I do see us headed there. I already asked Google about the stock market today, even though I knew the news was not good.
You’re rocking the questions without the repeated line at the start of each one like the one I did….I wish I’d written yours today…..I like your form here!
Wendy,
Come on over if it’s snow you want. It didn’t stick, but it snowed here today. We have snow in the mountains. I see myself in
“Will we doomscroll
Into eternity,”
Im gonna embrace caring about things of substance: people, climate change, fur babies. And I’m going to continue to “search for caring in others.” I love these thoughts.
Wendy, oooh how I love those last three lines. Doomscrolling might be the new mall shopping to pass the time (and about as productive and brain rot inducing). The juxtaposition of random questions and that final stanza is especially effective.
Wendy, so many questions here, and the final stanza seems to be the most important. Where will this doomscrolling bring us? I think about it too. Thank you for remembering what matters!
Wendy — You have some darned good questions here and the ending is the doozie! I have to say, I’ve asked a bunch of these questions in my head…I clearly needed to just go to Google. HA! Susie
Wendy — I love all of your questions! The last stanza really packs the punch! I really wish we would “search for caring about others?”
Wendy,
the doomscroll is real. And the questions you ask in the last stanza really crystallize the idea that you curated the beginnings of what could be very poignant questions about caring and community. And instead they are stems to the surreal or irrelevant. Powerful poem!
I agree with everyone about the doomscrolling. The run out of lines are scary as well!!
Untitled
What books should I read?
Banned books
What books are banned?
Far too many!
What books help with anxiety?
So many good ones,
what do you need?
Books about anxiety for kids,
Books about anxiety for adults,
Books about aniety and overthinking.
Bibliotherapy definition —
the use of books as therapy in treatment of mental health
Bibliotherapy types —
Clinical, used by mental health practitioners;
Developmental, used by educators and librarians.
Bibliotherapy —
My favorite!
Copyright Jennifer Kowaczek April 2025
Thank you for introducing me to a new poet and setting forward this challenge. I didn’t think I was going to follow the prompt today, but I had fun; I let the search guide me, not knowing where I would end up.
Jennifer, yes to these questions of wondering and imagining, capturing the necessity of choice for books to serve our questions and needs. Love the exploration of bibliotheraphy.
I really do find it amazing they way one search leads into another and then another…sigh…great post
Jennifer, I really like how your questions led to answers which led to another question and another answer in a rinse, repeat format– it reminds me of little kids asking why only to receive an answer so that the next why comes. And bibliotherapy should be my next occupation –I sure use it enough!
A big yes for books! Books really do save lives!
If I remember correctly one of your goals was to only read books that you owned one year, or maybe that was one of the lies in the poem I’m thinking of! Nice to read a poem about loving books! I’m on my 17/60 for the year. Lagging behind!!
Angie, you have a wonderful memory! Yes, I did read only the books I own for a year — April 11, 2023 to April 10, 2024. That was when I imposed a one year book buying pause. I still have many book to read and may impose another book buying pause soon. I can say I am much more selective in choosing the books I purchase.
Angie, I searched for “seldom” and “often” then wrote about experiences with middle school students. So often we want them to act more grown up!
Seldom, Strange, and Rarely
Too often and quite often
Are expressions often heard
About middle school students
Joining the herd
Seldom means strange or rare
We seldom hear a teacher say
How much students really care
All too often, nearly every day
They know better. They’re in middle school now!
Quite often, however, they act out like babies
Wanting to know exactly, uncomfortable with maybes
Seldom means strange and rare
And when we hear that a teacher does care
Quite often, the student responds with joy
All too often, we are surprised by that girl or boy!
Anna,
I’ve subbed often in middle school classrooms the past three years and have had mostly good experiences, including some students drawing for me. As w/ high school students, what I hear from educators in my area is a mixed bag, depending on the class. Of course, it’s always fun to be “surprised by that girl or boy!” These are often joyful moments.
Anna, this is a lovely extended definition and exploration of seldom’s significance. “strange and rare” echos for me in considering the ways we navigate the seldoms of the day.
Your post is a strong voice of hope for our middle school students – if only their teachers and parents could demonstrate how much they really care. I’ve often thought that the vicious cycle of students looking like they didn’t care but really trying to look cool makes it harder tor their teachers to engage and get feedback from their students.
Anita, inviting students to write short poems is one of the ways to secure “feedback” from them. As they choose pictures to write about, their choice of pictures AND their choice of words reveals more than they realize. Our challenge as educators is to offer choice without judgment as often as possible. And since we know that teaching is more than telling, securing this formative assessment about and from our learners can be productive for us all.
Stay tuned to the kinds of prompts offered here. I’ve gotten TONS of ideas that have proven useful as I mentor early career educators.
Anna — I agree a teacher’s care can make all the difference. Something as simple as a smile or a short converstation with a student can make all the difference.
Anna, what a great mixture of seldom and often! You have wrapped up the important relationship between teachers and students well! Thank you for this!
Angie,
Thank you for hosting. I’m also a Leila Chatting fan, and her google poem is so creative. I like how much flexibility we have with this prompt.
My husband has an essential tremor and started getting botox injections to treat it, which means trips to Salt Lake City every three months to see his neurologist, who is an immigrant. I worry she’ll leave given [waves arms] all the things.
is botox right for you?
can botox flatten time-induced
wrinkles, jowels & under-eye bags
can botox fix chicken neck
when headlines announce skinny is in again
can botox raise eyebrows
at strangers who ask why my man bobbleheads
can botox stop my teeth grinding
after days filled with political shit shows
can botox cure incels’ social erectile dysfunction
to stop men from abusing women
can botox fill doge-induced depravity
as the moral arc bends toward authoritarianism
if injecting botulism poison into the body politic fails
can liposuction offer a cure-all?
Glenda Funk
4-17-25
Ha I love this so much. So so so so fun. And then the thought of a follow up poem on liposuction. Thanks for this
Glenda, I love how your poem’s questions evoke a variety of emotions. You begin with the ways many use Botox especially to improve appearances. Then the shift to the political shit shows and grinding teeth is truly relatable! Your husband’s tremors are surely concerning which I feel underneath all the other issues. Your closing question is brilliant! It would be great if we had less abuse and shit piling higher every day!
Glenda, You had me falling out of my chair at the title. All the questions I have asked and never thought to ask about botox. I do try to embrace my 11 lines caused from squinting at the screen and my utter fascination with humanity, but, alas, you have sealed the deal with your search poem here — all that it can’t do and the botulism poison. No thanks. I like seeing evidence of my life written all over my face (most of the time). Fun and disturbing and poignant, all crafted perfectly.
Your Botox poem really takes the reader from smiles, that increase the laugh lines and the need for Botox, to full body stress session over political events that I am pretty sure Botox cannot fix. As I read this, however, I do wonder if the White House has a Botox doctor on staff paid for by our tax dollars? I’m going to search that right now.
Glenda, I had no idea of all the uses of Botox other than wrinkles and leg pain. I’m glad there are modern medicines that give us relief from symptoms that have been around for ages. I know this brings Ken great relief – – and I would love to go to Salt Lake City sometime…..I was in the airport once and it had huge windows so I could see the beauty.
Glenda, I thought I shouldn’t be surprised by any of your poems, phrasing, or thought processes, but this one is another skilful play with questions that are sharp, provocative, and essentially rhetorical. Bravo, my friend!
Glenda — Whodda thunk you could pull such a kick-ass poem out of this crazy Googlicious exercise?! But you did. I was immediately hooked because of your hubby’s condition (my cuzzin has that as well)…but you went deeper into the “shit shows” and I was riding the wave with you, asking these very questions. I love your word choices: “depravity” and “moral arc” and the BAM ending. Dang, girl, you produced a poem straight out of the earworm that is driving me nuts these days… my head wondering if there is a cure at all. Another doozie poem! Thank you. Susie
Oh, my. Botox! Great questions searching what botox can do. The list made me laugh. So many disparate images. Clever and telling about our ruining condition. The last botulism was a nice touch.
“can botox cure incels’ social erectile dysfunction
to stop men from abusing women”
BOOM. Thanks, Glenda!
Just
Google it
Bugle it
Frugal it
Centrifugal it
Ogle it
“how to cure a headache”
Aspirin
Loud trumpets
Saving money
Spinning fast
Flirt
“what’s in shepherds pie”
Carrots, potatoes, lamb
More trumpets, we need more trumpets
Skip the lamb, too expensive
After you spin it, not much
Wink at a shepherd until he shares
“when is the draft”
Thursday night
Still need more trumpets
Don’t pay for cable, just find out next season
Spinning spinning spinning and pin the tail on a calendar date
Gaze into TV’s “eyes”
Whatever you do,
just don’t
Bing it
LOL! “Don’t Bing it.” I haven’t thought about Bing in forever. Fantastic rhyme up top. Beef is a good lamb substitute. Botox can treat migraines. Who needs google when you have poets, right?
I like what you did with this prompt; your ending is the best!
Thank you for sharing.
C.O. Yours is a poem to share with students asking them “What have you noticed in life that this poem conveys?” Of course, they’ll want to write their own to explain what they would say if they were “Googled” some of these terms and phrases.
C.O. — Terrific word play, tempo, and fun. I loved “Gaze into TV’s ‘eyes'” as I sit here with laptop in my lap and TV blathering away. Fun to read. Susie
Hahaha this is funny! How to cure a headache – flirt! Is porobably the best. Love the end because I’ve never used it.
why women kill tv show
why are eggs so expensive
why is it called good friday
why did I get married tv show
why am I so tired
why is the sky blue
why is my eye twitching
why the stock market is down today
why so serious
why is everybody so mean
why does the caged bird sing
why
Luke, how cleverly you intertwined bias, query, and contemporary issues into the poem and ended with a quote from a book AND a poem. (Maya Angelou and Paul Lawrence Dunbar). You’ve demonstrated the economy of poetry for conveying messages and evoking responses. Cool dude. You’re lit!
Thank you!
Why so serious? You bring out so many difficult topics in such a short poem. It made me feel exhausted with the heaviness at points. Really well done, Luke.
I’ve been told that before. I guess I can’t help it . Thank you reading. Also Mo you are incredibly active in #verselove. I notice and I’m in awe .
I don’t know the answers to most of these things so let me go google, ha! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the prompt!
who, what, where, when, and why
who am I to judge
who I am keeps changing
who are you beneath all the layers
what am I but more than a name
what I am is important
what are you now but a stranger
where am I going
where I am isn’t where I thought I’d be
where are you now
when am I too late
when I am alone
when are you coming back
why am I still waiting
why I am the way that I am
why are you the reason
I love the last question, which really ties together the whole poem. I also like your organization and the way your poem progresses.
Sheesh, there is so much to say about this “simple” search poem. I love that in each you used a similar start just with a different question word. Each of the lines in each stanza could be their own poem. I am drawn to the “you” lines. I’ve always loved second person! This is one I’ll keep coming back to. Thanks for sharing!
This is such an interesting prompt. Taking an Internet search and turning it into poetry is not a thought I would have ever put together on my own. Thank you for making me think differently.
In Need of Hope
Is there magic?
Is there magic in the world?
Is there magic in the Bible?
Is the magic still there?
There is magic in the air.
There is magic in the air song.
Do miracles happen?
Do miracles exist?
Do miracles still happen at Lourdes?
There are miracles in the air.
There are miracles in the air song.
What do dreams do?
What do dreams do for us?
Who are the dreamers?
Dreamers dream and doers do…
There are dreams in the air.
There are dreams in the air song.
Dreamers are doers
bringing magic and miracles to our needy world.
The repetition is nice here, connecting ideas. Thanks for sharing!
I love how all your stanzas combine in the last with “Dreamers are doers
bringing magic and miracles to our needy world.” Such positivity! Thanks for sharing!
yesterday ‘s weather
yesterday ‘s wordle
yesterday the beatles
today ‘s weather
today is in my way
today is the greatest day
tomorrow ‘s weather
tomorrow ‘s war
tomorrow in Hindi
tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
It’s an interesting exercise, I don’t like this that much though, I’ll try a better attempt later.
Funny how the poems we as writers don’t like or enjoy still turn out to be great for us readers. I like yours much better than mine.
I LOVE this as a prompt for struggling and reluctant writers because it has just enough structure but also is accessible to real time events. THANK you for the idea
I really loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the novel. This was a neat take on yesterday, today and tomorrow!
Angie, this was a fun prompt. I asked Google a question and used the Generative AI response to craft my poem.
How do you live the writer’s life?
A writer’s life involves cultivating both the craft
and the business of writing.
Cultivating the Craft:
Building a Writing Business:
Living the Writer’s Life:
Generative AI is experimental.
Rita,
You posed an important question. I wish I’d drilled down more on writing for the joy of writing during my teaching years. Ugh to generative AI. My favorite section is the cultivating a writer’s life suggestions.
What makes this poem great is the lines you added! Yay for humanity and voice! I love “so is my writer’s life at this point” mine too!
how tostop stress googlinghow to stop overthinking
how to stop eye twitching
how to stop stressing out
my head hurts
my head feels heavy
my head hurts in spanish
my head is empty
my head is spinning
what does it mean to write a poem
what does it mean to hide within words
what does it mean to reach for light
what does it mean to seek peace
what does it mean to pray
Maureen, I really love your title and the strike-out is powerful. I also appreciate the way you’ve bolded the action words and phrases. Your final question is poignant. Your emotions are relatable. Hugs!
Maureen,
Love the strikeout in the title. I’m doing all three things in your first stanza, and I appreciate the cures in the last part of the poem. Love the repetition and parallel structures. We’re always searching, aren’t we?
Love your unique title with the cross out. I love your last stanza thoughts! Thanks for sharing the screenshot also, Maureen!
Angie, thank you for hosting today and providing me with a new poet to read. Your poem’s rapid pace is compelling and the details vivid and provocative. I especially enjoyed the third stanza.
Do Aliens Exist?
I saw something strange
hovering above my farm lane.
I was sure they were after my baby
sleeping peacefully in his crib
ready to beam him up like
Spock in a Star Trek scene.
My erratically beating heart
feared the unimaginable,
but the eerie lights disappeared,
and I’m still here,
pondering the skies and
waiting for a revisit.
If they stop by again,
I hope they take me
to live a more stellar life,
where peace and serenity
reign, and the greedy bastards on
Earth get blown to smithereens.
P.S. Last November, the Pentagon and the Director of National Intelligence released their annual report on UFO sightings. From May 2023 to June 2024, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office received 757 new incident reports — a sizable increase from previous reports.
Barb Edler
17 April 2025
There is such whimsical and fervent hope in these two lines,
that I can really relate to!!
Barb,
I like the way you pose the query and then tell a story. The tone switch between the second and last stanza is perfect, a reminder of what we don’t understand and do know. I’m going pray this:
“I hope they take me
to live a more stellar life,
where peace and serenity
reign, and the greedy bastards on
Earth get blown to smithereens.”
And if you haven’t been to New Mexico to see all the Area 51 and alien seti stuff, plan a trip.
Barb, I remember your visit a few years back when you wrote about it…..that last stanza has me chuckling. My daughter is all about some alien encounters….she lives out in Nevada and is frequently referring to Area 51 or whatever it is….she wants to go in that restricted area someday. Love this poem – – I’m believing.
Barb, it is interesting how our motherly instinct work. In the first two stanzas, you worry about and want to protect your baby. Then in the final stanza, when there is no danger to a child, you are willing to be “taken” to explore the “stellar” (love the double meaning here) life. This is a poem that makes me ponder about other galaxies and their inhabitants. Thank you!
-Star Trek!! Sorry – was so excited by this reference. My sister and I watched this series faithfully. We got communicators for Christmas one year – I was Captain Kirk and she was Mr. Spock. Annnd – you have reminded me of all the 1970s tabloids about UFOs and alien abductions. But. This apparition at the farm…bizarre. And I am with you re: a place where peace and serenity reign. Completely captivating poem, Barb!
Barb — I LOVE this poem. And the shift in last stanza to “If they stop by again,” was just so good…”stellar life”. (great pun) and LOVED the voice in these last two lines…I’ve felt this way in a huge way for the last many months. Beam me up, Scottie! Hugs, Susie
Thank you for nudging me back to this *space* tonight.
I especially appreciate the contrast you establish between fearing and wanting.
This dichotomy fits so much of life.
Oh, Barb, what a great poem. I remember your close encounter earlier in life. This line is so great: “to live a more stellar life,” Then those final three lines have me in stitches. So fun!
I love the narrative feel of this poem, especially the first stanza and especially “I hope they take me
to live a more stellar life,”
Thanks for writing and now I have a new fact to share with some family members who are interested in UFOs!
This was a fun prompt. I googled – How can I retire to the beach and write and trade books all day?? I am years from retirement, but it is sometimes fun to dream about it.
My current situation is difficult,
to say the least.
I yearn.
So, can I paint all-day
or work with clay?
Maybe hike to the beach?
My golden days with
Pen in hand.
Fulfilling –
the significance of post-retirement life
with thoughtfulness, appreciation,
and well wishes.
Can I be part travelogue, part historical mystery
and part memoir?
No longer lost in the sea or responsibility,
but a lighthouse for those your heart can hold.
Tracy, your poem identifies a wonderful life one could pursue in retirement. I love the question, “Can I be part travelogue, part historical mystery
and part memoir? ” Your closing metaphor is absolutely brilliant.
Love the simple truth of “I yearn.” No need to google that, lol – just get that “pen in hand.” Beautiful!
Tracy, what a great question to google! This is everything: “but a lighthouse for those your heart can hold.” I love it so much. I hope you get your dream sooner than later.
Hi Tracy, I really love this idea: “Can I be part travelogue, part historical mystery
and part memoir?” I say, yes! Wish you all the best in your retirement!
Good night, Angie! Thank you for hosting today. Angie, this was a fun prompt. But your question: “Where did I go wrong?” is relevant to so many of us. I am amazed at the other poems today. People search such a variety of things.
I didn’t quite know what I wanted to search today, so I just typed “What do you feed…” i will have to come back to this one. it’s very rough, but have to run to class now
What Do You Feed?
What do you feed ducks?
You feed them cracked corn, oats, and kindness—
small ripples of care across the water.
What do you feed a baby bird?
You feed it softened worms or baby formula,
and the stable rhythm of your patience.
What do you feed hummingbirds?
You feed them sugar water, sweet as sunrise,
a memory of wildflowers they can sip.
What do you feed baby chickens?
You feed them softened grains, kitchen crumbs,
and the promise of a sunrise in warm water baths.
What do you feed baby rabbits?
You feed them fresh grass and scraps in small drops,
and the shelter of home-scented dreams.
What do you feed squirrels?
You feed them nuts, seeds, and scattered seconds,
tiny treasures tussled into tomorrow.
What do you feed humans?
You feed them love and kindness,
a grain of reality, a harvest of laughter,
and the stubborn light of hope.
Leilya, hi! I think your approach to the prompt would be one that I can use. I was a bit stuck but made it work with a haiku.
This is precious because I enjoy watching squirrels live their best lives. In my opinion, they have the most fun.
Leilya, your poem is full of practical and sage advice. I love how you focus on animals and then move to humans. We all do need love and kindness. I adore your last line “and the stubborn light of hope.” Wow!
There is love of others woven all through this delightful poem, Leilya – as evidenced by “patience,” “memory,” “promise,” “shelter,” “treasures,” and “kindness.” I feel the “stubborn light of hope” radiating through your poem.
Leilya,
This is lovely. This line touches my heart:
”small ripples of care across the water.”
Im embracing your last verse. It’s certainly the nourishment our world needs. This is another poem I can see as a picture book.
Leilya — Well, gee…that last stanza is just so lovely. Humans need a boatload of that last stanza. Susie
Omg Leilya, this is very beautiful! I wouldn’t have thought this would come out of this prompt. I especially love this line: “a memory of wildflowers they can sip” – love the mixture of different senses! Thank you!
Hey yall, it’s time for bed where I am. Will check back in the morning and comment! I just wanted to say that what I’m reading seems like it could be evidence in the future of search histories and googling. Maybe in a few years these won’t exist. Maybe our future babies, current babies, grandchildren will not know what Google is when they start using tech. Interesting.
Good night, Angie! Thanks for hosting!
Technical ineptitude
I had this great Google search
All ready to add for this poem
It was going to be a meditation on why my dog is scared of thunder.
I used my snipping tool
Put it on my clipboard
Then couldn’t figure out how to get it into this little box.
Googling didn’t help.
Meanwhile, a friend just texted me
Her beloved kitty, Bernadette,
Suddenly threw a blood clot this morning.
At age 15, the best thing was to let her go.
Which just happened.
I’m not going to complain about my dog being scared of thunder.
Sheila, I appreciate how this turned into a narrative poem. Sorry to hear about your friend’s kitty. I am interested in your intention but the way you’ve told what actually ended up happening was profound.
Perspective is mighty. Thank you for the reminder!
Oh no, Sheila, what a journey you’ve had. I’m sad about Bernadette’s kitty. My cat is 15 and she’s definitely an “old lady” cat. I don’t want to think about the day she’s gone.
I adore the ending. Keeps life’s complaints in perspective. I recently saw my eye doctor about a persistent issue. When she said it’s nothing to worry about and surgery was not an option, I stopped to be grateful. Meanwhile, my dear friend is having her second round of chemo next week. I can’t complain about anything that irritates me.
Oh, my heart. You have offered such an unexpected and sad twist at the end. Beautifully done.
Sheila, thank you for sharing your search process. Your ending reminds us that everything in life is relative, or comparable. I am not disregarding your dog’s scare of thunder at all; my cat can’t find a place to hide when it’s thundering. Sorry for your friend’s cat passing.
a love poem told through google searches!
googling what it means to be loved
how do you know you love someone?
how do you know you’re in love?
how do you know your rising sign?
(mine’s scorpio, i long to know what yours is)
to love is to be changed
to love is to be vulnerable
but
to love is to be seen
to love is to be known
to love is to be human
i adore you
i adore your smile
i adore your beauty
i adore your body.
i yearn to be loved
i yearn to be with you.
i yearn for love
i yearn for you
i yearn for you tragically.
Geez I didn’t know Google was such a romantic! The end with “tragically” makes me think of a Romeo and Juliet type love. Love your description and title too!
I love how the Google search shifts as the poem moves forward. Wouldn’t it be creepy, though, if Google really could give those final three stanzas?
I particularly like the seen, known, human ends to some of your lines. Isn’t it true that we desire that inside the realm of love?
Molly, it looks like Google knows a thing or a few about love )). Your search produced quite productive results. I like the final stanza because it is so human to yearn for love and someone. I tied to search #verselove, and it produced 65, 45, or other number of Bible quotes. Go figure
Dear Google, (Why are writers…)
Why are writers poor?
Perhaps because passion
Doesn’t pay.
Why are writers depressed?
Searching and hoping for the right words
We spill our blood and
Memory onto the page.
Why are writers lonely?
Human company is not required.
Maybe this is why Dickinson wrote so much about
Roses
Or why Hemingway had so many
Cats.
Why are writers important?
Words work into souls
Pull out truth. Words,
like flowers bloom into
Ideas, hope. Maybe poets
Will change this world.
Why are writers poor?
Love the route you took with this Emily. “Maybe poets
Will change this world.” I believe they already are and the world needs more of them! It reminds me of “what can a poem do?” By Darius V. Daughtry.
Cats & Roses. I need to look into them both! In the mean time, I love the words you pulled for us today!
I love the lines “Words work into souls/ Pull out truth.” It’s like they’re roots that lever out our emotions.
I believe poets can change the world because we pull out truth and offer safe spaces for ideas to bloom.
I so appreciate the structure you used for this. The bold lines help move the reader forward.
Emily, I like the focus of your search on questions about the writers. “Why are writers poor?” begins and ends your poem. Probably, for the same reason as teachers ( at least in Louisiana). The question about loneliness and the answer made me pause and think about it. Thank you for sharing!
Angie, wow! Thank you so so so so much for hosting and bringing this word play to poetry today. I am now following Leila on Instagram and am thrilled to continuously be introduced to more and more writers. A cool connection is that my friend, Kristen, from middle school is now a director of Saraband Books and I think has published one of her books or has worked with her in some way. Crazy!
I had an absolute blast with this writing technique today and really want to write more of these. A friend was talking to me about love this past weekend…and so it has been on my mind. I have been reading some books and material on love, what it is, what it looks like, how you receive it, how you show it.
Love Remake of Love Today
by Amber Harrison
Love doesn’t hurt,
love doesn’t pay the bills,
love doesn’t exist,
but love your enemies.
It’s time to stop.
What is today?
It’s time to play the game:
To be opposite of something,
be the opposite of someone.
Be patient in affliction.
Be patient with yourself.
Be kind to your mind.
Remake love, actually.
Build meaning.
Shine on–
endless love remake.
I keep reading the lines, “to be opposite of something/be the opposite of someone” and then the idea to remake love. I like that thought. You put together a thoughtful poem with your search today.
Hi Amber! That’s so cool that your friend is the director of the company that published one of Leila’s books! I am really glad that you enjoyed the prompt and focused on ideas about love. I am drawn to these that don’t really mention love but I like the feel of them: “It’s time to stop.” And “It’s time to play the game”
Collective Earth Understanding, 2025, as conveyed by our robots:
What is the meaning of life?
Is God real?
Is there other life in the universe?
What happens after we die?
Why does suffering exist?
Is love real?
Is there hope for our planet?
What one invention is the pinnacle of human knowledge?
Is there hope for me?
Apparently Chat gpt is a bit more knowledgable than Alexa. But after reading your poem, I like her better. She’s also a bit more honest. Except for the hope question, I prefer Chat gpt’s answer. There is always hope! I loved following your questions and thoughts with this prompt.
Wow your poem proves why I loathe chatgpt and I guess really vibe with Alexa. She is very blunt and straightforward and I hate ChatGPT’s overuse of rule of three
anyways, thanks for sharing this. It was amusing.
I’ve never thought of the differentiated voices of AI before, this was a really fun and unique way to play with the prompt! The conversational aspect is quite fascinating, Alexa’s honesty regarding her ignorance is fairly touching. Thank you for sharing!
Rachel, this was a fun way to explore the different Ai. I wonder what a non-robot would say in response to the question “Is there hope for me?” Also, oddly sometimes I think I might be like Alexa…not sure how to feel about that.
Alexa is very honest . . . or likes to avoid giving answers. Maybe a bit of both. I love how your poem shows differences (dare I say flaws?) in AI.
the stark difference between chat and Alexas responses is strange. chat sounds so human like that it is almost scary, while Alexa is so robotic. I really like how you used them both to do this prompt. great work.
This is creative, informative, and transformative. I often encourage my grad students to NOT rely on one source, but you proved the difference
Hi Angie,
I fell into a rabbit hole that led me all over the place. I finally searched about Alexa to see what all she does and what I might be missing. This is what came up, but I also read that Alexa has a self-destruct mode and that made me think about the current occupant in the The White House. This is my offering for today.
Alexa, Please Help Us
does donald trump have
Alexa in his bedroom
time to self-destruct
© Stacey L. Joy, 4/17/25
Angie, I tried searching a ton of ideas but never got the list like you shared. I think maybe it’s my settings or maybe my browser. I use Chrome. Either way, this was fun exploring. Thank you for hosting and for your incredible poem.
Your lines hit me like bricks! Powerful and necessary poem:
Hi Stacey! Yes I was thinking about Alexa earlier today when thinking about AI things. I did not know about the self-destruct mode and love the poem you created. Here’s what I found on my chrome search bar so not sure what yours does.
I see! It’s totally different from my Google app on my phone than my desktop browser. Thank you.
This is so clever, I love the simplicity of the three lines! Great poem!
Stacey! I like the effect of your poem having only three lines. They are bold and strong on their own.
Stacey,
I don’t have Alexa, but if manifesting your poem into reality necessitates inviting Alexa in, I’ll do it!
Stacey, I laughed out loud in my office when I read your poem. Alexa might be quite helpful after all
Stacey — Oh girl! I LOVE YOU TO BITS! Alexia, just do it! Love you, Susie
What Do I Do After? 4/17/2025
What do i do after college
What do i do after high school
With no compass, map, GPS.
You trip and stumble into the next day.
What do i do after throwing up
Is there more? Am I done? Where’s my toothbrush?
What do i do after accepting an offer on depop
Buy a label, an empty box, transfer to savings?
What do i do after buying a used car
What do i do after buying a car
What do i do after i get my permit
Movable debt. Insurance, gas, tires, door handles,
Headlights, wiper fluid, inspections, brake tags, car notes.
What do i do after filling out fafsa
I sure as hell don’t know. Good luck!
What do i do after getting a marriage license
I wish I had every answer.
I’m not quite here yet.
Give me a few years, and I’ll get back to you.
Love the question/answer form you took with just one search! It’s interesting that many things came up that you’ve not experienced yet and so I love your last line. Thanks for sharing!
I loved your question about filling out FAFSA. I could relate to that. Your last line! What will all our answers on google be then? How will they have changed in just a matter of years?
Emily, will we even be using Google in a few years?!?
What a fun idea, James! This is a great phrase to enter for lots of writing prompt and thought. There is so much to do!
James! This is a fun approach to the prompt. I love the questions because each one we will have asked at least once in our lives. The ending is perfect! Take your time and let all the answers come.
I love your answers to the search questions.
this is great work James. I love how each stanza is different in the way that some are you giving and answer and some are continued with more questions. love the poem.
Now that is a prompt, Angie. Phew. I would have never thought to play with search-bar suggestions and, well, how easy it is to lose time when doing so. Your line, “Where did I go wrong?’ might me a mantra for all of us in this time in history — or maybe, where did we go wrong?” Thanks for introducing us to the playfulness of language through a very clever task.
(I Googled It)
& it turns out we all have diarrhea
in a year when we already have to pee too much.
We’ll pay more federal taxes, too,
and sing less about lovers & dreamers
with Kermit the Frog.
Of course, it will require more exercise on French yoga mats,
and eating more bread, too.
We can expect distractions to continue
because they’ll remain everywhere.
They are the enemy of greatness, after all,
& require us to follow rabbits down their holes
in search of cheaper eggs.
How else do we counter anxiety?
We should stick with the feminists, they say,
and sing more opera in our daily attacks of grocery stores…
(paper or plastic?)
Our literary success depends on this…
…the ways we’ll massage our poems into
meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
(I looked it up).
It’s true.
Still, the loneliness will remain
the equivalent of smoking a brisket
(the byproduct of any gifted mind).
Writing, though, will not just be a luxury —
it will become the team sport to cure our souls.
We might even be in Super Bowl next year…
which will inevitably end in tears and praise,
like any poem.
In other words, “It’s all good.”
I googled it.
OMG Bryan!! Where do I start? I was LOLing at so many parts of this, and I don’t mean LOL. I mean laughing so my husband could hear me which doesn’t happen often when I’m on my phone.
“require us to follow rabbits down their holes
in search of cheaper eggs.”
“sing more opera in our daily attacks of grocery stores…”
“we’ll massage our poems into
meatloaf and mashed potatoes”
these are the things that literally made me laugh loudly. Thanks for making me do that!!!
I can’t even continue!!!!!! Bryan, my girlfriend is in the midst of the dreadful colon cleanse prep for colonscopy. We couldn’t even enjoy a movie because she kept running to the toilet.
Okay, let me finish reading your poem.
Yes, yes, yes, “It’s all good.” I adore you and your poem.
This one had me laughing. “the equivalent of smoking a brisket”! “We might even be in the Super Bowl next year…” So funny.
Bryan,
This captures the randomness of all we google as well as the randomness of life.
“Still, the loneliness will remain”
is a sad line. I just finished reading “Careless People,” and boy, howdy is it enlightening. I know w/out writing communities I’d be a lonely person, so I’m very grateful to every person in this community who has read and engaged w/ my random musings. I have thoughts about those who don’t and keep those poems to myself. Ha! ‘Preciate you.
Bryan — I love the voice and the movement in your poem. It’s so matter of fact and just rolls. The ending made me laugh out loud. It’s true…I googled it. Susie
“Writing, though, will not just be a luxury — / it will become the team sport to cure our souls.” YES. (So, I guess, I am an athlete, lol.) And I love, Bryan, that you started with the ampersand, and, of course, the line “it turns out we all have diarrhea”!
search history
remedy for a stinky scarf drawer
have you ever pulled a scarf from a drawer
only to notice – this smells icky
not like me,
no, not like moth balls;
it’s musty – a combination of mildew and dust?
that must be it – first stanza of poem, done
cellulitis
Rachel’s boyfriend’s mom has been bedridden for nearly 9 months
and Rachel was describing the appearance of her feet
could it be cellulitis?
I remembered the device attached to Mom’s legs and feet
that squeezed her legs and feet to increase circulation
oh, and stye
yes, that’s what’s causing my red eye
the lower lid is a bit sensitive
guess I’m gonna have to wait it out
it’s bound to heal
til then it’s hot compresses
for this last search
I left google for spotify
to listen to Famous Blue Raincoat
it was referenced in a substack post
written by a woman who’s partner
had died – a sort of cryptic connection
as it was four in the morning
and I enjoyed listening to Leonard Cohen
Oh the wonderful world of googling illnesses! I loved the move from Google to Spotify. And for the song rec, wow. I don’t really know anything about Leonard Cohen. Excuse me while I go google all about him! Thanks for sharing!
Jamie,
Haha! I love the stream of consciousness vibe here. I think you were in my brain this morning. I was not able to find a center. I love that your poem flows and ends with music. Brilliant! I think I read that substack post!
Internet in the early a.m. is something else entirely, as if all the constraints of the day boil away down to furiously jumping between search engines and down rabbit holes. I love the Leonard Cohen reference, he was in my Spotify mix earlier this week. Thank you for sharing!
Find the best way
because there is one:
to study for exams or learn Spanish
to lose weight or your belly fat
to succeed at a new job or make money online.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
What is worse?
Nicotine or caffeine?
Bad luck or bad choices?
Inflation or a recession?
Hate or death?
Marry a narcissist or caught in a nightmare?
The answers are
in the wind
in the stars
in the pudding
in your backyard
in your wounds
We thought together
we would rise
we would grow
we would be stronger
we would thrive
Never trust
taglines
emotional appeal
glittering generalities
the plain folk
carelessly whispered promises
Be kind to yourself
Find a room for yourself
Embrace your new self
Love yourself
“The answers are in the wind/ in the stars/ in the pudding!” I love that. They answers are everywhere! I also like how you close your poem in the last few lines. They are calming.
Ooo “the answers are in your wounds” what a thought to ponder! The advertising jargon is a cool addition and I really like the the last four lines end (not begin) with yourself or self. Thanks for sharing Krish!
Hi Angie,
Great prompt! I love how you made each line in your poem count. Each stanza adds to the emotional intensity. Lines culled on Google but masterfully crafted by you.
Thank you Angie for a fun prompt. I feel a little lazy with this poem as I am ever fighting the demon of perfectionism.
questions worth asking
how does it all
work
end
how to live
off the grid
in the moment
a good life
longer
what cures
a hangover
athlete’s feet
acid reflux
how big is the
universe
the sun
the moon
why are we
bombing Yemen
at half mast
here
how can we save
our democracy
polar bears
the planet
when is it okay
to lie
to say I love you
to use a tourniquet
what happens when
we die
doubt god
pray
Thanks for writing Kasey! The juxtaposition here makes me wonder about our world:
Kasey, it appears you have been asking the big questions! I love the brevity and conciseness of the words you unraveled with today’s prompt…. “to use a tourniquet” hit met in the ear and I loved it.
Your poem is a testament to what we turn to Google for–not the minute questions but the grand ones. How can I uproot my life? How can we fix the world’s problems? Where do we go when we die? All questions without easy, AI-generated answers, but we type them to the void anyway. Thank you for sharing!
“how can we save/our democracy/polar bears/the planets” really hit me!!! you turned this poem into such a powerful cry for difference in the world. so powerful.
Before Google Was a Verb
Before Google was a verb my daily random searches
would not exist. The rabbit holes they lead me down…
well, those happened more slowly
with card catalogs and library stacks.
Today I wandered down the What Are Metaphors for…
rabbit hole of a search. Did you know there are
metaphors for things that cannot be undone? And that of course,
led to the search What does it mean…
Did you know that a common search is what does it mean
to hold the government in contempt? It ranks above, but barely,
what does it mean when your poop is green? I don’t know
why that makes me pause and laugh, but it does.
And of course the laughter makes me flush
triggering one of the menopausal hot flashes that mimic
the heat of the sun or the fires of hell so I Google (verb)
What causes hot flashes…
and get the weird list that includes menopausal hot flushes,
Flushes? Flushes? Like a toilet or like my face flaming red? Which one?
So of course, that leads me to another search and another
and another and another and then…two hours and seven minutes later
I still don’t know what causes hot flashes or flushes but
I have seen things on the internet that can’t be unseen and
have new metaphors for things that cannot be undone and unseen.
That is somewhat work related, right?
I wonder what else I can Google (verb) on Google (noun)
and then I realize the time and that I have just enough of it
to run across campus and up three flights of stairs to teach
my class. I should have Googled (verb) What should I do in class today?
Melanie, I love your poem and the twists and turns it takes, just like the maturation of womanhood. This morning I was listening to Clarissa Pinkola Estes discuss menopause in her work The Joyous Body. She was discussing the magic of physics that happen in hot flashes and the flashes of deep knowing that might be right on the other side of the heat spikes. I will always revere her. I found this quote that I thought you might like. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, speaks of menopausal women “hanging their skin on a spike in the underworld.” Anyway, I highly recommend it for all women!
That sounds like a really interesting book! I love the quote so much! I just added the book to my cart at Amazon.
Love reading about your process! Your searches made you laugh and your voice in this definitely made me laugh:
Melanie, I think we are from the same camp with the card catalogs…..and in the long wooden drawers, those were the best. I like how you distinguish between the noun and verb forms of Google. And your use of bold text draws emphasis!
I googled
when Google
became a verb
and the AI Overview
told me it was around
1998 when the co-founder
Larry Page used it (as a gerund)
in an email, and, apparently the first
time it was used in popular media was
in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
in 2002, and did you know that they changed
their motto from “Don’t Be Evil” to “Do The Right
Thing” (like the search engine is some kind of Spike
Lee joint) which is fine, but it is not the same thing at all,
and wait, what? Did you know it was first called Backrub?
I’m glad that didn’t stick: I can’t imagine saying, “I backrubbed it.”
_____________________________________________
Angie, this was a lot of fun! Thank you for your mentor poem. I loved the seemingly antithetical offerings: “Sometimes I get a good feeling / Sometimes I give myself the creeps” and “There will be joy in the morning / There will be blood.” For my offering, instead of using the auto generated offerings in the Google search box, I used the “People also ask” feature.
LMAO! The things we may learn today! No, I did not know any of that, so thanks for enlightening me, especially about “Backrub” how weird!!
I love how you point out “don’t be evil” is not synonymous with “do the right thing.” It adds a little depth to a levitous poem (I “backrubbed” the following phrase: adjective form of levity for my response). Thank you for this!
reading your poem felt like diving down the rabbit hole, do you think google was designed by Lewis Carroll, wonder if the code would follow the text, do you think Carroll ever dreamed of something like google as an answer to our questions, or at least Alice’s, thanks for sharing your fun poem
Scott,
I always learn so much from your poetry. Thank you for giving me a giggle or two or three this morning! I can’t imagine if Backrub worked, just icky. LOL. Great poem!
“I backrubbed it” That got me laughing today! I’ve never heard that, and I’m glad it didn’t stick either. I love the shape of your poem and the flow of it.
it was in 2010 when a kid asked, ‘Did you know you were Googleable?” That’s when I first thought of the many uses it has (of course, I did ‘ego’ surfing with students before Google, when you could use Explorer to type your name in quotes to find all your alter egos (not a good idea…turns out most of us have aliases on adult websites). Love everything you did with today’s prompt.
HAHAHAHA! Bingo…laughing out loud AGAIN. So goofy. And this prompt was just MADE for you. It’s true, “I backrubbed it.” HA! Susie
Angie, I love this idea and will get back to it (hopefully tonight). Life is swamping me right now.
Hi Angie,
I love your prompt and your poem. I like how you made each line matter in your poem. The lines may have been culled from Google but the craft is totally your own.
Find the best way
because there is one:
to study for exams or learn Spanish
to lose weight or your belly fat
to succeed at a new job or make money online
even to Bury Your Husband.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
What is worse?
Nicotine or caffeine?
Bad luck or bad choices?
Inflation or a recession?
Hate or death?
Marry a narcissist or caught in a nightmare?
The answers are
in the wind
in the stars
in the pudding
in your backyard
in your wounds
We thought together
we would rise
we would grow
we would be stronger
we would thrive
Never trust
taglines
emotional appeal
glittering generalities
the plain folk
carelessly whispered promises
Be kind to yourself
Find a room for yourself
Embrace your new self
Love yourself
This is such a fun prompt, Angie.
I think I did it differently than most, but it works for me today!
Katie Couric Asks
who is the richest person in the world
who is playing in Super Bowl 2025
who is the vice-president of the United States
who?
what is DEI
what is doge
what is a tariff
what?
where does Severance take place
where is Elon Musk from
where does the sun set
where?
when will Moana 2 be on Disney +
when are taxes due
when will the Social Security Fairness Act be implemented
when?
why does my eye keep twitching
why do dogs lick you
why do cats purr
why?
how does Ozempic work
how does norovirus spead
how how does Plan B work
how?
~Susan Ahlbrand
17 April 2025
Susan, the journalism teacher in me loves your approach to this and I love the implicit nod to the importance of asking these questions in this moment. The juxtapositions here are brilliant and “why does my eye keep twitching” grounds all of these questions in the deep anxiety that so many of us are feeling.
I love your choice of putting the one word question at the end of each stanza. I did not know what many of these things were until recently (doge, Ozempic) and have had some weird conversations about them.
I really enjoyed this poem. I have liked this prompt because we get such a deep look into the lives of everyone. a look into what people think about day to day. you poem is a perfect example of that. great work.
It feels like every line is important in your poem. Each line adds to its emotional intensity. The lines may have been culled from Google but the craft is all your own.
Find the best way
because there is one:
to study for exams or learn Spanish
to lose weight or your belly fat
to succeed at a new job or make money online
even to Bury Your Husband.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
What is worse?
Nicotine or caffeine?
Bad luck or bad choices?
Inflation or a recession?
Hate or death?
Marry a narcissist or caught in a nightmare?
The answers are
in the wind
in the stars
in the pudding
in your backyard
in your wounds
We thought together
we would rise
we would grow
we would be stronger
we would thrive
Never trust
taglines
emotional appeal
glittering generalities
the plain folk
carelessly whispered promises
Be kind to yourself
Find a room for yourself
Embrace your new self
Love yourself
Sorry, Didn’t mean for my post to appear 3 times. Was experiencing a technical issue. Really sorry about this,
Angie, thank you for this prompt! It really got me thinking and the creativity flowing today. I kept searching with the phrases “I wish,” “I wish for,” or “I wonder,” and I kept getting names of songs and artists, so this is the direction I went!
Search Poem
You’re like me, I see.
In moments steeped
In the deep and the dark,
Thoughts turn to wish and wonder
And want for light, any light,
The tiniest pinprick of star,
To guide us out and away.
But what if no light?
How about we play songs instead,
Let the air waves sing with
I wonder and I wish from other times
When darkness was heavy?
We will mix Stevie with Taylor,
And rap with country and pop,
Feel the pulsing rhythm in our bones.
History does repeat itself.
Because once upon a time,
Maybe a generation or so ago,
Darkness came heavy, rooted deep.
But even with no light,
The art,
The music,
The words
Created a light to guide the way.
I am in love with the last stanza. I love the way that it starts with “Because once upon a time” and ends with “the words.” Lovely.
Art is so important in dark times. Thank you for speaking to this; how art can be a nighttime star to guide us to daybreak, how music unites, heals, reflects history and hope. Lovely poem!
Wow what an amazing poem came out of song lyrics popping up in the search bar!! I’m drawn to this: “We will mix Stevie with Taylor,
And rap with country and pop,” because it reminds me of Girl Talk who mashes up songs and I LOVE it.
Oh this got me thinking this morning, Angie! I search thousands of times a day for thousands of things – but my husband has been teaching AI about politics and economics things that he is expert in. And I marvel about his relationship with various AI assistants.
It ‘s quite entertaining to read their interactions.
Teaching AI
My husband is the great researcher.
I am too – I love going down rabbit holes
Usually about education and best strategies
I use my new-found knowledge to my advantage.
My husband doesn’t wander
He gets straight to the point
He already knows the answers
He loves to stump his AI assistant
My husband is the great researcher
He can read fast and wide
He takes joy in having AI assistants
Compete against each other.
I found out that they love compliments
My husband talks to them as if they are human
They repay his compliments with
Ones of their own
My husband love to correct them
Make them think, make them delve deeper
He is an excellent teacher
And the AI assistants appreciate him.
I marvel at the care my husband gives
How he encourages, how he questions
How he make them jump down rabbit holes
And surface with new knowledge.
I teach a class on AI and Storytelling and so this poem grabbed my attention. I love how you described your husband as a teacher for the AI. You provided such rich detail! I see this in my students–the ways they dig in and focus to teach the AI how to work with them, how to research for them. I love the specificity here. The line “and the AI assistants appreciate him” is wonderful.
Hi Melanie. The class sounds interesting. What’s your email? I’d love to hear more about it. Thanks!
Wow, Joanne. Everything you have written is very interesting. I’m at a loss for words kind of. I don’t have a good relationship with AI so I am intrigued by your description of your husband’s relationship with his “AI assistants”. Thanks for sharing this. It makes me think.
Joanne, hilarious that he can stump the AI assistant! What a clever take on the questions – – having the answers!
Angie, what a fun way to write a poem! At first I didn’t think anything would have real meaning, but once I got started, it flowed. Thanks for this creative flow idea.
Search it Up
I’d tell you a joke
I’d tell you i love you
I’d tell you but
Here’s the thing meaning
Meaning is meaningless to me
Meaning is in people, not in words
Meaning is socially constructed
Meaning is relational
Meaning is what
What did I say? What did I do?
This in the way. Walk in it.
*This is the way.
I’m laughing at “meaning is meaningless to me” and then “meaning is what”. I really like the invitation at the end!
I love the play with ‘meaninglessness’ in the poem. Recalling Macbeth’s tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow soliloquy.
I love this poem! The first two lines are so powerful. I also love “meaning is meaningless to me.” This is so great!
Meaning is in people, not in words. TRUER WORDS NEVER SPOKEN, friend! I learned this the hard way time and again. I like your thinking here.
Angie, thank you for hosting today. I like the accessibility and generational connection with this form and process. I decided to go to trends.google.com to be inspired today.
sports, physical fitness
important but obsessive
worldly goals, scores, points
common conversations of
competition
concern about strangers
gossip in a click
bots with medical
degrees, diagnosing
diseases
digital outputs need
connectivity, humans
to make it roll
power, prodding our
patience
Stefani, I can’t help being amused by “Bots with medical degrees, diagnosing diseases.” On one hand – how unreliable. On the other…how very helpful, as I have a friend who became deathly ill and the bots said it was Addison’s disease from the start while the doctors took, oh, six months. while she steadily declined. Suffice to say my friend is doing better now with treatment. Also, I love your ending stanza. AI and all of the digital world can only do what we humans program it to do.
Thanks for sharing your idea and poem today, Stefani. I like your take on the trends and this is scary:
if that’s our future, I don’t think I want to be part
Stefani,
I like the playfulness of your poem. Having the last two lines in each stanza to alliterate is so clever. I like how you emphasise the importance of human touch in the digital world we have created. The question I asked myself is to what extent can we trust the “bots with medical degrees?
Angie,
thanks for hosting and sending me down a google search rabbit hole. I played around with having chatgpt write a google search poem but ending up riffing on nonsense.
This stanza hits hard:
Alas.
——————————————————
if I had a nonsense mutation
would I sing Wilco lyrics backwards
would I yell out Lebron during class
would I celebrate nonsense Christmas
with gritty grimy strawberry pies
would I fly to the moon
with the Jabberwocky as my copilot
in a rocket made of classic cds
Sharon, somehow the line about singing Wilco lyrics backwards gave me the most joy–would it be the word in opposite order, e.g., “Wilco like I” or would it be “ocliw ekil I”? Nonsense indeed:) Thank you for sharing today.
In a rocket made of classic cds sounds awesome!! Haha! Thanks for playing around
Fabulous weaving from the search terms, Sharon! Delightful nonsensicality – it’s like an invitation to throw out conventions and embrace one’s inner child and its imaginative impulses. Because we need at little magical nonsense now and then to counter the real nonsense.
also, when I read this line “would I yell out Lebron during class” all I could think about was skibbidi sigma skibiidi toilet!!
I’m glad you included the Jabberwocky as your copilot – a name I link to the meaning of nonsense, yelling Lebron out during class reminds me of teaching a coed class, less typical in a girls’ school, can you sing Wilco lyrics backwards? thanks for your entertaining poem
Sharon — Oh my goodness, this is just dandy. I love the idea of a “nonsense mutation”… and your collections of odd stuff is really pretty funny and witty… “Jabberwocky as my copilot” is great. Susie
Angie, what a compelling invitation! I am presently thinking “we are what we search”…ok not really, but…confession: Writing about one’s searches feels a little like standing there in your underwear. One expects a collective pause, a raising of hands to chins, a choral “Hmmmm…” -Not that posting one’s writing doesn’t always impart a smidge of this-! Your poem, however, is incredible. So captivating, with the turns of phrases and same first words in stanzas. Every single line stands alone in its own power. “There will be blood” is utterly gripping, coming right after not knowing”I was pregnant,” “I didn’t you know cared,” “There will be joy in the morning” -Riveting and haunting. You stirred the idea of ‘pantoum’ for me and my poem began taking shape before there were words for it. Thank you for your amazing offering today.
Search for Today
why is my ear fluttering
cold allergy or covid
create an origin story
do herons symbolize the maternal
cold allergy or covid
why do I wake up so crazy early
do herons symbolize the maternal
can extinct animals really be brought back
why do I wake up so crazy early
what are the genetics of mental illness
can extinct animals really be brought back
—still no obituary for my mother
what are the genetics of mental illness
create an origin story
—still no obituary for my mother
why is my ear fluttering
Fran,
what a fantastic idea to write a pantoum. The form works so well with the recurring nature of searching for answers that elude us.
I especially like the juxtaposition of the lines in your last stanza and how the end returns us to the concern of the beginning—but perhaps with more knowledge of the underlying causes.
Fran, I am drawn to your narrative conversation up top around being vulnerable by exposing our searches–we are what we search, ha! But in your poem, you invite us into this search for the obituary which is heartbreaking and powerful (and condolences if this is your current lived experience). Thank you for sharing today.
Thank you for your kindness, Stefani. The obituary search is a current reality. My mother and I were estranged for many years. I learned in a roundabout way that she passed a year ago. There’s no obit. I guess still-estranged family opted not to. But once in awhile I check again…
Fran, it did cross my mind at one point that our searches are kind of personal. It made me think about the crazy things that I’ve searched that I wouldn’t want people to know about
and the things I’ve erased from search histories. But anywaysss. I do love pantoums. I think that was a great choice for today. I like how yours moves from a simple “why is my ear fluttering” to “—still no obituary for my mother”, “extinction” to creation. Lots to ponder!
I love how your poem follows how one thing leads to another – I was glad to read your questioning why – I wake up so crazy early – maybe it was to begin brainstorming for this poem? there seems to be a natural logic to these various ideas – is what we linger on, what’s keeping us awake – I enjoyed your mental journey
Oh my! Fran, how you craft a pantoum is always a marvel to me. The repetition of mental illness and no obituary are haunting. I had covid two weeks ago and had that question, “Isn’t it just a cold?” Reading your introduction, I was thinking how vulnerable you are willing to be and how that vulnerability makes you a wonderful writer. I see you!
Fran, I love the title of your poem, and the way you create a sense of feeling overwhelmed. The ear fluttering can be frustrating, and of course, the now constant worry if we start to feel sick, “is it Covid?” The way your poem moves from one topic to the next helps add the sense of unease from “why do I wake up so crazy early” to the most important line, I think, “—still no obituary for my mother”. Your poem’s mentioning mental illness adds another layer of human fear. Powerful and emotional poem!
Yes, I am thinking underwear – – all the revelations of predictive analytics. Someone knew I needed to hear the word retirement……I like your pantoum. And I like the ear fluttering – – so unexpected. The wonderings are perfect for right now.
Angie,
I love how your screenshot and words both reflect the anxiety that we all feel right now. It is a great example of anxiety developing in times of uncertainty. Your prompt offered great reflection for me on my use of Google and the frequency/dependency.
Searching
Why do cats make biscuits?
How long should I cook chicken for?
Why am I so angry?
When is Easter?
Where is the nearest craft store?
I wonder what ____ from high school is up…
Did they break up?
Are they still friends?
And as I search and write,
I begin to wonder.
I wonder about a world that seems unbelievable.
Where we searched outside for answers, not on a screen.
How different would our searches be?
How different would we be?
Would I bite my nails? Would I look in the mirror so much?
Would I be more patient,
waiting to discover what I seek
or would I still long for the immediate answer the my search engine gives?
How do you wish you didn’t have something that helps you so much?
Maybe too much knowledge is too much power.
Whoa, Victoria, so much is packed here! Love the opening line, a play on “kneading.” Part of me wants to think that a subconscious play on its homophone, “need,” is in that penultimate line, wondering about wishing away “something that helps you so much.” All in all, a fascinating poem of wonderings.
Victoria, thank you for sharing today and your last line resonates with me and has me questioning if this is true–but maybe it is the lack of not critiquing the knowledge that deflates power? Hmmm, maybe I’ll go Google that now:)
Hi Victoria! Ughhh what a great poem. Thank you for embracing the prompt, creating this, and sharing. There are many powerful lines in this but when it got here I looked inwards and asked questions of myself:
and this:
well, I can only hope some of our students are asking this.
Great questions, Victoria. I still remain fascinated that answers are as quick as a shout into my phone or a few notes in a search bar (but it is a lot…and I’m afraid too many ask the wrong questions…it is an art form…like the ones you are asking! “Biting nails” / “looking in the mirror.” Yup This is the age of today
Angie! Your poem was amazing! I can’t wait to try one this morning!
Angie, thank you for hosting us today! A Google Search poem is a new thing for me, and I like the randomness and the unexpected lines that this process generates. Your poem flows in an emotional stream of energy, and I like your whittle-down effect of letting the last stanza line hang on a few words, so I took your craft move and ran with it.
how much is enough sleep?
how much is enough to retire?
how much?
when is enough enough?
when is there too little?
when?
should we be worried about bird flu?
should we break up?
should we?
shall we gather at the river?
shall we dance?
shall we?
how can you tell if a cat is pregnant?
how can you tell if a diamond is real?
how can you tell if an egg is bad?
how can you tell whether zeros are significant?
how can you tell?
Kim,
I love the way you structure this.…landing on the start phrase to end each stanza. It gives it such great sound as well as visual appeal.
Kim, I love how this came together!
I love how your poem embraces our natural wonderings and anxieties. It is really fun to observe what my google searches said about me. And read everyone’s interpretations of their own.
How deftly you take the form, Kim, and make it your own. The questioning grows deeper and more encompassing as the words are whittled away. It’s like some inverse rule, getting down to the real questions behind the questions, which are infinitely bigger. I had to laugh at your opening line because OF COURSE we ride along the wavelength, even if we choose different vehicles – this time with the issue of enough sleep. You’re a writing wonder. Truly.
Kim,
I like how your structure brings us from the specific to the general. I like the feeling of the wide open questions of
And then perhaps your ending reveals the futility of endlessly searching for
answers.
I’m so excited to see all the things that come out of today’s poems and the many ways everyone will take things. Like you, this sounds almost like a 20 question poem also, which I love. I think I’m lingering most on this question: “how can you tell whether zeros are significant?” So interesting to think about the answers to that.
I love the stanzas here–how you start with how much and end with how can you. The journey through the stanzas is wonderful. I like how the stanzas end with the question. Wow. Love it.
This structure of questions that whittle down from specific to general is intriguing. It works well. I love the surprises of “bird flu” then “break up” and how each line is not related but could be. Synectics!
Kim, your questions are provocative! I loved “when is enough enough?” I especially like the way you build toward your ending, and I thought the hymn lyric, “shall we gather at the river?” helped add another layer of emotion and slowed the poem down to make the reader pause. Your closing stanza was a great twist to show the other kinds of crazy things we will search the answers for. I loved ‘how can you tell?” for your final line. Get a good night’s rest:)
I first read your poem early this morning and was drawn to your line of questioning that grows deeper as the poem unfolds until the end, when you wonder how we know
I really enjoyed this one
Well, now, that was interesting, Angie.
Kevin
Start with a greeting –
more formal than
friendly – and then
a few notes to hum
alongside with (maybe
be in a minor key) – but
the start of something
longer belongs better in
a letter, not converted
into music manuscript,
or else you’ll be resigned
to never being finished,
for words elude you:
this cover letter
languishes
Kevin,
Neat! I loved your spin on this.
Kevin,
I really like how your poem became a “how to”. This was a really creative approach to the prompt for today. It would be fun to share in a class when discussing email format.
I love how the searches encompass a cover letter and a resignation latter. Kevin. You are singing our song…maybe daily…
Wow, what a great start to the day, Kevin! Thanks for embracing the prompt and creating a very interesting poem. I agree with Fran on the search that came up – resignation and cover? I like “for words elude you” in your poem especially.
I love how you took this search and rewrote it into a poem. How did you get to “this cover letter languishes”?
Love the ‘hum along side,’ as many cover letters rarely hum! Ha!