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Defining the Horizon: Poetry Prompt

By Heather Eure 30 Comments

horizon-poetry-promptThere are many verses and poems attributed to the symbol of a horizon. In her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses horizon imagery from the very first sentence:

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.”

To define the word horizon usually takes a bit of poetry as its meaning can be as deep and wide as the landscape on which it settles. Place, time of day, and direction all play a part in the visual expression of a horizon.

Try It: Horizon Poetry

Take a walk at sunrise or sunset. Look through photographs of unforgettable landscapes. Write a poem that expresses either your definition of the word horizon or the deeper meaning of what it represents to you. Paint a picture of your horizon for us. Place your poem in the comment section below. We’ll be reading.

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Featured Poem

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s a snowflake-inspired poem from Maureen we enjoyed:

Snow and Ice

We speak,
you bracing

your words —
flakes of snow —

against my slivers
of ice.

Picture steles
deflecting

the sound
of loss

without
the wanting.

What breaks
apart

becomes two

floes stilled,
missing

their chance
to collide

below water.

—by Maureen

Photo by davebloggs007, Creative Commons via Flickr.

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How to Write a Poem 283 high How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.

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—Callie Feyen, English Teacher, Maryland

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  • Author
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Heather Eure
Heather Eure
Heather Eure has served as the Poetry Editor for the late Burnside Collective and Special Projects Editor for us at Tweetspeak Poetry. Her poems have appeared at Every Day Poems. Her wit has appeared just about everywhere she's ever showed up, and if you're lucky you were there to hear it.
Heather Eure
Latest posts by Heather Eure (see all)
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Filed Under: Blog, Horizon poetry, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Themed Writing Projects, writer's group resources, writing prompt

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Comments

  1. Rick Maxson says

    January 9, 2017 at 10:58 am

    At the Horizon

    All morning you stared past the waves
    to where time vanished into the sky.
    Beyond that line you could not see me

    looking back now with wonder, from where
    I tell you not to be afraid of approaching horizons.
    Did you imagine tide pools there

    your child’s arm thrust deep in their waters,
    where sightless stars felt the light
    touch of your sightless fingers?

    Reply
    • Donna Falcone says

      January 9, 2017 at 11:56 am

      Rick, this poem feels magical… especially that ending of sightless meetings.
      And this line- it feels like a song lyric; time vanished into the sky

      Thank you for sharing your beautiful words!

      Reply
    • Maureen says

      January 9, 2017 at 12:26 pm

      Lovely poem, Rick.

      Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      January 12, 2017 at 9:48 pm

      “Sightless fingers.” Love that. Summing up your poem and last verse: Captivating.

      Reply
    • Prasanta says

      January 12, 2017 at 10:41 pm

      Beautiful!

      Reply
    • Monica Sharman says

      January 13, 2017 at 1:28 pm

      My favorite part is the line break after “light.”

      Reply
  2. Donna Falcone says

    January 9, 2017 at 11:54 am

    vanishing points:
    horizontal trickery –
    no real end to cite

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      January 9, 2017 at 12:28 pm

      Donna,

      I like that you used “to cite” instead of, for example, “in sight”. It disrupts the reader’s expectation.

      Reply
      • Donna Falcone says

        January 9, 2017 at 1:06 pm

        Thank you. 🙂

        Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      January 12, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      I like how Maureen described your poem. She nailed it.

      Reply
    • Prasanta says

      January 12, 2017 at 10:43 pm

      Concise and very clever!

      Reply
  3. Donna Falcone says

    January 9, 2017 at 11:57 am

    Maureen… yep… I love this one even more today. 🙂 So glad to see it featured here.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      January 9, 2017 at 12:24 pm

      Thank you, Donna.

      Reply
  4. Prasanta says

    January 11, 2017 at 2:23 am

    Horizon

    Stride toward golden
    Thin thread ahead, where earth’s lines
    Meet vast, open sky

    Life’s journey – pacing
    Toward Imaginary
    And visible ends

    Reply
    • Donna Falcone says

      January 11, 2017 at 1:33 pm

      I love the golden thin thread you have created here. 🙂

      Reply
      • Prasanta says

        January 12, 2017 at 10:39 pm

        Thank you, Donna. 🙂

        Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      January 12, 2017 at 9:53 pm

      “Imaginary And visible ends.” Your poem feels like an invitation to experience life this way. I like it. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • Prasanta says

        January 12, 2017 at 10:39 pm

        Very kind of you, Heather. Thank you.

        Reply
  5. Monica Sharman says

    January 11, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    His face
    was like what lies

    an extra curve behind the horizon—

    breaking through purples and blues:
    shades of red, the origin
    hidden behind that undefined line

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      January 12, 2017 at 9:55 pm

      The extra curve draws me in. Thank you, Monica.

      Reply
    • Prasanta says

      January 12, 2017 at 10:40 pm

      Lovely piece, Monica. I like it.

      Reply
  6. Debbie says

    January 14, 2017 at 4:50 pm

    Eyes focused,
    I am watching you in all your glory
    My mind wanders,
    Do you see me,
    I am far from the place I call home
    I watch you as you settle for the day
    Your beauty has followed me
    Eyes focused
    I thank you for sharing the day
    I thank you for sharing in your exit to slumber
    I drift into my own peace
    I thank you

    Reply
    • Katie says

      January 28, 2017 at 2:24 pm

      Beautiful and comforting!

      Reply
      • Debbie says

        January 28, 2017 at 2:36 pm

        Thank-you for your kind comment.

        Reply
  7. LINDA REID says

    February 4, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    I’ve seen sunsets like that before-
    where the bright egg-yolk like sun
    gently melts into an orange background
    and the silloetted frame of trees
    gives depth to a mesmerized horizon.

    it brings back thoughts of another
    time and place – another country
    that I saw the same sunset
    and then that time and this time are linked together
    and forever intertwined.

    Linda Reid

    I know I didn’t spell one work correctly-could not find it in the dictionary.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      February 5, 2017 at 12:59 am

      silhouette
      In the winter I see the sunset for much longer and more completely looking out my bay window. It always reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle my hubby and I did years ago of a huge oak silhouetted by a sunset. So beautiful how the colors fade into one another.
      Thank you for sharing your poem:)

      Reply
      • LINDA REID says

        February 5, 2017 at 1:39 pm

        Thank you, Katie and thank you for the spelling.

        Reply
        • Katie says

          February 5, 2017 at 5:05 pm

          You’re welcome, Linda! Funny, but when I pulled out our old Webster’s to find it that page actually had an image of a silhouette by the definition:)

          Reply
    • Donna Falcone says

      February 5, 2017 at 1:54 pm

      I love the feeling of connection that this poem brings to my mind (and heart). That feeling of so many viewpoints for one single, solitary sun. I’m so glad you shared your horizons poem! Thank you. 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Expanding Horizons: Poetry Prompt - says:
    January 16, 2017 at 8:00 am

    […] to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here is a poem from Rick reaching into the expanse of […]

    Reply

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