Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poetry Prompt: Angry Poem Stacks

By Callie Feyen 9 Comments


I am writing this piece on the 33rd day of the partial government shutdown. My husband, a man who quietly does his work but probably has more knowledge about water and its capabilities than anyone in the universe, is furloughed. He has not been paid in over four weeks.

I am worried. I am sad. Most of all, I am angry. I am so angry that I am jealous of the kindergarteners I see who throw themselves on the floor, yell, scream, and run down the hallways halting all school business until what it is they need to say and feel is complete.

I have tried to write about this, but everything that comes out is disrespectful. It is whiny, with no form at all. So the other day, when  I was mapping out poetry posts for Monday prompts, I came across L.L. Barkat’s Jealous Poem Stacks. I clicked on it, hoping to find a way to feel something other than anger. Instead, I learned she welcomes these emotional “red flags.”

“It’s true. I love this red flag: jealousy,” she admits in her first sentence. She goes on to write, “Jealousy is that piquing of the soul: ‘I’m not happy. I want. Why not me?’ It’s a key which I never, ever throw away (nor chide myself for). You could say I honor emotions for what they try to tell me — rather than judging them, feeling guilty, or sweeping them aside. As humans, we’re built to feel. I like to pay attention.”

Okay, fine, I thought. I’ll pay attention to my anger. Now what? I need to do something with it. Enter the Jealous Poem Stacks. L.L. writes down words she loved from poems she was jealous of. She makes a stack — not a poem — but, as she writes, it is the beginning of something.

I liked that. Creating the beginning of something sounded good, playful even. I’d just received a copy of my friend Melissa Reeser Poulin’s new chapbook, Rupture, Light, and thought maybe she’d have some words that would help me name how I feel. I used that book and Frederick Buechner’s Speak What We Feel: Not What We Ought to Say, a book my dad gave me for Christmas in 2001, to help me with my Angry Poem Stack. What I came up with is a mash-up of words from Melissa, Buechner, Mark Twain, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Each carries work,

whether it fits

in a lifetime

or not

The twilight chases round me,

My head is bowed before

the universe

You don’t need

my worries,

unskilled, unwilling

to wait through

the night

By and by, as the days and

weeks go on, first he

misses this, then that,

then the other thing.

Does nobody see?

they swallow the night

the gray wakes on my chest

I shake with it

In the introduction to his book, Buechner writes, “It takes a certain kind of unguardedness, for one thing, a willingness to run risks, including the risk of making a fool of yourself.” I believe when he says it, he means writing vulnerably. He calls writers who do this “vein-opening writers.” And in Melissa’s words about rumination, on bringing her chapbook forth, she writes, “I felt that I would not be able to write new poems until these poems had arrived safely in the world.”

I understand both of these sentiments: the urgency to write and the acceptance that I will make myself a fool. It seems that to pay attention, to be swept away with the heftiness of emotion, is the foolish beginning we all need in order to create the story that must be told.

Try It

You don’t have to be angry or jealous to write a poem stack, but this week pay attention to an emotion that is difficult to express or feel. Read through your favorite poems and books, and pull words and phrases that help you begin something.

Featured Poem

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s one from Laura Brown that we enjoyed:

Cabin on a hill.
Two people and one dog walk
their land’s wild edges.

—Laura Lynn Brown

Photo by Peter Taylor, Creative Commons via Flickr. Post by Callie Feyen, author of Twirl: my life with stories, writing & clothes and The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet.

Browse more poetry prompts

A Writer’s Dream Book

Callie Feyen has such a knack for telling personal stories that transcend her own life. In my years in publishing, I’ve seen how hard that is—but she makes it seem effortless, and her book is such a pleasure. It’s funny, it’s warm, it’s enlightening. Callie writes about two of the most important things in life—books and clothes—in utterly delightful and truly moving ways. I’m impressed by how non-gimmicky and fresh her writing is. I love this book.

—Sarah Smith, Executive Editor Prevention magazine; former Executive Editor Redbook magazine

BUY TWIRL ON KINDLE NOW

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Callie Feyen
Callie Feyen
Callie Feyen likes Converse tennis shoes and colorful high heels, reading the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the Twilight series. Her favorite outfit has always been a well-worn pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, but she wants hoop skirts with loads of tulle to come back into style. Her favorite line from literature comes from Sharon Creech’s Absolutely Normal Chaos: “I don’t know who I am yet. I’m still waiting to find out.” Feyen has served as the At-Risk Literacy Specialist in the Ypsilanti Public Schools and is the author of Twirl: my life with stories, writing & clothes and The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet.
Callie Feyen
Latest posts by Callie Feyen (see all)
  • Poetry Prompt: Courage to Follow - July 24, 2023
  • Poetry Prompt: Being a Pilgrim and a Martha Stewart Homemaker - July 10, 2023
  • Poetry Prompt: Monarch Butterfly’s Wildflower - June 19, 2023

Filed Under: Blog, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Writing Life, writing prompt, writing prompts, Writing Tips

Try Every Day Poems...

About Callie Feyen

Callie Feyen likes Converse tennis shoes and colorful high heels, reading the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the Twilight series. Her favorite outfit has always been a well-worn pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, but she wants hoop skirts with loads of tulle to come back into style. Her favorite line from literature comes from Sharon Creech’s Absolutely Normal Chaos: “I don’t know who I am yet. I’m still waiting to find out.” Feyen has served as the At-Risk Literacy Specialist in the Ypsilanti Public Schools and is the author of Twirl: my life with stories, writing & clothes and The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet.

Comments

  1. Megan Willome says

    February 4, 2019 at 9:06 am

    Linking to this in the Writing Toward Joy workshop, Callie. Thanks for being so timely. 🙂

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      February 12, 2019 at 1:58 pm

      Thanks, Megan!

      Reply
  2. Maureen says

    February 4, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    They storm and they thunder
    the stars amassed
    on the blanket of the sky
    their distress
    I hear in my voice
    contagious with questions
    shaking with fear
    so tired and worn

    you no longer listen

    departure
    cannot be described
    till the day
    the road of love has changed

    The words above come from a number of poems in ‘Gathering the Tide: An Anthology of Arabian Gulf Poetry’ (Ithaca Press, 2011).

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      February 12, 2019 at 1:58 pm

      I’ve always been curious and apprehensive (or maybe ashamed is the right word) about my anxiety toward asking questions. I don’t understand it, but I can’t stop the feeling that comes over me when a question begins to bubble within. Your line, “contagious with questions” articulates this feeling, and being able to understand how I feel makes it easier for me to continue to ask.

      Reply
  3. Monica Sharman says

    February 4, 2019 at 4:13 pm

    Where it met a curve in the gravelly road
    the wagon, too fast, turned enough to teeter
    for just a moment on two rusted wheels —
    a moment long enough to throw me,
    keep me moving on the tangent line before the curve
    onto the rashing dirt of a road.
    Take me to another poverty,
    a fellow slave,
    a new escape,
    and circle me
    back on my own
    new roads.

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      February 12, 2019 at 1:53 pm

      I have been thinking about this line for a time now: “Take me to another poverty.” What a startling command, and to think of it as a “new escape.” I am wondering now about poverty and escape and the beauty that can be found in it.

      Reply
  4. rob kistner says

    February 5, 2019 at 9:06 pm

    I now move in the world unseen
    I am transparent
    a fading glimpse
    caught in the darkened corner
    of an ever dimming eye

    where once I blocked the sun
    I am but a shadow
    moving between shadows
    at the edge of light
    without form

    once a voice
    that thundered ‘cross the distance
    gripped every ear to listen
    in so doing was well heard
    now hardly but a whisper

    my footsteps
    shook the ground in passing
    now leave but faint a trace
    barely form and then are gone
    as if I’ve never been

    yet here I am
    worn thin and weary
    not strength to hold the hands of time
    not sound to bid a fair goodbye
    quickly disappearing

    dissolving into the dust of age
    gone before I left

    rob kistner © 2019

    Reply
    • Callie Feyen says

      February 12, 2019 at 1:54 pm

      “caught in the corner/of an ever dimming eye” – ah, what sorrow but what an image!

      Reply
  5. Pranjulaa Singh says

    February 18, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    My email beeps.
    Its my stalker again.
    How many times?
    How many times?
    Would it be?
    Before there is no crease?
    How many months will pass?
    You leave my past.
    How many roads shall we cross?
    before we go our separate ways.
    leave me.
    let me be.
    I am tired of hiding.
    I want to shine.
    It is time for me to be me.
    Leave me.
    Let me be.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our May Menu

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

The Graphic Novel

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

How to Write Poetry

Your Comments

  • Glynn on World War II Had Its Poets, Too
  • Sandra Fox Murphy on World War II Had Its Poets, Too
  • Glynn on Poets and Poems: Kelly Belmonte and “The Mother of All Words”
  • Bethany R. on Poets and Poems: Kelly Belmonte and “The Mother of All Words”

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2025 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy