Gavin Bennett's Blog: 2016 April PAD Challenge: Day 11

Sometimes you just have to say it: I’m having a Monday. They happen. Once every seven days. Let’s poem anyway.

For today’s prompt, write a defensive poem. The first thing that springs to my mind is getting defensive about an accusation, which may or may not be true. The next thing I think about might be people or animals defending themselves. Or defense in sports. Or defense in the court room. Or well, there’s a lot to defend in this world.

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Click to continue.

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Here’s my attempt at a Defensive Poem:

“The Older I Get”

The less, I’ve noticed, I tend
to defend myself, though, I
admit, I do speak up more
for those who seem, whether
they do or not, to need it,
and I’m not sure if that makes
me wiser or just a guy who
sticks his nose in places
it doesn’t belong, and, as long
as I’m on the subject, I’m
pretty sure I could’ve beat
you at cards if the deck
wasn’t stacked against me.

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Robert Lee Brewer can get defensive about himself and other people. Hey, it happens. But he has learned that it’s never a good idea to engage in a defensive argument with people who aren’t really interested in understanding his side of things. It never ends well; in fact, it never ends if a person gets caught in one of these loops. Better to move on to folks and projects that will be productive.

Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community, which means he gets to do a million things to help writers find more success with their writing (including this blog). He’s also the author of Solving the World’s Problems (Press 53).

Connect with him on Twitter @RobertLeeBrewer.

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