Gavin Bennett's Blog: 2016 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 22

For today’s prompt, we’re on our fourth two-for-Tuesday prompt. So pick one, combine both prompts into one poem, or write two (or more) different poems. Here are the prompts:

Write a sharing poem. A poem about somebody sharing something. Or a poem about receiving something that was shared. Or witnessing an act of sharing. Or…
Write a selfish poem. We can also consider this the Ebenezer Scrooge poem (pre-ghosts).

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Here’s my attempt at a Sharing and/or Selfish poem:

“Teenage Confession”

My parents say I should share more; they say,
“You never talk to us any more. We
ask you questions about your day, and you
say things like, ‘Good,’ ‘Okay,’ or ‘Whatever.'”

My parents say I used to talk a lot,
like all the freaking time, like I would talk
myself to sleep, like I was a magnet
for words and they would then come out my mouth.

My parents don’t get any argument
from me. I remember talking to them,
spilling my life story, and hearing, “Not
now,” “Be quiet,” or “Pester someone else.”

My parents say I should share more; they say
it’s good to share, so I’ll share: Everything
I learned about being selfish and not
caring about others was shared by them.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of the poetry collection, Solving the World’s Problems (Press 53). He edits Poet’s Market and Writer’s Market, in addition to writing a free weekly WritersMarket.com newsletter and a poetry column for Writer’s Digest magazine.