I was at a poetry reading recently, when the hostess started handing out pads of papers and markers, telling us to write something, right there, on the spot, to be read that very night. Twenty minutes later this came out. I'm told it's good, but I just think it's silly.

This Is How Badly I Need a

Prompt

Giando Sigurani

See, I don't like being put on the spot,

Without some kind of springboard or starting thought;

Great writing, I promise, this will be not,

This is how badly I need a prompt.

Today I saw nothing of interest or worth,

Just an internet clip of an animal birth;

I found nothing inspiring, nothing austere,

Unless you count hipsters with really bad hair;

I could produce something that could fill you with fright,

But I'll need a bit more than “here's a pen, now write.”

I could write something epic or happy or sad,

But improv's no skill that I've ever had.

I could write you the highest calibre fiction,

But not if you leave me without a direction;

Do you see what you've done? See what you've wrought?

This is exactly why I need a prompt.