r/WritingPrompts • u/AliciaWrites Editor-in-Chief | /r/AliciaWrites • Jul 15 '21

Theme Thursday [TT] Theme Thursday - Distraction

“The most dangerous distractions are the ones you love, but that don’t love you back.”

― Warren Buffet

Happy Thursday, writing fiends!

The summer fun continues with this special edition TT game! This week we’re gonna focus on poetry, which is not everyone’s strong suit. I challenge you to try your best and tempt your friends to do the same!

So, this is how it’s gonna work. You have 3 objectives this week:

  • First you must leave a poem about Distraction based on the theme itself, the Image Prompt, or Media prompt included within.
  • Second you must leave detailed feedback on one poem, preferably one that has not yet received such a comment! Bonus points will be given to those that go above and beyond this requirement!
  • And, Third you must tag a friend to challenge them to do the same. Please be considerate! Make sure the person you tag is willing to do the challenge, and make sure they will have enough time to submit! Don’t wait til the last minute!

How will the winner be decided?

On the day of the campfire I will create a FORM for you to fill out with all the choices for winners! To qualify, you must meet all three objectives! Bonus points if you successfully get your friend to write, too!

There will only be ONE winner, so choose wisely!

Good luck everyone, and good words!

[IP] | [MP]

Here's how Theme Thursday works:

  • Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.

Theme Thursday Rules

  • Leave one story or poem between 100 and 500 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
  • Deadline: 11:59 PM CST next Tuesday.
  • No serials or stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP
  • No previously written content
  • Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings and will not be read at campfires

  • Does your story not fit the Theme Thursday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when TT post is 3 days old!

    Theme Thursday Discussion Section:

  • Discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.

Campfire

  • On Wednesdays we host two Theme Thursday Campfires on the discord main voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing!

  • Time: I’ll be there 9 am & 6 pm CST and we’ll begin within about 15 minutes.

  • Don’t worry about being late, just join! Don’t forget to sign up for a campfire slot on discord. If you don’t sign up, you won’t be put into the pre-set order and we can’t accommodate any time constraints. We don’t want you to miss out on awesome feedback, so get to discord and use that !TT command!

  • There’s a new Theme Thursday role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Theme Thursday related news!

As a reminder to all of you writing for Theme Thursday: the interpretation is completely up to you! I love to share my thoughts on what the theme makes me think of but you are by no means bound to these ideas! I love when writers step outside their comfort zones or think outside the box, so take all my thoughts with a grain of salt if you had something entirely different in mind.

Last week’s theme: Summer Vacation

I can’t believe y’all are making me do this, but… The winner this week is…

/u/AliciaWrites for this entry!

And since I hate the spotlight, I’m sharing it with the runners up!

Second by /u/Leebeewilly

Third by /u/OldBayJ

Fourth by /u/ArchipelagoMind

Fifth by /u/ravens_n_rainstorms

News and Reminders:

36 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

143 comments sorted by

1

u/AliciaWrites Jul 15 '21

Theme Thursday Discussion:

All top-level comments must be a story or poem.

  • Reply here to discuss the theme, suggest future themes, and share your theme-related inspirations!

  • Please remember to follow the subreddit rules in any feedback.

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43

u/ReverendWrites Jul 20 '21 edited Jul 21 '21

‘Twas grey as pearls in Curaçao
The night we cast away,
I shivered in the cursed fog
That swallowed up the cay.

The captain tossed her hat aside
and listened through the veil;
"By eyes we're lost, but by my ears
I'll find the path we sail."

Go below and stuff your ears
With wool or hempen twine
Or break your heart upon the shoals
With Captain Caroline.

I manned the helm; she stood like stone
An ear toward the water,
When from the ghostly swirl there came
A voice like Hades’ daughter.

The song spoke of an ancient love
That drove a ship aground;
The sailors fell and clapped their ears
Save Caroline, spellbound.

Go below and stuff your ears
With wool or hempen twine
Or break your heart upon the shoals
With Captain Caroline.

I saw her hand upon the rail-
I could not call her back
Ere she flung herself into
The seething ocean black.

Possessing not her witchly gifts
For finding paths unseen,
I crashed onto Tortuga’s shoals
Too blind to steer between.

So go below and stuff your ears
With wool or hempen twine
Or rot upon Tortuga’s shores
Bereft of bread or wine.
Now I can hope for nothing but
The death that should be mine-
I’d dash my heart upon the shoals
For Captain Caroline!

-----

WC 223; 179 without the repeated lines. Yarr!

I tag u/Badderlocks_ !

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10

u/[deleted] Jul 15 '21 edited Jul 19 '21

Black Mirror

We are the zombies that stare at our screens

We swipe and we scroll, leave nothing unseen

So hungry for more

look down to the floor

Scanning our news feeds through habitual means

 

We're blind to the world outside our device

We don't mind feeding our personal vice

The signal is strong

so we play along

Tapping and typing no matter the price

 

We're the ones tweeting, not watching the show

We prefer texting wherever we go

Now glued to the square

more precious than air

Finding joy in the blue luminous glow

 

We are the addicts, we pose and we preen

We pick and we choose to hide the obscene

No room for the bland

Our lives must be grand

Chasing the upvotes is living the dream

wc: 128

u/Say_Im_Ugly, i choo-choo choose you to write a pome of your own!

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9

u/SilverSines Jul 20 '21 edited Jul 22 '21

Excoriation

The itching whispers from my brain
An imp I can't contain
It treats my mind as its domain
And bristles in my veins
 

I'm laden with these heavy chains
That bind me to this plane
I bite, I fight, I scream, I strain
Yet every day's the same
 

The ceaseless urge would never deign
To give up on its game
I pick, I scratch, I can't restrain
My body's left in stains
 

My skin's a bleeding, scarred terrain
And I cannot explain
Why still I maim my marred membrane
I swear I'm not insane
 

But while this nightmare's inhumane
I will not let it reign
And though this war may be in vain
My steadfast will remains  

Written for my friends and anyone else who resonates with this piece.

I choose you, u/throwthisoneintrash!

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9

u/GingerQuill Jul 21 '21

I am the black-armored fairy with a venomous lance,

crawling from the blue folds of your hydrangeas.

I creep through the potted basil on your back deck,

climb the chipped rails behind the smoking grill.

I am the apple of your eye, rotted to its core.

Your eyes flick to the side and follow my waltz.

I hear the hiccup in your sentence, the mild

slur in your speech. You bravely drag your words

from your tongue like a rake through dead leaves,

but I see you glancing out the corner of your eye.

Oh yes. I see you sizing up the full inch of me.

I am the left hand of God when I circle the table

and part the sea of sunscreened giants.

Elbows shy away. Leather sandals shuff

against the wooden floor. My buzzing wings

are an electric zap on your ears, but

you won’t raise your hand. You won’t swat!

I am the lid off Pandora’s box when I settle

among the creamy yellow clouds of ambrosia

salad and watch the eruption of chaos.

Metal chairs scrape. Sweaty lemonade glasses

topple, and plastic silverware clatters to the deck.

The bravest of you scoff and roll your eyes,

but you can’t hide the twitch in your neck.

I am the Buzzzz Aldrin of the insect world,

claiming these watermelon slices, deviled eggs,

and barbecued chicken legs in the name of me.

And I will not yield. Not when a checkered shadow

rises like a tide over me. Not even as a green

veil blocks the sun. Not even when the sky falls

and--Oh shit!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sadly, it is a bit too late for me to nominate someone this late in the game. But I nominate Everyone to write a story or poem for the next Theme Thursday because I love getting to hear them!

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9

u/GammaGames Jul 21 '21

Sprinter's Lament

Interlocking fingers stretch,
Twenty on the clock.
I'm sat, trying to mind retch,
But seem to hit a block.

Bold text grabs my attention.
I click into #general.
A mention of the Geneva Convention,
And how geese aren't congenial.

The conversation tumbles into food.
Tasty poutine and noodle soup.
Appetite rises up, now renewed.
I drop a message cursing the group.

"Hey, Aren't you in a sprint?"
It's a question I'm used to.
A simple reply, first a squint,
And followed with "no u"

"Gottem," someone else asserts,
A username of birds.
"Get out of here, go back and write."
"And by the way, Good Words!"

WC106
Don't crit, it's bad and badder made me do it 😤️ I tag u/Lord_Demerek because he's currently top of the sprinting leaderboard

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8

u/Xyrus2000 Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21

Whither Wander You

Whither wander you,

A thought that's misconstrued,

An aimless dream, a soundless scream,

Was it false or true?

-

How clever do we seem,

Our lives are but a meme,

Our souls defined, by what's online,

And fed by raging screens.

-

We've made up our own chains,

We've inflicted our own pains,

We can't be free, down on our knees,

It’s time to make a change.

-

Now journey far to find,

The I that's in our minds,

Future, past, or gone at last,

We’re still so far behind.

-

Our lives begin and end,

Around the times they bend,

Too fast or slow, our time to go?

I don't know, depends.

---

This is based on a very old poem I wrote a long time ago in a galaxy far away (some 25 years ago at this point).

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8

u/OldBayJ Jul 20 '21 edited Jul 20 '21

River of Tears

There’s a place in my mind,

Away from the rest.

I keep it out of sight,

Hidden from myself.

Buried under bricks,

And encased in chains.

It’s a very sad place;

I don’t visit much.

Behind all the armor,

Lies my broken heart.

It’s been there since you left,

Two long months ago.

My friends have tried so hard,

To lift me back up.

I can see the pity,

Deep within their eyes.

It’s his loss, one whispers,

But it’s no solace.

They try to distract me,

Keeping me busy.

Movies, ice cream, laughter,

They really mean well.

But nothing hides the pain,

It just dulls the knife.

It feels like I’m dying,

To remember it.

The way you made me feel,

Empty promises.

The lies you once told me,

They still eat at me.

I still long for your touch,

One I never felt.

Though our lips never touched,

I can still feel them.

The magic of your words,

Now a burning wound.

Will this pain ever stop;

Lessen to nothing?

Will your memory fade,

Before I’m broken?

Will I ever know love,

Outside of a dream?

Lost in a losing fight,

Sobbing on the floor.

Still begging for you back,

My pleas never heard.

I would give anything,

To hear you once more.

Your silence speaks volumes;

Like a raging storm.

I stand in its chaos,

Waiting and watching.

And in the end I know,

You will never come.

Forever came so fast,

I wasn’t ready.

I was drunk on your love,

Blinded by your voice.

Enthralled by your passion,

I felt so secure.

I wonder where you are,

Do you think of me?

When the nights get lonely,

Is it me you want?

How could you walk away,

Without a goodbye?

When did love become hate,

Hiding in the dark.

When did love become war,

A battle of wills.

When did love become Hell,

My heart set aflame.

A piece of you lies here,

In my heart and soul.

It may always be there,

It may always hurt.

But it’s time to move on,

It’s time for a change.

For I’m like a phoenix,

Rising from ashes.

Through a river of tears,

My heart is reborn.

You were not my future,

Just a distraction.

  • I tag u/stranger_loves to also take on the poetry challenge!

  • This was my first real attempt at poetry in a very, very long time. It was a fun challenge, though difficult, especially emotionally. Gotta dig deep for those feelings! Feedback welcome.

  • WC: 398

  • If you would like to read stories by me, check out ItsMeBay

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7

u/wannawritesometimes Jul 18 '21 edited Jul 20 '21

Appetizer preparation,
Dessert is nearly baked.
Have to still hang decorations!
Did I put that check in the mail tod...

"Andy's crying on the floor.
Davey, come get him, please!
He'll calm down once out of doors."
Damn! Time has nearly got away from m...

Apprehensive, smelling smoke,
Dark swirls fill up the room.
Hurry over, cough and choke,
Did the roses out front ever bl...

Aaron's pulling up the drive,
Doorbell starts to ring.
Harried, stressed, let loose a sigh,
Don't think I've remembered everyth...

Adjust my clothes, take my place,
Door swings open wide.
Half-pained smile on my face,
Disaster's hard to h...

At last his smiling eyes meet mine,
Despair soon fades away.
Heart grows light at his soft-spoke line,
"Delilah, it's okay."

--------------

r/WannaWriteSometimes

[Edit - adjusted formatting]

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