The Poetry Stash: 21August2024

Thoughts by Myra Viola Wilds

Today’s poem, “Thoughts” by Myra Viola Wilds, is in the public domain.

Thoughts by Myra Viola Wilds

What kind of thoughts now, do you carry
   In your travels day by day
Are they bright and lofty visions, 
   Or neglected, gone astray?

Matters not how great in fancy, 
    Or what deeds of skill you’ve wrought; 
Man, though high may be his station, 
    Is no better than his thoughts. 

Catch your thoughts and hold them tightly, 
   Let each one an honor be; 
Purge them, scourge them, burnish brightly, 
   Then in love set each one free. 

Prompts:

1.	Begin with “What kind of thoughts now, do you carry…”
2.	Begin with “set each one free…”
3.	Draft a poem that explores thoughts and behavior.
4.	Draft a poem that has a formal structure with quatrains with end-rhyming lines.

5. Photo by Tara Winstead via pexels.com. Use the image as a writing prompt.

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