Written for: dVerse Poets Pub – Poetics Last Lines (posted by Mish)
“You have 3 options for this poetic prompt.
#1. Choose a book that is physically close to you right now. Ok, it might not be the first one within reach. I will never know. Turn to the LAST page. Read the last one or two lines. Let these words stir your poetic soul and write a poem. Grab your cookbook, encyclopedia (if you still own one), novel, poetry book, biography, magazine, instruction manual, whatever your heart desires.
OR
#2. Choose one of the quotes from above….you know, from those books I still haven’t read yet!
OR
#3. Choose one of these closing lines from an assortment of best sellers. Links for more can be found below.
“After all, tomorrow is another day.”
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
“He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.”
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
“Are there any questions?”
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
“I went on my way. A stormy wind rattled the scrap-iron in the ruins, whistling and howling through the charred cavities of the windows. Twilight came on. Snow fell from the darkening, leaden sky.”
The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945, Wladyslaw Szpilman
“And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever.”
Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
These and others that may inspire can be found here:
https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/the-best-100-closing-lines-from-books/123681
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/last-line-book_n_4733190
Please include the quote, book and author in your response. It may be a great share. You can incorporate the lines (quoted) directly into your poem but that’s up to you. Many of these lines could take you on a path of prose. A haibun might be more suitable, but you can also think outside of the box, taking these “last lines” to a completely new, unrelated topic, using any style of poetry you wish.”
Lightning flashes,
illuminating the small
objects they live with
every day. Somehow the
figurines, vases, and
glass look garish in
lightning’s luminescence.
Perhaps they have outgrown
this house, and each other.
“For nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura–and
so goodbye.”~Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie
purplepeninportland 