Sevena Flores' blog: 2017 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 12

Here we go: A dozen poems (or more for some of you overachievers) in a dozen days! Let’s keep breaking those lines.

For today’s prompt, write a transformative poem. A poem in which someone or something transforms. Could be a physical transformation–emotional, mental, or metaphorical transformation. If you have some other idea, feel free to transform the prompt to your will. And when in doubt, write a poem about Transformers.

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Here’s my attempt at a Transformative Poem:

“In December”

In December, I gave up soda pop,
because I had to make a change, and that
seemed like a simple place to start, or stop
after getting to the place where my fat
made it hard to read stories at bedtime
or climb the stairs without losing my breath,
feeling like an exhausted, wheezing mime
who wondered how close he had moved to death.
I started to run in January,
February, March, and April before
hurting myself and then thinking, “Poor me.”
May through August were an up and down chore;
Finally, I made it to November,
will run a marathon in December.

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Robert Lee Brewer

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.

Though it’s been an up and down, zigzagging journey, he’s physically transformed himself from this same time last year, losing more than 70 pounds, able to climb stairs and read bedtime stories without losing his breath, and even run races again. And yes, he is planning to run his first ever marathon in December (exactly 360 days after taking the first “step” by giving up soda pop).

Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.

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