L Milton Hankins | + Follow Poet |
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Advice To a Young Writer

My friend, write what you know about first-hand
An exciting experience, an unforgettable moment,
Your adventurous trip with your high school band
When you didn’t get back your last dollar you lent,
How you felt running your toes through the sand.

Tell us what you imagined as you dozed off to sleep
About the time you took your first motorcycle ride,
Your experience in beautiful Belize probing the deep
How you felt when you learned a good friend died,
A time when a haunting story made your skin creep.

Don’t forget to explore fantasy and wild imagining
Anything that you can describe and make me feel,
What you thought looking at an ad in a magazine
Your emotions are fodder for an interesting spiel,
We might enjoy thoughts on your first tangerine!

The sky is the limit for subjects you might explore
And, speaking of the sky, clouds are rich material
Importantly, make us want to return for more
Write, write, write – write a never-ending serial
Be interesting; most of all, avoid being a bore. 

Written June 6, 2022

Copyright © L Milton Hankins | Year Posted 2022

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Caren Krutsinger Date: 6/9/2022 1:16:00 AM This is imperative "Be interesting" in writing, in speaking and in life in general! Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/9/2022 8:48:00 AM Absoluterly!

Elaine George Date: 6/7/2022 12:37:00 AM Beautiful example of this form of poetry and great advise for a young writer. Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/7/2022 8:15:00 AM Thank you, Elaine. It's so good to hear from you.

Evelyn Judy Buehler Date: 6/6/2022 8:20:00 PM Milton, your poem contains sage advice, vivid images and beautiful rhyming. What more could one ask for? Well done! :) Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/6/2022 8:22:00 PM Thanks, Evelyn. Oh, I probably left out a lot that could've been said.

Jeff Kyser Date: 6/6/2022 7:48:00 PM I’ve turned out some pretty weird ones, lol. Good advice though, to be sure! Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/6/2022 8:20:00 PM I think all of us have, Jeff. If I went through (and I probably should) and deleted all the junk, I might four or five really good poems here!

Marco Chies Date: 6/6/2022 7:14:00 PM very good quintain. It's amazing how many styles you've mastered, Milton. I know that each of us has our favorite styles (free verse, for me), but mastering several styles is for few and demonstrates how technically prepared you would be to represent us, if that were the case. Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/6/2022 8:21:00 PM Well, it probably goes back into my distant past when I taught creative writing and judged forensics for my English-teaching wife, Marco. Although, I didn't begin to teach all of the methods and formats Poetry Soup gives us.

Paulette Calasibetta Date: 6/6/2022 4:38:00 PM Good advice~awakening the young writers to be observant and experience life through their own lens. Nice write! :)Paulette Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/6/2022 6:42:00 PM Thanks, Paulette, to one who practices these things already and so well!

Regina Mcintosh Date: 6/6/2022 3:27:00 PM Excellent advice.. I'll heed even though I'm old :) God bless you. Love, Gina Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/6/2022 6:43:00 PM Gina, I hate to tell you, but you will never ever grow old in our eyes. Thank you so much. Blessings on you, too.

Tom Cunningham Date: 6/6/2022 3:00:00 PM That is excellent advice Milton, there is so much out there to write about. Tom Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 6/6/2022 3:10:00 PM There is, indeed, Tom. When I talk to young aspiring writers, they often say, "I just don't know what to write about." So, this is just a poem with some of the ideas I share with them