Poetry Prompt: Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk
It is usually a good idea to avoid idioms in your creative writing. Most times, the terms have been over done, and idioms do very little to add value to creative endeavors. The exception to this is when the idiom is the topic or focus of the creative work.

For example, Nin Andrews uses the phrase, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” to write a beautiful poem about her grandmother. My poem ‘Blessings’ uses the idiom, “far cry from.”

Prompt: Choose an idiom and write a poem focusing on that phrase. Does the idiom bring an event or person to mind? Do you find irony in the phrase? Does the phrase make you feel happy, sad, or angry? Why?

Form Challenge: If you feel like you need an extra challenge, write a rondeau.

Sample Idioms: Kill two birds with one stone; a hot potato; take with a grain of salt; Elvis has left the building; see eye to eye; in the heat of the moment; a penny for your thoughts

Katerina Canyon served as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, California from 2000 to 2003. She has a MALD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a BA in English, Creative Writing, and International Studies from Saint Louis University. She has been published in the New York Times and Huffington Post. Her most recent poetry was published in Black Napkin. Her latest collection Changing the Lines is currently available on Amazon. You can learn more about Katerina at PoeticKat.com.
['Katerina Canyon']
['Writing Prompts', 'Poem', 'Creative Writing', 'Creativity', 'Poetry']