Writing Prompt

Pier 21 Prompts

Ninth prompt: Zeno Zenith

Rüdesheim, Germany. Photo by author.

Hello again, fair readers and writers of My Fair Lighthouse! It’s the 21st of September, which means it’s time to reveal the next Pier 21 Prompt.

This week, our own Donna Cowden introduced me to a form of poetry I had never heard of before: the Zeno.

A Zeno poem is a 10-line verse form with a repeating syllable count of

8
4
2
1
4
2
1
4
2
1

The one-syllable words rhyme with each other. Here is Donna’s poem in case you haven’t read it yet:

The Calming Melody of the Train

Therefore, I prompt you to create your own Zeno poem for this month! You may decide to write one, a chain of them, a series, or even a piece of fiction or personal essay that features one or multiple.

Please be sure to include the tag ‘Prompt Response’ and the type of submission: Poetry/Personal Essay/Fiction. You may choose to add ‘Pier 21 Prompt Response’ as your subtitle or kicker.