The Story Behind Responsibilities
One night at FBC open mic, as I was heading up to the stage, my friend Tim, who was up after me, jokingly asked me to stall. I said “Yeah, I’ll read the dictionary or something”.
That got me thinking, as I often do when it comes to poetry. Random thoughts dig in and make me wonder about what I can do with them. This time, I wondered if I could write a poem as a series of dictionary entries.
I sat down one day later that week, grabbed my dictionary and thesaurus, and started flipping through them. I had the idea in my head for another parenting poem. As I found the entries, I jotted them down, then set to work getting them to rhyme.
Some of the entries in Responsibilities are straight out of the dictionary or thesaurus. Others were tweaked a little to get them to rhyme. In the end, I had a dictionary poem. Not only did I have that, but I had a reminder of what’s important in life. Taking care of my family, keeping them entertained, and keeping a roof over our heads were all part of it.
Never dismiss any idea you have when writing. You never know when it might lead to something new.
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