introvert — writing my grief — Rader Ward Foundation

For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. That is, take one (or more) of your poems from earlier this month and remix it. Make a free verse poem into a villanelle. Or condense a sestina into a haiku or senryu. Or forget form. Just completely jumble up the words…or respond to the original poem(s). As always, have fun with it. — Robert Lee Brewer, Writer’s Digest

It was only two days ago that I wrote this one — Social Studies, based on some concept using the word social — and then commented that I’d like to come back to it later and rework it. Surprise! I guess now is my chance. (Note: I started, and made one attempt that turned out to be still very much kind of wandering and pointless. Somehow it ended up talking about Dr. Phil? What do I really want to say? Maybe distilling down into a haiku will bring the idea into relief.)

an introvert faces the pandemic

social isolation
is hard for reasons other
than being alone

Social Studies

Somehow I made it through school
and even through my 20s
without realizing I was an introvert
and understanding what that meant

I've become much more introspective
in the decades since then
I like knowing myself
and what makes me the way I am,
the instructions that explain
how I operate most efficiently.

I’m social in my own way,
kind of awkward,
not good in crowds,
happy alone,
but getting kind of tired of isolation.

The social studies —
the coping skills I must have developed
over those years
when I wasn’t conscious of what my needs were
— are paying off now
in these most unsociable times.

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Social (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles could include: “Social Distancing at the Grocery Store,” “Social Media Trolls,” “Social Club,” and/or “Social Distortion.” Heck, flipping the script to come up with a title like “Ice Cream Social” would totally work too.

Remember: These prompts are just springboards; you have the freedom to jump in any direction you want. In other words, it’s more important to write a new poem than to stick to the prompt. — Robert Lee Brewer, Writer’s Digest

Social Studies

Somehow I made it through school
and even through my 20s
without realizing I was an introvert
and understanding what that meant

I've become much more introspective
in the decades since then
I like knowing myself
and what makes me the way I am,
the instructions that explain
how I operate most efficiently.

I’m social in my own way,
kind of awkward,
not good in crowds,
happy alone,
but getting kind of tired of isolation.

The social studies —
the coping skills I must have developed
over those years
when I wasn’t conscious of what my needs were
— are paying off now
in these most unsociable times.

I think there’s a good idea here, but it needs some development. Maybe in May when I’m not writing a poem a day, I can return to a couple of these and see what more I can do with them.