Every parent knows the endless “why?” of a curious child. And everyone who’s ever used a search engine has been sucked down the rabbit hole, themselves, beginning with a simple “why?” Ever spend hours following intriguing links and breadcrumbs, only to realize you never did get the answer to your original question–or, if you did, you got so many different answers that they were all meaningless, and you were left just as clueless as when you started?
The Writer’s Digest November PAD prompt, today, was to write a “why blank” poem. As with yesterday’s prompt, I have one serious and one smart-ass poetic response. That was the intention, but now I’m not sure which is which. Perhaps both are really quite serious, after all.
Why?
Why ask “why?” when every question’s met with punditry from tyros and tyrants? Vast libraries lie within your grasp, and graze your curious fingertips to yank you down, down, down a winding maze, the dusty stacks where knowledge lives until you realize (hours later) that you have always had the answers to all the questions—save one. You still don’t know the answer to the question: “Why?”
Why Blank?
"Why blank?" the teacher asked, confused. The boy replied, "You said we ought to write an essay, what we thought of summers off, or flying kites, or looking deep into the eyes that stare at us from our reflection in the mirror." The teacher nodded. "And?" She held the pristine sheet of paper to the light. The child sighed. "I've never known a summer off, the grass grows faster than I do, and there are weeds to pull. Nor have I ever flown a kite-- though some have told me that I ought to do, I don't know how. And there is no one looking back but me, outside the window pane or from the mirrored glass above the sink. His silence tells a lonely tale, and even I-- who longs to have a friend-- grow bored. You see? My mind is dull, just like the other teacher said-- uninteresting. And that," the sad-faced child said, "is why it's blank."
Sometimes you start out writing one thing and it veers off into unexpected territory. Don’t judge – just go with it and see which rabbit hole it leads to.
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