Day 15 - If __________ Were An Umbrella

Image by George Hodan
on Public Domain Pictures

As I pondered this prompt, I wondered about the usefulness of umbrellas. I rarely use them as I seem to get more wet from trying to close them when I get in the car than I would have if I had just walked in the rain. So what good are umbrellas?

Umbrellas offer shelter from the elements, both sun and rain. However, they become bent and distorted in the wind. They are, at least to some degree, an imperfect protector. The original version of this prompt was "If Love Were an Umbrella", but given my less than perfect experiences with both love and umbrellas, I wanted to leave it a bit more open.

What protects you like an umbrella? What shields you? What covers you?

Explore these questions in a 10 minute free write and find what emerges for you. 

WORD PROMPTS:

umbrella

shield

shelter

cover

protection

Remember that our prompts are only suggestions - go wherever the muse takes you.

In the meantime, read other participants' poems, share the #OctPoWriMo hashtag on social media, and add a link to your own poem in the comments below.

Amy McGrath is a poet, fiction/non-fiction writer, and visual artist. She is a volunteer at The Muse Writer’s Center in Norfolk, VA and a co-facilitator of the Poets on the Page blog and Facebook group. When she’s not writing or painting, she has been known to appear in local community theater musicals and occasionally shows up for karaoke nights. She is currently painting a series of portraits of her ancestors, both biological and adopted, and she is working on her outline for this year’s NaNoWriMo project. She is the mother of two teenage boys and lives with her husband in Virginia Beach.