KHD I totally agree! Don't get me wrong; poetry is often rather serious business, but I would think titling a poem with its last line would be much like launching a joke on its punch line. Where's the fun in that?

KHD May I share a collaborative heroic sonnet crown? miamidade.gov/global/governm…

KHD Anthony Etherin and I co-wrote two sonnets, one in Spanish, one in English, that are anagrams and translations of each other. They are about my wife’s love of moving furniture within the house. (I prefer to move letters.) I loved that collaboration!

Please share with me your favorite collaborative poems

Something “working” doesn’t mean it’s the absolute best choice—which is part of the fun!

Perhaps this is why people are afraid to post one-liner poetry advice. 🙃

I stand by what I said and try to share advice that I would’ve loved to have heard when I started writing.

Good distinction—I mean repeating the first line as the title. I love when I poem continues directly on from the title—which immediately gives us a sense of “in media res” that makes us feel already invested in the poem!

Furthermore, the Prompt Poem of the Month I just shared reminds me of one of my favorites from Kunitz (Academy of American Poets TY)

From the instant I first read it, this poem jumped out of submission queue to me. I can still feel the line of dialogue echoing and it utilizes the prompt (listed after the poem) so brilliantly.

Here’s the Prompt Poem of the Month Rattle

rattle.com/credit-by-jame…

If you think about a poem’s title as a label, you’re missing out!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

State surplus
peanut butter,
cheese, & smiles
for Mr. Sullivan’s
monthly inspection
to certify our poverty …

—James Washington Jr.
rattle.com/credit-by-jame…

Friends don’t let friends title their poem with the opening line.

Friends don’t let friends title their poem with the last line.

Being too results-oriented is one of life’s trickiest mouse traps

when you start to realize this the rejections tend to hurt or mean less...

People tend to overestimate their odds of acceptance as well as the significance of submissions being declined.

A #TaylorSwift soundtrack to a 13hr trip led to this #poem about studying the greats then letting them go to blaze your own trail, if you will. Thanks for the Rattle open line Timothy Green and KHD, and thank you Taylor Swift for the inspiration. What a Muse!🙏

Tonight on the Rattlecast Rattle (8pm EST) we’ll announce the prompt poem of the month after the featured guest, Timothy Liu. I’m so excited to share the winning poem and listen to Rattlers read!

Here’s my golden prose poem which *may* have turned into a haibun: