Prompt #11: Tell a Story

I frequently find myself inspired by another poem.  It’s the impetus behind this series of prompts in April.  I wanted new material of my own to work from, and I also knew I would gain new energy from my fellow poets.  Acknowledging that, I wanted to pull a couple of my favorite poems to share during the month.  You can use this as your prompt in several ways:

1. Tell a colorful story of your own, keeping with an unusual statement or piece of dialog
2. Respond to this poem, perhaps seeing these two characters several hours later
3. Riff off of Elvis-have fun with it.

From Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems 2002

Elvis Kissed Me by T.S. Kerrigan (327)

“Elvis kissed me once,” she swears,
sitting in a neon dive
ordering her drinks in pairs.

Two stools down you nurse a beer,
sensing easy pickings here.

“Back in sixty-eight,” she sighs,
smoothing back her yellow hair.
Teared mascara smears her eyes.

Drawing near, you claim you’ve met,
offer her a cigarette.

“Call me cheap,” she sobs, “or bad,
say that decent men dismissed me,
say I’ve lost my looks, but add,
Elvis kissed me.”

Afterword or PS

I’m just adding this lovely video because it seems fitting: