Find My Muse » First Lines

Five First Lines for Mother Earth

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:23:14 +0000

Reading secrets in a flower, touching

I was young when she was young and we

What color is the sky on your planet, Andrew?

A handful of earth, a packet of seeds

This is where the children play today today

Some first lines to inspire your muse

admin — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:04:22 +0000

Sometimes all you need is a great first line. One that leaves you hanging. One that makes you think. One that puzzles you. Taking off from a first line as a writing prompt can be a great way to feed your muse something a little different than her usual diet. Here’s a snack tray of first lines for your muse to nosh on.

my father was never in the picture

four years after the day you told me

your breath is always

it was only a red jacket but

opening like the petals of

there is no strength in having

Have fun – and share! If you use one of these first lines to start a poem of your own, post a link back to us in a comment so others can see what you’ve done!

What can you do with…

admin — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:51:32 +0000

…one of these first lines. I’m just making them up as I go along. Use them if you can…

in the wild days of

if you could tell me what and where

sara, you only have my heart

dancing on the heads of an infinity of angels

you could never

one line

admin — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:02:41 +0000

I want to swab your cotton mouth with my tongue.

this doesn’t really fit in anything i’m writing right now, but i like it.

maybe you can do something with this…

admin — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 18:49:44 +0000

I’ve just been scribbling a lot the last couple of days. I’ve had so much mental stimulous that I almost can’t actually formulate anything new except snippets of ideas. But this line (lines?) keeps bouncing into my brain. It’s not ready to be born into a whole poem, but maybe someone else can coax it out.

He has always been
New York
to me…
the place I assume I
will someday end up
or always wonder
what if?

it may seem rude

admin — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:41:08 +0000

stake out your local open mic venue. sit in the back and just jot down fragments that make your ears prick up. if your ears don’t normally prick up then either (a) your venue sucks, (b) you’re genetically deformed, or (c) you’re not listening close enough.* take 1 of those fragments and use it as a first line.

1 night at the Cantab Lounge, I wrote down something and this poem emerged from it. feel free to steal “I dream the bomb” or, better, steal your own first line.

If I Should Die Before I Wake
I Pray the Lord my Soul to Take

I dream the bomb
itâ€™s hard not to
with Cold War parents
A Canticle for Leibowitz
the scene in Terminator 2
thatâ€™s all Sarah Connor
fence shockwave

I dream the bomb
machined graphite
crosshair fins
ball blunt shark nose

I dream
the bombâ€™s energies
flash fire
whistle crescendo
tear silk screen skin
before I wake

*remember, C’s usually the Correct answer.

been bouncing around in my head

admin — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 03:33:42 +0000

Here’s a potential first line for a piece. It may also fit somewhere else in a piece better:

“You really know how to push my buttons. I have to move them every so often just to get through the day.”

Some Lines to Get You Started

admin — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:55:51 +0000

One of my favorite exercises on a long-ago BBS Door was a game of First Lines. The rules were simple. One member would post some lines that might make good first lines for a poem – and from there on they were fair game. Any other writer could write a poem using any one (or more) of the first lines. When you were done, you posted your ‘first lines poem’ in the category for others to read. It was always fun seeing what people came up with – and how different they all were. So… a handful of first lines to tantalize your muse…

Who would believe that the sky is so heavy?

when i pray, first i

When you were every

Kickstart Your Muse…

admin — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:35:50 +0000

Can’t seem to get started? Here are some first lines to get you started. There are no rules – put a first line in the middle of a poem, riff off of it or use it to kickstart a freewrite exercise…