“Your Moment of Zen” or “Your Writing Prompt”

Think of a time when you were really uncomfortable
When you grew a pair of hemorrhoids so painful
You were itching to get out of your seat
Annoyance all over your face
Indignation with having to tolerate this
Go as deep as possible with this pain
Explore it, don’t hold it in
Tell me where it started, how to probe it
Where the swelling may occur,
And if you can make it as non-descript as possible, that’d be good
Then, make a metaphor somewhere with a social network, a computer part, or a neighborhood
Because that always seems to work for audiences scoring you
Not that the points matter because that’s the point right?
After that, if you could include in there a reference to
A really ill poet, rapper, socialite, celebrity, debutante
Hate on them and worship them all at once
Even if you’re trying to be like them in your own right
Waiting outside in the cold rain,
Lining up for VIP on a bench in a high skirt or couture
Throwback 80s multi-colored everything
Get some shades above your eyes
Can’t tell whether you’re feeding me lies
Lastly, make it catchy and say it with the same intonations,
The same inflections, the same parlance, the same strategies
That’ll bag you the honeys, the championships,
And the fans that at once swear they know what poetry is
While listening to your mediocrity
Then, blame it on your hustle
Blame it on your hustle
Blame it on our hustle
Lastly, end it with a trick you’ll do over and again
Think of your moment of zen …

Jose, who alludes to far too many things at once …