Accidental poetry: Improve your english through creative writing - Lisa Lieberman 2015
Weaving in darker colors
I’m the bird that drinks the water and eats the wounded worms…I’m the woman who lives in the clothes full of gaps. — Second year English student
The darker colors of anger, shame, loneliness and fear sit side by side with the lighter colors that swirl within us. As you write, focus on the feelings you want to express, and you’ll find the words that illustrate them. Don’t fear the dark emotional colors; they’re merely expressions of the universal feelings that all humans possess.
82.What wounds have you kept hidden?
83.What wounds have not healed?
84.When did you go off the path?
85.What demons distract you?
86.When have you been held hostage by your own self-limiting beliefs?
87.Fear of pain and loss: When has it stopped you from moving forward?
88.How has pain shaped you?
89.How has pain helped you see what you need to detach from?
90.When have you been able to bear the unbearable?
91.Who is behind the mask?
92.What do you not want people to know about you?
93.What makes you angry?
94.How do you let go of anger?
95.How has envy interfered in your life?
96.What do you do to ease the loneliness?
97.When have you grasped for hope, only to have it elude you?
98.Do you worry about how you’re perceived?
99.When have you recognized anger, and then allowed it to evaporate?
100.When have you equated anger with shame?
101.What do you fear most?
102.What in your life gets substituted for love?
103.Where do you sabotage relationships?
104.How much are you willing to trust—or not trust—other people?
105.What camouflage do you wear? Why do you wear it?
106.Who wanted to change you?
107.Who wants to change you now?
108.For whom have you changed yourself? Was it worth it?
109.Who tried to undermine your power?
110.When have you felt betrayed?
111.When were you unable to forgive?
112.When did rain clouds obscure blue skies?
113.When have you been stopped from doing what you wanted to do? Who stopped you?
114.Does your emotional pain frighten you?
115.Can you take action in the face of fear?
116.Who taught you about fear?
117.When have you fought a fear by facing it?
118.When have you laughed in the face of sorrow?
119.When has pain or loss been a motivating force?
120.When has guilt robbed you of your sense of self?
121.When has your desire to succeed been greater than your fear of failure?
122.Can you feel sorrow without collapsing under its weight?
123.What is still most difficult for you?
124.Solitude can be joyous, but loneliness can bring pain. When have you experienced both?
125.Can you accept failure without losing your enthusiasm?
126.When has loss and defeat encouraged you to improve the next time?
127.When have you been able to let go of past mistakes without regret?
128.When has your own commitment to succeed won out over fear?
129.When have you been afraid to love?