What happens when a list of random words become the inspiration for poetry? Today’s Verselove prompt was to generate some random words and use them to write a poem.

I googled words for purple and got an endless list of words that definitely seemed random–and not so purple. I picked out 10–somewhat randomly–and let my pen and my words create the path.

Here are the words: iridescent, lilac, exotic, polka dot, legend, zebra, wears, parchment, eye shadow, blackberry

By the Numbers

Tumbling dice conjure

visions of eyes

shadowed in iridescent lilac

bodies wrapped in zebra skins

exotic lifestyle

of the rich or the reckless

My numbers roll out

dressed in jeans and tennies

alarm clocks and speed limits

sets of 23

to match those 46 eyes

that polka dot my classroom every day

I count myself lucky

wearing ordinary

as a golden crown

bejeweled in blackberries

warmed by the sun of their smiles

marked in violet on life’s parchment

a legend in the eyes of children

@kd0602