Poetry Prompt: Letters to Ghosts

July 20, 2025 / Katrina Kaye

Write a letter to someone you don’t know very well, but you feel like you had a lot in common with. You might begin by brainstorming a list of people who you have always felt connected to but never met (personal, famous, historical).

Think of people you know who you are no longer able to speak with (maybe people have always told you that you are a lot like your grandma), or it could be a famous person whom you have never met (perhaps you would like to know if you and Anthony Bourdain really would have been great friends). This could be somber, but it also could be funny and playful. Challenge yourself by picking someone who is not your first thought.

Start your poem traditionally, with a “Dear (Specific Name).”

You are welcome to share your creation in the comment section below or on the Spill the Ink Facebook Group.

To the student who introduced me to Philip Glass:

July 16, 2025 / Katrina Kaye / Leave a comment

Katrina Kaye

There must have been more to you.

A strength kept far
below your commonplace skin;

a philosophy found
in the keys of grand piano.

Perhaps I never noticed it
because it was in your hands,

the clean nails and posed
fingers of a pianist.

I was looking at a face
too eager to avoid my glance.

Maybe you didn’t play at all and
that secret was resting beside ear drum

and closed eyes as you followed
the notes with nodding head.

But oh,
how the staccato pierced me,
repetition and awakening,

The familiar and the cloaked
taking turns at who leads the dance.

The known or unknown, sage or novice,
Teacher becomes student and student-teacher.

Of all I have learned from doing
nothing more than listening,

this lesson is one of the sweetest.

“To the student who introduced me to Philip Glass:” is previously published in Verse Vital (2023).

Poetry Prompt: Sonder

July 13, 2025 / Katrina Kaye / Leave a comment

For your prompt use the concept of the word “sonder” to inspire a poem/free write/journal entry. Take a look at the definition and explore what it means in your own words. Does this word remind you of something/ someone/ a time in your life? How does this word play a role in your life? Maybe try some people watching and create a short story/dialogue of what is the mind of a stranger? You do not have to use the word in your writing but use the concept.