A Challenge: Brenda Arledge Poetry Prompt Response Week 40

Alyssa is an avid reader, writer, and coffee enthusiast. She loves sharing thoughts, ideas, and creative writings with the world.

Hello again! I'm catching up on Brenda's prompts, slowly crossing each one off my list. Boredom lit a fire in my mind, reminding me of one of my favorite Bill Nye quotes. Look, I love words, and I also have a healthy respect for them. How you speak to yourself and to others does matter and can directly impact how you feel. Growing up, my grandpa used to tell me can't wasn't a word. Of course it is, but that's not what he meant. The same holds true for bore, bored, boredom.

What I've written isn't so much a poem as it is a call to action. It's a rendition of the spiel I recite whenever my son tries to tell me he is bored or that something is boring. You get out of something what you put in, and sometimes you'll have to put forth a little more effort to find an interesting aspect of whatever is going on. Challenge yourself to do that, and watch how your life changes.

I strongly encourage you never to use the word “bore” or “boring.” It says a lot about a person. It’s hard for me to imagine being “bored,” ever. The world is so exciting and fascinating, yes?

— Bill Nye

A Challenge:

7.9 billion people

too many cultures to count

complicated history

and that's just the written word.

What all has been lost to time?

Conflicts,

disease,

Creatures Great And Small

Uncharted territory

so much to discover

and that doesn't begin to cover

our ball of water and rock,

third in line.

Look up at the darkened sky.

Do you see those sparkling lights?

True time travel,

a way to change

everything you thought you understood.

The gall,

the gumption,

how dare you stand there

uttering that word

with a confident air.

Open your eyes

look outside yourself

there is much to learn

to know

to be discovered.

"The world is so exciting and fascinating, yes?"