âš¡ Self-Portrait Generator
Premise
You are not describing yourself.
You are an object caught in weather.
Lagoon wind.
Diesel heat rising from bridges named after presidents.
Humidity bending the air.
Everything moves.
Rule 1: Choose your governing force
wind
tide
static
satellite lag
Write it at the top:
I obey the physics of ______.
Rule 2: The poem must travel
Every line must move.
No stillness. No reflection. Only motion verbs.
roll
snag
slip
shatter
drift
flare
misfire
scatter
translate
erode
Rule 3: Identity = debris
You may only reveal yourself through what sticks to you.
A receipt clings to my ankle.
A surname lodges in my throat.
A border stamp bruises my spine.
Rule 4: Mid-poem mutation
Halfway through, something breaks:
grammar glitches
language switches
metaphor rebels
object refuses to be object
The poem must misbehave.
Rule 5: Ending law
The last line must transform the metaphor into fate.
Not:
I am like a storm.
But:
The forecast is my legal name.
âš¡ Optional Disturbance
Let one unexpected word enter the poem.
a foreign word
a bodily image
a sound effect
a contradiction
a line that is only one word
Plug-in titles that already carry motion
(use or remix)
Self-Portrait as Unauthorized Frequency
Self-Portrait as Runaway Footnote
Self-Portrait as Border Static
Self-Portrait as Lagoon Interference
Self-Portrait as Accent Detected / Accent Denied
Further Mischief
Let one unexpected word enter the poem.
barometer
ballast
satellite
harmattan
capillary
keel
oscillation
Weather rarely asks permission.
A poem shouldn’t either.
Try writing just one line.
If the prompt sparks something, feel free to share it.
With love and intention,
Cara
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