IMPROMPTU #36: The Ghost Line

For today's prompt, the first of 2018, I'm going to borrow another of Rachel McKibbens' ideas: the "ghost line".

Here is Rachel's description of a ghost line: "A ghost line is an inspiring line or image that becomes the unseen first line of a poem. ... Now remember, this is the invisible "first line" of your poem. Do NOT include it in your poem (unless you give credit to the original author.) YOU come up with the rest. So the second line is actually your first VISIBLE line. Fun, right? Also, the poem doesn't have to have anything to do with the ghost line, but the point of the ghost line is to inspire."

For our purposes, the ghost line does not have to be used specifically to write a poem. Use it to inspire you to write whatever it is you're writing. 

Read this poem by Roo Borson. Treat this as your ghost line/ghost lines:

"What's next, you ask yourself. / You ask it ten thousand times."