This was one of my word prompt poems circa age 20. “Train” and “mouse” were two of the words. With most word prompt poems, step 1 for me was finding all the possible contexts for the random words I’d chosen. Step 2 was choosing my favourite idea; step 3 to build a poem around that idea. I guess this is one of my lazier pieces, because I didn’t move past step 1:

I asked for a train

From father, from mother,

                                                A big train, a long train,

                                              And that was not all.

                                             I wanted a mouse;

 A white mouse, a smart mouse,

A long-tailed, fun mouse

That felt good to touch.

I should have drawn pictures,

I realize too late,

Of locomotives and rodents;

They’d see what I said.

My dress doesn’t have wheels,

Though its train is real long

Mom trains me to curtsey without falling down

My train of thought runs wild round the rails

When dad trains cameras on me

And tells me to smile

As for the mouse, it’s a pet like no other

 They gave me a white one for my computer.