My professor in Creative Writing give us this assignment. The guidelines were: 1) three found words from a nonfiction book 2) no abstractions whatsoever! 3) the name of a city 4) a bird 5) a very specific color

Of course I ignored the second rule and used abstractions, but I still got a good grade.

So here is what I selected: 1)Fetish, Liberation, Aristocrat 3) New York 4) Owl 5) Red

Here is the poem I ended up creating. 

Awake

I love the work of Edward Hopper. So timeless, truly captures the moments of life.

He sits high above,
Aristocrat steeped in pride.
Watching the moon rise

The night owl comes alive.
On the prowl, he seeks liberation.
Office politics become a haze…

Painting the New York skyline red,
Indulging in his weekend fetishes.
Monday, life begins and ends.

by Jasmine McGee