Totally Optional Prompt: Unexpected visitors

They arrive at your house, in the middle of the night, on a fin afternoon, in the morning drizzle. You're happy to see them, love them but find the time inconvenient, they're the last people in the world you want to deal with right now. But you invite them in regardless.

Tell us what happens next, for this week's
Totally Optional
prompt! Linda will be here Wednesday evening with the request for poems. We don't know yet whether Mr. Linky will be with us or not.

Request for Poems: Song Lyrics

TOPers, did we have songs in our hearts this week?

If you don't see Mr. Linky, leave your link in the comments. He was working there for a while, but he seems to be down again.

Totally Optional Prompt: Song Lyrics

Some people don't consider song lyrics to be poetry. Others refuse to recognize the distinction.

Song lyrics usually fit a melody, which means they are usually metered. However, the meter is often looser than in, say a sonnet: as Tom Lehrer once wrote and sang, "it don't matter ifyoufitacoupleextrasyllables into a line." Song lyrics usually rhyme, although again the rhyme is often loose or slant. A songwriter can depend on the power of the melody to carry the listener past minor breaks in the sound pattern. And of course there are exceptions to all of the above.

For this week's

Totally Optional

prompt, write a poem you think would make a good song lyric. Come back Wednesday evening. I don't know if Mr. Linky will be with us or not, but if not, you can always leave your link in the comments.

Request for Poems: Opposites

Did opposites attract or repel this week, TOPers? Mr. Linky wants to know.

Update: Mr. Linky seems to be defunct for now. My guess is, the caching feature they recently implemented isn't playing well with Blogger. Feel free to leave a link in the comments instead :(

Update update: Republishing seems to have fixed it. *grumble, grumble*

Totally Optional Prompt: Opposites

What happens when opposites combine? Do you get something intermediate, like hot water and cold water blending to make lukewarm? Or do you get something completely different, like fire and water combining to make steam?

Watch for Mr. Linky Wednesday evening!

Request for Poems: Tardiness

Here's Mr. Linky, on time for once! to receive your tales of tardiness and woe, or whatever you chose to write about this week.

Totally Optional Prompt: Tardiness

Late again! This week's
Totally Optional
prompt is: Tardiness.

Mr. Linky will be here Wednesday evening.

Request for Poems: Going home again for the first time

Well, TOP enthusiasts, did we get a fresh look at the old place? Or were we inspired by something else entirely this week?

Totally Optional Prompt: Going home again for the first time

For this week's

Totally Optional

prompt, write about your hometown, the place you live, or some other place that's very familiar to you. But write about it as if you were seeing it for the first time.