This week’s W3 Poetry Prompt is set by poet-of-the-week Dennis Johnstone. His challenge is to write a three-quatrain poem (12 lines total) about an unsung object—something unimportant, non-emotive, without nostalgia, metaphorical uplift, or symbolic gravitas. It simply is.
I wrote my poem Drip in response. My subject was a drip sliding down the side of a wine glass. At the time, it seemed to fulfil the guidelines: nothing symbolic, no metaphorical resonance, just a drop of liquid that needed wiping away. It was simply a drip dripping down a glass.
I believed this until I set the poem to song. The music gave it a wholly different interpretation than the simple one I had first intended. I hope you enjoy both versions.
from your lip I pass
and slip, to slide down the side of your glass
unnoticed,
slowly, I move, I creep
a deep red flowing trail follows my route
as if the glass is bleeding,
or weeping,
a serpentine stream on the crystal wine flute
down the stem
circling the base, seeping, a scarlet stain
in slow languid rhythm
your finger idly draws through me
—Lesley Scoble, November 2025
Music Audio – Drip 🎶
THANK YOU
Thank you, Dennis, for your fascinating prompt.
Thank you, as always, David, for your motivation and encouragement.
And thank you, dear reader, for spending a little time with my poem 🙏
To discover more about the W3 Poetry Prompt and join in—follow the link below.
LesleyScoble.com 
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