In Beowulf, the narrator goes into extensive detail about important artifacts in the story (swords, battle armor, horses, etc). Choose something of importance in your life and write an extensive history about the object. The key word being "extensive" (I am looking for more than 20 lines). This can be a prose piece or a poem (either one you choose has to be over 20 lines). The title of the piece must be the name of the object (do not include the word "my" in the title).
Example:
Violin
In 1926 in a small town in Germany lies
A discreet violin shop down an old dirt road
(I guess most roads were dirt back then).
A man finishes the carvings on the elaborate scroll.
His dulled tool pushes up,
Carving indentions into the smooth cheery wood
(A tree some 120 years old cut down outside the man's cottage).
The man is wary and old
Reserved, yet sensible. He wanted to make one
"Just like zee Strativarious" (the infamous violins
Sold for millions of dollars).
But this man didn't have the talent of Antonio
Stardivari, or so he said on his
Death bed. 85 winters pass,
And the violin has been places and seen things,
Gotten scars and bruises, until the Appraiser decides it is
"A Strativarious-Similar"
And declares it worth $5,000.
On Forest Hill Ave, Richmond, Virginia it waits
For someone to notice -
The egg-white and honey veneer.
The battle wounds from years of being abused by a young girl in Paris (who likely shouldn't have been allowed such an expensive toy)
The blood stain from the teenager in St. Louis who "didn't have what it takes."
Or the unhappiness of the old man
Who died thinking it was no where near as good as Strativarious.
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