PAD Day 10 Bonus: Bless Your Soul

 Here's my response to the Poetry Super Highway prompt (see prior post):

You Can’t Use “Soul” in a Poem
 
I’ve heard this a lot, and I get it.
So many novice poets, lovelorn or angsty,
lean heavily into that word, usually
attached to adjectives like “pitch-black” or “very.”
 
But it has its place, and no one can tell me
It’s never appropriate. If they do, I’ll double down.
I’ll grow a soul patch and listen to soul music,
and “Soul Sacrifice” by Santana, or watch Pixar’s Soul.
I’ll invite all my friends—the tortured souls,
the good souls, gentle souls, brave souls,
and we’ll have a party on All Souls’ Day.
After some soul-searching,
we’ll all be kindred souls,
and there is no telling how many more times
we will use that word.