Pages

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Simply Stated

     As we enter the second half of April, it is not always easy to find a poem in my fingers.  Others' ideas inspire me, but the words do not seem to be there, and so I wrote my feelings of today.  


I wish I could steal someone’s poem
that one with the beautiful words,
that tells of the endings and then
the beginnings, the insides and outsides,
the tales that are of lives,
their feelings and
heartaches
the loves
and the deep hates.

They can whip out the phrases
and find just the words to show
poetic accomplishment.
And although
the words are not mine
they might serve to
buy me some time
while I wait for the words so right.
(Do you know that I wrote all night?)

I wish I could steal just one rhyme
But I cannot; those words are not mine.














And-Remember to check on the Poetry Tag Group shown at the right!  And find Jama Rattigan's blog post at Jama's Alphabet Soup  to discover so many Poetry sites in the kidlitosphere doing wonderful things!  Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining Mary Lee, at A Year of Reading in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem Farm, and Donna at Mainely Write.  Plus Greg Pincus of Gotta Book has just published his first E-book, The Late Bird.  Now he's celebrating by giving one away.  See the blog that tells all about it  here

21 comments:

  1. Well, it turned out a fabulous poem, much like the one you describe! There are times I wish I could have written what someone else had. It fit so well with my thoughts, and my own words weren't coming along...I'd like to steal this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Donna, I just wrote you! We must be in sync this am! I agree that there are those lovely poems that take my breath away, so I say "wish I had said that!". But I didn't, so I just keep working along, looking, looking...

      Delete
  2. For not having the words to write a poem this morning, you certainly found some wonderful ones. This really resonates with me....this is what I have been feeling lately....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know just what you are feeling. It is not always easy to sit & produce! Thanks Deb!

      Delete
  3. Amen! Read my thoughts. Also, when you read something by someone else that's done really well, the intimidation factor seeps in. I often wonder how others can whip those phrases out with such ease, day after day. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps they have a storehouse that they're not telling about. You are right about the intimidation-just as I said, I want to take those words! Thanks Jama.

      Delete
  4. Love this poem - and you didn't have anything to say? Beautifully written.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Katherine, I really was struggling about what to write, & that first line just appeared!

      Delete
  5. Wow, I think this has to be one of my favorites. It is so beautifully written and something we all relate to; it covers all the bases. "Poetic accomplishment" indeed (I stole your words for just a moment there)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Feel free; I know how frustrated one can be! Thank you Betsy.

      Delete
  6. "it is not always easy to find a poem in my fingers"

    You were waxing poetic before the poem even began! It is hard to believe that someone who posts writing so eloquent day after day ever feels this way, but I guess that is why your writing it always so good--you do the work it takes to make it so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Christy, & thank you for the compliment big time! It was a struggle last night, maybe because I kept falling asleep? But finally that first line appeared this am, & it's so true. I wanted someone else's words, & sadly I'm too honest.

      Delete
  7. Great job tackling that writer's block and creating something so lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Juliann. It was quite fun (once I got started).

      Delete
  8. WOW, Linda! You annihilated Writer's Block!

    It is the best feeling when you are struggling to write, and then, BAM! once you start, it just flows. Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Mandy. It was, finally, a good feeling, but usually I am done the night before & this time had to wait till morning. I imagine I will still want some of those other words!

      Delete
  9. Linda,
    I know what you mean. It is getting hard to get a poem out each day. I actually thought it would be easier to find a poem each day than it was to find a story during Slice of Life, but I have found that to not be the case. I guess confining messages to a particular format is sometimes limiting. Isn't it funny that sometimes writing about not being able to write turns out so well. I enjoyed your poem as I can't tell you how often I read a poem and thought, "I wish I could have thought to say it like that." I find the work everyone is doing so inspiring. Of course, I have also realized how much I still need to learn about poetry. Maybe I need to learn more about forms, maybe I need to spend longer finding the right words, maybe I need to revise and revise and revise.

    Interestingly, when I was out learning about forms today I read about a poem called a Cento. I actually think it allows you to exactly what you are talking about in your poem. These poems are made up of lines from other poets. I think it would be fun to play around with and likely freeing for some young writers who are trying to learn to put words on the page. Of course, one would have to be careful using the words of another poet. Seems like a fine line. However, it might be fun to go through our own poems and find one line from each to create a new poem. It might be interesting to take a line from a each poet in the classroom to create a shared poem.

    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What an idea. I have written group poems with my students, but rarely taken lines & put them together. Actually, it also might be similar to those book spine poems. Earlier (maybe in March) I did write a poem using alternating lines with a lullaby, & I've had students try it with Mother Goose rhymes. Doing daily poems does put a rather time constraint on things. Do you know the quote about William Stafford writing a poem each day all his life? He was asked how, & supposed to have answered "I lowered my standards". I do think of that, try to not be too hard on myself sometimes. One other exercise I did with my students is called Poetry Poker & you can find it here, on this site which has lots of interesting lessons: http://home.cogeco.ca/~rayser3/poetry.htm#poker Thanks for the conversation, Cathy! Nice!

      Delete
    2. I was reminded of the book spine poems as well. Thank you for the William Stafford quote. I need to remember that.

      Headed to check out this site.

      Delete
  10. I remembered a time when I could simply write ALL night, the words just flowing beautifully and taking on a life of their own - I don't have that luxury anymore, but I take comfort in the fact that regardless of the time [or lack thereof], the words shall never fail us, they would always be there, waiting for the exact moment to pop out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ever hoping... I guess we are thinking with more layers underneath now, don't you think? Thanks, Myra!

      Delete

Thanks for visiting!