Thanks to Irene Latham, hosting this Poetry Friday, at her blog, Live Your Poem. She's sharing some peeks at her new verse novel arriving next week, D-39: A Robodog's Journey and a lovely poem about poetry for another Artspeak painting. Don't miss her post and all the others who join us on Fridays!
A few weeks ago, my friend Jane Heitman Healy, who works for Siouxland Libraries in South Dakota, sent me a marvelous poetry packet they had been giving out. Among other things is a booklet with some instructions to write several poetry forms, a small journal, several pages from a book, a marker, and instructions for blackout poetry. I promised Jane a poem from one of those pages and I did it. I believe this is the first time I'm actually attempted this. I read all the pages she sent and finally chose one. I found a spark of an idea, created, and that final part, the blacking out, whew! This was not easy. I cut off some of a word more than once; I blanked out several words I wanted to save; but here it is, a draft? I'm not sure one can have a second draft of a blackout poem. Oops! Thank you, Jane, for all the gifts and all the fun!
Draft-y
take the lifeline
in high places
imagine doing
a song
tightrope walking
over
high-rise buildings
she gets her kicks
scared
a
performance
if you go that high
the most wonderful thing is you
change
the wind
shakes me
I decide to go
I'm not afraid
of a high place that
vanishes
cool assurance
the rest of the way
Linda Baie ©