Free-Write poem

From two free-writes and the suggestions of fellow poets (thanks everyone!), I've pieced together this poem about experiences from my childhood…

Habit(at)

I loved sunshiny golden

afternoons, when I swallowed the whole world

with book in hand, I blocked out 

the mower’s snarl, tangled emotions, memories

and floated

away, to an existence

where life showed logic, and the people 

were bright, technicolored,

vivid.

In my small child body, I watched a forest

of knees and waists,

navigating burgundy tiles

through folding tables topped with fellowship and food.

A smiling face topped by white wisps leaned down 

and asked if the thumb in my mouth was vanilla

or chocolate:  it was chocolate.

The communion of bread and laughter covered up 

small talk 

and the press of people hemmed me

out 

like a good book.

A whimsical book

Poetry Reading with Julia Spicher Kasdorf

On Friday, I went to Julia Spicher Kasdorf’s poetry reading, which was unlike anything I had ever experienced.  I had only ever been to a poetry slam before, so I wasn’t used to the crowd’s reactions, or the format of presentation.  I was a little surprised that after serious poems, the crowd would laugh. I appreciated that Julia opened up the reading for questions and answers, although I had trouble hearing some of the questions asked. I personally enjoyed the reading more because we had studied Julia’s poetry in class, so I knew some of the basic structure and ideas that show up in her poems, and she read a poem I recognized, “English 213: Introduction to Poetry Writing,” which gives us a glimpse of her teaching and poetry readings.  She often gave a little background information to her poems, which helped me to appreciate them more, since they’re often abstract.  Overall, I found the poetry reading to be a very meaningful and thought-provoking experience.

Emily Dickinson's Poetry

For class, I've written a poem in the style of Emily Dickinson…
A cautious Songbird warbles

Dawn-lit Dewdrops shine--

Around a Coffin congregate

Mourners in a Line.

Death shadows solemn Faces,

Sparrows greet the Mourning--

A Song of Joy bursts forth--

A Memory ends the Story.

Walt Whitman's Poetry

Here's a poem that I've attempted to write in the style of Walt Whitman…


Memory

I search for you by the chasm of recollection,

listening for the crackle of leaves under your feet,

never quite near, snatching glimpses of your wrinkled ankles as you flee through 

dense packed trees. Why do you taunt me, darting out of reach; 

flaunting your gray-streaked hair, woven of thoughts, places, faces, words, 

frazzled with turmoil and glinting with laughter? But now I’ve caught your frail arm,

and yanked a strand from your head, 

claiming victory for today, fickle Memory.

Poetry is...

Read "anyone lived in a pretty how town." 

Listen to e. e. cummings read "anyone lived in a pretty how town" on youtube.

In the words of e.e. cummings, “the most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”  (goodreads.com) Cummings, a renowned poet, used his poems to elicit laughter and tears from his audience.  The essence of poetry appears in e.e. cummings’ work “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” which uses carefully selected words and rhythm, connects on a deep level with the reader, and brings a new perspective on the human condition.

To begin, poetry is a collection of intentional words, picked for their harmonies together or their image on the page. Poetry is much more than everyday discussion, or even a well-written novel.  In these situations, a sentence is a vessel to carry information from one person to another.  In contrast, poetry such as “anyone lived in a pretty how town” focuses on the vessel itself and makes art out of language.  The specific rhyme schemes and rhythms differ from poem to poem, with some poets like John Donne using a very disciplined and constricting kind of poem to convey their point, while others use free verse and everyday language that together, sound almost like conversational English.  Poems all have this in common:  they are constructed from a base of words that were long thought-over before joining their comrades.  E.e. cummings’ poem employs syntax in a distinctive style, shocking the reader into becoming alert.  Cummings penned the phrase “children guessed(but only a few/and down they forgot as up they grew,”  which demonstrates both the unorthodoxy of his syntax and his traditional rhyme scheme (“Anyone”).  Cummings blends a perfect mix of enterprising and dated styles, demonstrating a use of format that takes words and creates poetry.

Next, poems are meant to extract a reaction from the reader.  Perhaps the poet wants to connect to his reader by sharing his own emotions, or perhaps the poet writes to unsettle the reader.  Perhaps, as e.e. cummings, a poet wishes that his poem would cause the reader to laugh, as the reader attempts to pronounce and make sense of “(with up so floating many bells down)” (“Anyone”).  A poet may simply want to offer his reader a sense of peace or release.  In essence, a poet wants the reader to experience the world more fully, as the reader slows down to really understand the meaning.   A poem, if it truly creates emotion, does so by being honest.  The reader can feel the devotion of noone as “she laughed his joy she cried his grief/...anyone’s any was all to her” (“Anyone”).   This demonstration of noone’s love for anyone helps the reader to feel the injustice as the “busy folk buried them side by side” and promptly forget about the lives of these two people (“Anyone”).  The reader experiences sadness as the poem uses a full circle ending, echoing the cyclical nature of life.  E.e. cummings stirs emotions in his readers as he crafts his poem, demonstrating one of the most valuable qualities of poetry.

Finally, poetry makes some impact in the world, in some way bettering it.  Some poems have an obvious agenda, awakening the reader to an urgency to change something that is wrong.  Others are simply a way for the author to let go of an important experience, allowing the author to become more whole and, in this way, improving the world.  E.e. cummings instead gives us a cautionary tale, recounting the mediocre life of anyone, uncelebrated and unintentional, which was only made exceptional by the love of noone.  The vagueness of the names suggests that cummings means to apply this situation to everyone, and encourage people to value their lives and live intentionally.  This antithesis of perfection, by encouraging the reader to strive for ideals, embodies the quality of poetry that improves the human condition.

In conclusion, poetry is constructed of intentional words, moves the reader, and sparks a positive force in some way.  E.e. cummings’ poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town” embodies all of these things, and yet there is a quality to any poetry that can’t be captured in words.  This ever-changing, elusive quality is what makes poetry mysterious, relevant, and worth reading.

e.e. cummings