What to Write? Assign Yourself an Idea and Structure!

Thinking Cactus

by Amy LV

  

Students - For this week's poem, I knew that I write a poem following the meter of someone else's poem.  But as of yesterday, I had not yet chosen which poem.  Nor had I chosen an idea.

I decided to force myself to find an idea by looking around the Aurora Town Public Library.

I looked at bookshelves, deciding to write a poem inspired by a book title.  I almost did too...I almost wrote a poem inspired by the title MAKING MISTAKES ON PURPOSE.  Can you find that book on the shelf below?

Bookshelf at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

Then I looked at magazines and the succulent wreath caught my eye.  I thought about cacti and how much I admire their toughness.  It was just a fleeting thought.

Magazines at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

I began freewriting about cacti to get some thinking down in my notebook.

Freewriting about Cacti

(Click to Enlarge)

Photo by Amy LV

Now, I had already assigned myself the task of writing a poem that matched the meter of another poet's poem.  So, I read in this book by Nancy Larrick to choose a meter and rhyme scheme to copy.

Beautiful Library Discard I'd Brought with Me

Photo by Amy LV

And I decided to imitate the meter and rhyme scheme of a poem I have always loved, the poem by Christina Rossetti that begins "Hurt No Living Thing" - in the public domain.

By Christina Rossetti 

Photo by Amy LV

Then it was time to get to work.  I had given myself an assignment: write a cactus poem in the meter and rhyme scheme of Rossetti's poem.  Below you can see some of that work. Note the numbers next to my lines - count to see if they match the numbers of syllables in Rossetti's lines.  What do you notice about the rhymes in each poem?

Draft of "Once"

(Click to Enlarge)

Photo by Amy LV

I played and I wrote and I tapped the table and I read aloud...and at the end of it all, I had written the silly verse you find above.  (To be truthful, I had a little giggle with cactus/fact is.)

Writing a new piece is a little bit like taking a trip.  Part destination, much exploration.  You might wish to document the journey of one of your pieces sometime.  And if you have never given yourself an assignment, try that too.  You might use mine or you might make up something completely new, just for you.  The important thing is to follow through.

As I left the library last evening, I giggled again as - for the first time - I saw:

this Christmas cactus...in bloom

Christmas Cactus at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

this jade plant, also a succulent.

Jade Plant at the Aurora Town Public Library

Photo by Amy LV

It's funny how once I start thinking about a thing...I see it everywhere!  Has this ever happened to you?

Congratulations to Linda A. for winning last week's giveaway - a signed copy of FINDING WONDERS by Jeannine Atkins!  Linda, please send me an e-mail to amy@amylv.com with your snail mail address, and I will pass it along to Jeannine. Thank you, Jeannine, for the beautiful post and book!

Keri is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Keri Recommends.  Please visit her place to think about reflection and to learn about what's happening poetry-wise all around the Kidlitosphere this week.

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Stuffed Raccoon - Poem #17 for April 2014 Poetry Project

LIVE!

Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Stuffed Raccoon

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I have been saving this raccoon photograph for several days because I think it is so adorable.  It is actually part of a picture with more stuffed animals, but I just chose one for today's poem.

Three Cute Stuffed Animals

Photo by Amy LV

I was not sure where to begin for today's verse because I did not want to write a too-sad poem.  Even though sometimes I feel a little sad in thrift stores, wondering where all of the people went, I did not want sadness to take me or this collection over.

I dove into my notebook and came up with a poemdraft I liked.

Stuffed Raccoon - Draft Page Spread #1 

Photo by Amy LV

Or so I thought.

First Typed Poemdraft - Done?  No.

Today's post was all done - I thought.  Poem typed.  Poem recorded.  Draft photographed.  It was just to comment.  In doing so, I saw that the poem had a little typo, so I went in to fix it.  Something was bothering me in the poem. Actually three things, but I didn't know that yet.  

The first niggly trouble was that the poem felt just too sad after all.  I do feel sad when I see stuffed animals in thrift stores, but again, I didn't want my occasional melancholy feeling to pervade this collection.  I was going to keep it anyway though, for now, because it was after midnight and I was sleepy.

The second thing that bothered me was that whole part about girls and boys and women and men.  It felt too...too...sophisticated and adult.  I was going to keep it anyway though, for now, because it was after midnight and I was sleepy.

The third thing?  Well, I reread the poem to myself one more time, and something sounded familiar.  Do you know what it was?  

The word 'again.'

I ended April 9th's poem - "Bicycle" - with 'again.'  This would not do.  It was back to the drawing board for another ending.  Then another typing.  Another recording.  Even though it was way after midnight and I was sleepy.

Reading my final version for today, above, I noticed something interesting.  The sound of this poem reminds me of the sound of a poem I wrote last year, "Moon Mama."  It has that same rolling sound and the question in the middle and the sense of looking back too.  I read this poem many times aloud on Monday and Tuesday during school visits at St. John's School in Houston, Texas, and the rhythms, reinforced by my voice and through my body, came back in this poem for today.

This is why we read poems aloud over and over and over; they come back to us in surprising ways. 

(Oh!  If you're wondering if I noticed that yesterday's poem includes the word 'small' in its first line, just as today's does, I did notice, and I will likely change that poem's first line to read, "A big box of picture frames...")

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