Morning begins with delight and hope: I am here, aware and ready.
I write with a woman's eye to find what lies between thought and action.
I struggle with form and content, to be surprised by grace and beauty.
With each breath, I am attentive and forgetful in equal measure.
What I found from writing these deceptively simple sentences that take us down to the essence of an idea is that I am a conditional thinker. My writing begins with phrases like -- if, because, since, although. And that I find it difficult to confront reality head on. Is this because I am a woman? That I think slant? Sometimes my statements do rise at the end, with that questioning inflection that asks: Is this all right?
But notice how the sharp images of poetry have vanished. That which connects to the five senses is simply not present. So perhaps:
My fingers ache with desire to put words down that connect heart and mind.
I find quotes here and there and keep them at the front of my daily writing diary for inspiration.
Imagine my surprise when I counted syllables to find that this month's quote falls under the category of Jack Kerouac's American Sentence Poem -- 17 syllables.
'The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.' --Pablo Picasso
My response:
I still know only one Picasso, one art, one daily life, one soul.
Picasso: Boy with a pipe (Wikipedia)
Of course, we can romanticize Picasso, and I do. But he lived a complex life, had many affairs, and wrote poetry, often as ribald as he was. His art and his poetry describe a man with large appetities and an equal amount of rage.
Read more of Picasso's poetry at Wikipedia.
Read what others have written for this poetry prompt at Octpowrimo.
I too have seen connections (on how I write) in my poetry that makes me wonder about their origin. I love the line, "My fingers ache with desire to put words down that connect heart and mind." I feel this sentence in my soul. Thank you Beth.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Morgan! We have different opinions of Jack Kerouac, but that's OK. Someday I'll share my poem about him with you. But what I appreciate most is how your work on octpowrimo helps us all stay connected -- and writing.
DeleteBeth, your link for Octpowrimo is in error (I think you have it set for www.octpowrimo.org and it's www.octpowrimo.com). Tressa
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tressa. I fixed it!
DeleteWhen I teach the American Sentence, students don't think it is poetry--but I do! Thanks for celebrating it!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sandy. It doesn't feel like poetry to me -- oh, and I worked very hard to get some imagery in it. I'm wondering if your students have the same problem. But what fun the experiment was!
Delete"With each breath, I am attentive and forgetful in equal measure." How I love this!! Perfect, eternal, profoundly simple.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Christine. My online writing friends are far more meditative than me. But as I get older and slow down, I am more aware of how fragile life is and do try to cherish each moment!
DeleteLoved this one: "
ReplyDeleteWith each breath, I am attentive and forgetful in equal measure."
Isn't that the way!
And, I love the insights you give us into yourself through your narratives. I am honored to be able to read them. Thank you. xoA
Thank you, Annis. We are all poets together, sharing our thoughts. I love visiting your site as well. We are fortunate on those days the words come easily.
Delete"I struggle with form and content, to be surprised by grace and beauty."
ReplyDeleteI think this one defines our month-long poetry challenge. All of your poems were lovely, clear and sharp. Loved them all.
Thank you, Anna K. They still don't feel like poems, but the experiment was fun. I can't wait to see what others have written for this one, even if it means going back a day. :)
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