3:47 pm, Wednesday, 10 November, 2010 – Atlanta
Not a good day. First I start the blog about an hour and a half ago and, when trying to save an image to use, managed to close the whole browser, thereby losing what I had written so far. One can never recreate the exact piece again, ever. Sidenote: this is why you should always write down anything that comes to your mind re poetry. Trust me here. Second, but first chronologically, I got lost in the computer again. I do remember I started the blog: OMG! because for the second time this week I became so engrossed with what I was doing and discovering that when I came up for air, it was 2:30 and I hadn’t eaten since early breakfast. Monday it was writing and research; today I took a huge step and entered the world of twitter. At least, I am standing on the edge. It took me several hours of reading and navigating around to feel I might, might, have a grasp…a sort of hanging by my fingernails grasp. We’ll see what happens.
Of course, I also became sidetracked and discovered a couple more places to add to my sidebar: Magpie Tales which uses images to inspire poetry; Poetry Daily, which is an easy read new poems every day, because aside from always carrying paper and pen, reading poetry is the other must; Three Word Wednesday, which gives prompts a slight twist by giving three words to be used in a poem;and one I am very excited about because of all the possibilities: Poets United, a site designed for poets to have a community.
Now, part 2 of yesterday’s exercise which called for you to choose seven words from a list of 15, and create a poem.
landscape with the fall of Icarus
I think I have the painting linked but if I don’t you can find it here. I want you to look at the painting and then look closer. Look away and write down everything you can remember. Try to write specifically: nouns and sensory images. Even in a painting you can smell, feel, hear, sometimes taste… as well as see. Look at the painting and add anything you have missed. When you have written down every possible thing you can about the painting, look at what you have jotted down and circle, or underline, images, phrases, words that seem, to you, to be connected. Pull them out and rewrite them. Then order them in a way that sounds like, is ordered like and makes sense as a poem.
Rather than give you mine and have your brain fettered by what I see, I’ll give you one I wrote in response to another painting, but I will do that tomorrow. You have enough to digest with this post. I will also share with you the source of the 15 words.
