As promised I’m posting the poem I wrote to the Monday Poetry Prompt. Here’s the picture:
Lordsburg, New Mexico © Mitch Dobrowner 2011
And here’s the poem:
Clouds have learned to funnel
their way to the ground, spin
themselves into black thickness,
and swallow whole lives
and trees below—like an all-natural
atom bomb spreading destruction
from the top down.
Last week was one of those weeks when my writing rhythm was thrown off by travel and late nights in Raleigh for work and poetrySpark. When I can’t think of anything to write or haven’t written in a while, prompts are a way to jumpstart the creative juices. Luckily, one of my responsibilities for Living Poetry is sending out the weekly poetry prompt. Every Monday on the ride into work, I have to figure out what the prompt is going to be—which means focusing my energies on thinking about what topic might possibly inspire me to write. Here are a few of the prompts I’ve used so far:
skin * breath * night * fireworks * the smell of mint
Recently, I started using a visual prompt on the 3rd Monday of the month. Last month, a photo in the UCLA Magazine inspired this poem:
Carbon Footprint
From the “Vegan Campus” article in UCLA Magazine: http://magazine.ucla.edu/features/the-vegan-campus/index1.html
I want to leave
something behind,
more than this poem,
this page, this pen,
a lineage beyond
what my fruitless
loins choose to bear.
In time, the mind purges
any memory too heavy
to carry. The soul
must be free to take
the next step without
a trace of regret.
Today, I sent out a photo from National Geographic. I’ll post the poem I come up with next week.
This double-life poet worked overtime on both fronts this week. The poet staked out old and new writing spaces, made five poetry submissions for her boot camp obligation, and went to the poetrySpark planning meeting on Tuesday. The data guru was busy in meetings for five projects, reviewing project notes and report drafts, and designing interview protocols. The poet thought about going to an open mic on Thursday, but decided to stay home so the data guru could pack for a conference in Chicago. Neither one of us had much down time to think or process what was seen, heard, or experienced, let alone make a dent in the summer reading list.
It’s easy to lose touch with creativity, especially when the business of poetry is what is keeping you uninspired. When I first got the idea for this blog post, I was riding on the DRX bus, typing on my iPhone when I could have been reading on the Kindle or writing in the journal I take everywhere. But in between the search for words on the page, I looked up and found little bits of poetry sprinkled here and there:
Emergency Exit
Exits are identified by red
Handles on the side of windows.
Locate your nearest exit.
This sign is posted on the back of every seat. I’ve read it a thousand times, and each time, the line break between ‘red’ and ‘handles’ still amazes me. I know the decision to break the line there was based solely on the available space on this 3×3 inch placard, but it is a stroke of genius! Then there’s the haiku-like quality of this sign:
Turn Then Push Knob to Exit
Girar
Y después
Oprimar
La perilla
Para abrir
Al
though this sign poem is in Spanish, the rhythm, the alliteration in the ‘p’ sound, and the assonance in the ‘ri’ diphthong are unmistakable. I have to look up to see the sign, which I often forget to do. Usually, I’m too wrapped up in thoughts or a book to see the poetry around me. But I always enjoy it when I do.
Being a poet with a non-literary career means I don’t always have time to keep up with the latest poetry happenings. I need to know what’s buried in the state budget bill as much as I need to know how to craft a sestina. And even though poetry books are slim enough to fit into my favorite purse, I can’t carry the seven books I’m currently reading at the same time, not to mention the novel and classic craft book on diagramming sentences I just bought (more on my summer reading list in another post).
That’s why a smartphone is a double life poet’s best friend. I have three mobile apps that let me access poems anytime:
In addition, I have Dictionary.com and a rhyming app on standby in case I get a flash of inspiration while riding the bus. A recent article on Make Use Of.com lists other must-have-apps for poets.
If you’re a self-proclaimed Luddite like several of my poet-friends, don’t worry! The apps I mentioned can be accessed online or sent to directly to your inbox. In fact, several websites have daily or weekly newsletters with useful information for poets. My favorites are Writer’s Almanac by Garrison Keillor, which features a daily poem and interesting facts in literary history, and About.com Poetry, where you can sign up to receive weekly poetry news or 30 poems for 30 days.
Also, two poetry organizations feature information and insight into the poetry world.
I also subscribe to poetry podcasts via iTunes and listen to them on my daily commute on the DRX bus or in the car.
Let me hear about how you take poetry on the go by leaving a comment!
A Poet's Double Life 