Barn on Route 20
Photo by Amy LV
I have always loved old barns: their mystery, their history, and their haunted beauty. And where we live, I have the opportunity to see many many ancient barns in tip top shape, falling to bits, and everywhere in between. Last night, driving to Caledonia Mumford for the ONE BOOK writing evening, I stopped and took the photograph you see above. Somehow, this barn wanted to be a poem.
Lately I have been posting many photographs. Students, please know that these are not photos that I have found somewhere online. Rather, I take each photograph on a different day to go with a new poem idea. Each day, I look around and wonder, "What will I write about today?" And fortunately, I have a camera tucked right into my purse, just waiting! Writing from others' photos is a great idea (something I plan to try soon), but these pictures are all fresh, taken the day of the writing.
This poem is my favorite type of poem to write, a poem about what isn't really there. I am simply in love with the idea of seeing/feeling/smelling/tasting/hearing things which are not really here. I love the mix of senses, synesthesia, and I am enthralled with imagining what is not actually here, but might or should have been.
While I have recommended THE MONUMENT, by Gary Paulsen, along with my poem "Song", here it is once more. I will recommend this one until everyone buys it! THE MONUMENT is a book I used to read each year to my fifth graders. I even read it aloud to my husband Mark, back in the days when we had only a futon and not a couch. And while I recommend reading it yourself to be sure you are comfortable with the text, I cannot speak highly enough about the power and beauty of this book. Today I recommend THE MONUMENT because of the way that Mick, an artist, is able to see what is not there.
May you see something magical today, from the past or present or future! All kinds of life surround you each day - listen carefully to hear what so many people miss!
(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)
Amy---wow!!! we need to talk on a personal level---my son is 29 and such an advocate for urban farming in Buffalo---I would love for us to picnic or something together at your farm---my husband and I are reconnecting with our hippy days through our sons (I guess those apples fell very close to the tree I thought I left behind) and I think that is why I feel so connected to you and your poetry---my camera is always in my purse--so using that as an inspiration for writing this year!!!
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