Maple Leaf
Photo by Amy LV
Students - Today's poem grew from an exercise in which I wrote from the line "In my other life..." I free wrote from this line earlier this week and revisited that list to write this list poem. In revisions, I changed the phrase "In my other life..." to the phrase "I am" because it felt and sounded right to me. This initial "In my other life" exercise comes from THE ART OF VOICE by Tony Hoagland with Kay Cosgrove, a book I am working through chapter by chapter. Writers are always trying to grow, and I am too.
Some of you may be familiar with George Ella Lyon's famous poem and type of poem to write - the Where I'm From poem. The difference here is that these things I say I am in today's poem are not clearly traced back to my own tracable history but instead, are linked to my imagination and dreams. We are each from reality and we are each from imagination too. My words today take me beyond my daily life to other "me's" I could be.
Who is the the imagination-and-dreams-you?
Please share a comment below if you wish.
The book you're using for inspiration must wonderful, Amy. I love reading what you're imagination tells about you! Funny about that 'forgotten maple leaf'. I was browsing through old school journals this week, looking for a particular lesson for a friend and found a few leaves, yes, I had forgotten they were there. Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeleteSo many things I like about this post Amy, starting with your poem. The maple leaf found twenty years later–I've squirreled away many leaves into books and later they find me. The dictionary page with drawing and maple leaf is lovely–it reminds me of the drawings on the cover of this months "Poetry" magazine https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine Thanks for sharing the book too!
ReplyDeleteI love the Tony Hoaglund prompt, how you're always stretching yourself to grow as a writer, and how you revised your initial response because "it felt and sounded right". Thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts and process.
ReplyDeleteI love "that song a toddler keeps singing in the tub". I sing a song to my grandson that always calms him. I hope to one day hear him sing it, too. I am doing a poem each week with my students. I've tucked this one away to use with them. They will love the permission to write from their imaginations.
ReplyDelete"a denim night" Oh, my, how I love that image!
ReplyDeleteWriting from our imagination side is a novel way to look at ourself, like you did. I want to tuck that exercise in my to do folder. I really like the description quiet snowfall on a denim sky.
ReplyDeleteLove the poem, Amy! I agree with Carol, the lines "a quiet snowfall/on a denim sky" are fabulous. I'm intrigued to read THE ART OF VOICE. It has a 2020 pub date, so it looks like it's not available quite yet, but I'll pre-order!
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