Picture Frames - Poem #16 for April 2014 Poetry Project

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Learn about this, my April 2014 Poetry Project, HERE!

Picture Frames

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I wrote today's poem on a late night flight from Atlanta, Georgia back home to Buffalo, NY.  It was a bit dark on the plane, and the gentleman next to me probably thought I was bonkers with all of my muttering (reading aloud to help me write next lines) and tapping (to hear the syllables), but I don't mind that.  I may be a little bonkers!

You can see that I scribbled my way through several pages to arrive at this little verse.  On this first spread, you can see that I first thought of writing the poem in the first person, or 'I' voice.

Picture Frames - Draft Page Spread #1

Photo by Amy LV

Below, on the second draft page spread, you see the bulk of the work.  I decided here that I actually wanted the poem to be a bit of a story about lonely frames that wait and finally find their new lives as art gallery frames for a child.

This may be difficult for you to read.  Guess what?  It's difficult for me to read too, but sometimes writing just goes quickly, and one needs to get it down. Neatness can come later.  

By this page spread, I had still not begun work on the ending.

Picture Frames - Draft Page Spread #2

Photo by Amy LV

Draft page spread #3 is where you see the work on the endings.  I also wrote a few endings in my head, endings that never made it to the page.

Picture Frames - Draft Page Spread #3

Photo by Amy LV

And below, in draft page spread #4,  is the last ending work.  After trying many possibilities, I finally decided to end this poem by posing a question to the reader, as one of my favorite poems, "Alley Violinist" by Robert Lax, does.  The end of this poem remains open for conversation.  "What will you find to give a fresh start?

What will YOU find?

Picture Frames - Draft Page Spread #4 

Photo by Amy LV

Please don't miss seventeen-year-old Alex McCarron's great notebooks post over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.  It's truly inspiring!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Thrift Store - Poem #1 for April 2014

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Happy National Poetry Month!  This April 2014, I will be writing and posting a new THRIFT STORE poem, live, each day.  You'll see the drafts as they grow, my thoughts about writing a collection, revisions, and planning.  My hope is that by month's end, I will have a collection of poems worth revising and someday, worth submitting as a book.  

Each day I will tell you how long the poemdraft took me to write, and most days the I will have written it the day before.  (Disclaimer - Due to travel and work, there may be a few variations in actual writing time.)  I do this for me, for a month of writing fun, and also with a hope that it may be interesting to a few classrooms of young writers.  I welcome your comments and invite you to join me in taking one topic to explore for several days.

AMVETS in Depew, NY

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Here are my drafts from yesterday.  This poemdraft took about one hour to write, from 2:45pm - 3:42pm on Monday, March 31, 2014.  I began by sitting on my living room couch with a copy of X.J. Kennedy's THE BEASTS OF BETHLEHEM (1992),  illustrated by Michael McCurdy.  

Truthfully, I was a wee bit nervous on the eve of National Poetry Month, having committed to such a public project on a topic that matters dearly to me. But I took refuge in Kennedy's poem - "Mouse" - relying heavily on its rhyme scheme and meter to get me started.  If you study his poem, you will see where mine differs, and you will find the two lines of my poem that only have seven syllables instead of eight.  What do you notice about the way the lines of today's verse rhyme?

You may also notice that the second stanza of today's poem is simply a list.  If you have FOREST HAS A SONG, you will be able to find a couple of other poems with such embedded lists.  I like them.

Ready to Write (Note My Thrift Store Quilt)

Photo by Amy LV

Draft #1 Page #1

Photo by Amy LV

Draft #1 Page #2

Photo by Amy LV

As you look at my drafts throughout this month, you will notice that I have little habits, things I do over and over again.  I have writing routines that help me focus.  Here are a few of them:

1.  I cross out.  A LOT.

2.  I often write the alphabet to help me find rhyming words that make sense.

3. I write all over the place, and it's pretty messy.

Some of you may be wondering why or how I chose this topic?  Well, I am a thrift store shopper.  On any given day, half of what I am wearing comes from a thrift store.  Much of my furniture was purchased at thrift stores.  I love the stories and the mysteries and the hunt of shopping in thrift stores...not to mention the prices!

One of my favorite books is THOSE SHOES, by Maribeth Boelts, a book that celebrates thrift store shopping.

Shop IndieBound

And just this winter, I had the experience of asking a six-year-old girl where she had gotten her beautiful vintage Barbie doll.  She would not tell me.  When she walked away, her teacher explained that this girl was embarrassed because her grandma had purchased the Barbie doll at a thrift store.  She did not want her classmates to know, and so kept quiet when I asked.  Later, when I shared with the class how I had built a great shoe collection thanks to my obsession with thrift stores, the young girl, all smiles, whispered in my ear, "That's where my doll came from!"

No one should feel embarrassed about shopping at thrift stores.  Thrift stores are fantastic!  So I choose to make them my April project.  Yay for reusing wonderful things!  Yay for saving money! Yay for stories!

Yesterday, I visited two thrift stores, taking many photographs to get me through at least the next week.  It was fun to look with this new eye, as usually my thrift store time is spent simply shopping.  Yesterday I looked for possibile poems, not just possible deals.

But, of course, I found some deals too.

New Old Plates, New Old Book, New Old Gloves - All Mine

Photo by Amy LV

To find all kinds of poetry happenings in the Kidlitosphere this month, visit Jama's cozy home on the web, Jama's Alphabet Soup.  She has a list!

Happy happy National Poetry Month!  May you find poems under your feet and in your heart, all month long.  

Please share a comment below if you wish.