LOVE, Pass it on….or how to write a (love) poem

 

LOVE, Pass it on………or how to write a (love) poem.

 

My friend Ann teaches me a lot (never use the word a lot, it is basically meaningless I’ve been told and I’ve told others, but I still can’t help but use it sometimes because really, sometimes it IS specific enough) about things I seldom pay attention to.  Although I love music, R & B, C & W, Rock and Roll, Jazz, etc. I only know what I know.  Although, when I posted Ann’s post to others I post to, I received responses like, oh yeah, love Michael Franti!  Where have I been?

 

 

Wherever you are, whatever sorrows or worries lie in your heart, whatever your struggle, this video, this music will bring a smile to your face and beats to move your body closer to the light. This was sent to me during a time of struggle from my friend Lynette. Now I share it with you. Peace, love, and light. (Ann)

Michael Franti and Spearhead : Say Hey Music Video

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Posted By Dancing Diva to Embrace Your Age Cause You’re Living! at 8/10/2009 09:12:00 PM

 

Ann, thank you not only for sharing Franti’s video, but thanks for reminding me I have a blog and I wanted to post something, something about love. Post it sooner than later.  Before the cobwebs set in and rust.  Love is the topic of my next book:  Love Imagined.

Here’s an idea.  Recently, Karim Khan, editor of the new “Recovering the
Self” literary journal, asked for poetry submissions (check out the new journal at http://www.recoveringself.com/about/).  A friend replied she didn’t, as of yet, know how to write poetry.  I’ve been thinking about her response and thought I would share an assignment I often use when I teach writing workshops for beginning writers.  And, to stay in the moment, let’s write about love. 

A note about this assignment.  I don’t know who originally came up with this idea, but I do remember the assignment I read about was used as a revision tool.  However, I flipped the assignment around to use it as a “triggering” tool (The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo, my favorite teaching book about poetry, thanks to David Mura who taught from it).

Assignment.  Use the “triggering” subject “love” and write a paragraph or two or a page or two or several journal entries.  See what direction “love” takes you.  Love is rather abstract (at least my many experiences with “love” haven’t rendered much in the way of concreteness only so so affairs) so write beyond love to where “love” leads you.  You might be surprised, it might not be the bedroom.  It might be the forest or the kitchen, or the golf course (though I’m quite sure no poem of mine will end up at the eighteenth hole; but never say never).  The point is, we don’t always know what it is we really want to write about until we start writing.  The point is not to control our writing by gluing ourselves to a particular topic.  The point is to start with A and move towards Z, unconsciously, in the moment, letting go.  Don’t fear senselessness.  Senseless meandering can end up making quite a bit of sense.

 

Back to the assignment.  Just write some (another abstract word, some, but it works here because I am not going to tell you specifically how many words to write) prose about love.  If stuck, write a letter.  A love letter.  Write it quickly, don’t worry about perfect, there is no perfect, and if there was perfect the poem would end with predictably and it wouldn’t leave room for surprise!

Top of my head:

Dear Two Year Old Ethan,

This is a note from your crazy grandmother.  I wanted to write something to you while you are still young, something that will document a grandmother’s love.  It’s the most amazing phenomena to watch you learn and do new things.  Throwing kisses, stomping your feet in the water.  Pointing.  Even throwing your food.  You are so much your father, my son, and so much your mother, my daughter-in-law; but, you are so much me, too.  I can’t teach you to swim or do math, but I can teach you to have fun, and maybe I can teach you how to write a poem.  You have the heart for it.  We all do.  Everyone should write heart to heart poems.  Everyone should write love poems.  Everyone should love.

Love,

Grandma Sherry

Line Breaks.  But, I said the assignment was to write a poem.  Okay, so here goes.  Poetry, amongst many things, is about language, rhythm, sound, etc.  This is partly accomplished by “line breaks”—so break the lines.  I like to go with gut feeling, but one thing to think about when breaking lines is: important words work well at the beginning and end of a line (for emphasis).

A note about gut feeling.  I teach there are no rules, no right or wrong for writing poetry. Unfortunately that’s what students hear me say.  I don’t mean it quite that literally. “Free verse” forefathers/foremothers showed us, free verse isn’t free from rules, but the writer gets to choose the rules s/he wants to abide by.  Heck, I don’t like the word “rules” at all. X out rules.  Let’s just make our work the best we can.  And the best way to do that is to keep writing.  Eventually our instinct will tell us what’s working well.  But, there has to be some memory, some knowledge of what we like and why we like it. What works/what doesn’t.  Why?  Why not? And we can’t know that unless we read or listen to other poetry/other poets. 

This “/” indicates a line break.

Dear Two Year Old Ethan,

This is a note from your crazy  / grandmother.  I wanted to write / something to you while you / are still young, something / that will document a grandmother’s /love.  It’s the most amazing phenomena / to watch you learn and do new things.  / Throwing kisses, / stomping your feet in the water. /  Pointing.  Even / throwing your food.  You are / so much your father, my son, and /so much your mother, my daughter-in-law; but, / you are so much me, too. / I can’t teach you to swim or / do math, but I can teach you to have fun, and / maybe I can teach you /  how to write a poem.  You have the heart / for it.  We all do.  Everyone / should write heart to heart poems. /  Everyone should write love poems.  / Everyone should love.

Love,

Grandma Sherry

So, now the fun begins.  And I do mean fun.  I love picking and choosing what words to omit.  Yes, we have to clean up, tighten up our poem, throw out the stale dishwater. 

Dear Two Year Old Ethan,

This is a note from your crazy

 grandmother.  I wanted to write

something to you while you

are still young, something

that will document a grandmother’s

love.  It’s the most amazing phenomena

to watch you learn and do new things.

Throwing kisses,

stomping your feet in the water

Pointing.  Even

throwing your food.  You are

so much your father, my son, and

so much your mother, my daughter-in-law; but,

you are so much me, too.

I can’t teach you to swim or

do math, but I can teach you to have fun, and

maybe I can teach you

how to write a poem.  You have the heart for it.  We all do.  Everyone

should write heart to heart poems.

 Everyone should write love poems. 

Everyone should love.

Love,

Grandma Sherry

Word Choice.  And, more revisions.   Now you have the heart of the poem cut/excerpted from your letter.  You’re ready to further revise: change words—what word would work better, be fresher, be more specific, add meaning or tone?  Lines, do you want to move some around—maybe the ending is the beginning (of a sentence/of the entire poem).  More words to eliminate?  Line breaks not quite working, change them.  Work it.

Dear Two Year Old Ethan

from your crazy

 grandmother offers

while you

are still young, something

that will document a grandmother’s

love.  Loving It’s amazing

watching to watch you learn and do new things.

Throwing kisses,

stomping your feet Pointing.  Even

throwing your food.  You are

so much your father and

so much your mother but, aha

you are grandma so much me, too.

Grandma I can’t teach you to swim or

do math play hockey, or even bake a cake, but  

I can teach you how to write a poem.  You have

the heart for it.  We all do.  Everyone

should write heart to heart poems.  Everyone

should write love poems.  Everyone should love.

Love,

Grandma Sherry

Almost done creating a poem.  Don’t forget the title. I love titles.  I almost always start out with a title.  Often, the title I start out with it not the title I end up with.  Consider, Dear Two Year Old Ethan as the starting out with title. What could the end title be?

 

Dear Grandson,

your crazy

 grandmother offers

a grandmother’s

love.  Loving watching you

Throw kisses, stomp your feet, pointing. Throw your food. 

You are

so much your father and so much your mother but, aha

you are grandma too.

Grandma can’t teach you to swim or play hockey, or even bake a cake, but  

I can teach you how to write a poem.  You have the heart for it,

heart to heart poems.  Everyone should write love poems. 

Everyone should love.

Love,

Grandma

Notice how I changed more line breaks, even indented a line, made some lines longer, some shorter.  Each decision you make in revising your poem has meaning.  For example, a period gives you a long pause, longer than a comma which still gives you a pause.  No punctuation gets you from one line to the next with hardly a breath, or through a line as if the poem needs to hurry.  Hurry or slow.  You, the writer can make it happen.

Wow.  I’ve over extended my lunch hour.  Will have to stay late to make up the time.  But, you can’t interrupt creativity. 

The good thing is, no more time to edit this blog or my Dear Ethan poem.  I’m just going to let go and send—sometimes the only way to get things done.

Sherry Quan Lee

August 11, 2009