Poet Emily Dickinson wrote:
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
You can read the entire poem here.
Today's challenge is to think of a metaphor for hope. Dickinson used a bird (feathers, perches, sings).
I wrote in haiku form and used the COVID vaccine as my metaphor because I felt such a surge of hopefulness when I got my second dose and knew I could soon gather with my vaccinated family and friends. I then took the metaphor a step further and compared the needle prick to a bee sting.
Vaccine
Little bee alights
Her stinger Moderna’s kiss
Hope buzzes my veins
-------------
What could be a new, fresh metaphor for hope? Try thinking of answers that could fill in this blank:
Hope is............
Try to think of at least five before you choose one to transform into a poem. You might do something rhyming in the model of Dickinson, or write in haiku form as I did. You also have several other forms in your repertoire to draw on: nonet, skinny poem, an epistolary (the letter-writing form) come to mind as forms that might work for this poem!
Happy writing!
AB
Thanks to Ethical ELA for many of the prompts I'm adapting for my students this month.
Hope
ReplyDeleteHope is like your car keys
You keep it close to you
You lose it easily
But if you rummage around it's usually nearby
Oh, I like the idea of "keeping it close" then losing it...and needing to "rummage" to find it again.
ReplyDeleteYes, we misplace hope, but should keep it near.
Hope
ReplyDeleteHopes is like a snake
It sheds the layers of despair
To show the shiny prospect of the future
Always viewed poorly by the world
But always there
Danté, This was striking in its originality. I love the idea of the fresh newness beneath the sloughed skin.
DeleteHope is a small, glowing ball of light
ReplyDeleteAll wrapped up inside of you
Burning no matter what happens
No matter who dies, or what plans go awry
And not letting the black hole of despair
Overtake your hope
And in your dying moments, know that
In hope, there is despair
In despair, there is hope
Addie, I love how you explore the interconnectedness of hope and despair. (It reminds me of the oxymoron motif we are tracking in R&J!) I also adore the word "awry," probably because of its place in Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse." I'm so glad you wrote today! If you've missed any days, go back and fill them in!
DeleteHope is like a blade
ReplyDeleteThe duller it gets the more
The hope will hurt you
Oh wow. I didn't think about how hope can betray and even hurt. Do you think sometimes we avoid hoping as a mechanism to avoid disappointment?
DeleteHope is an alarm.
ReplyDeleteIt tells you it is time to make today a good one.
It wakes you up.
You go to sleep wondering about it tomorrow.
You hope your alarm goes off everyday.