Have you heard of a connoisseur? Here is a definition from Merriam-Webster:
What are you an expert in? Begin today by brainstorming the little things you do well. Do you make the perfect grilled-cheese sandwich? Can you fold a fitted-sheet with dexterity?
Spend two minutes thinking of things you are adept at. Here is my list:
- #IowaSky (I try to notice the subtle differences each time I look up; I often post photos to twitter with this hashtag)
- Gravel runs (I've spent hundreds of hours running the same gravel roads)
- lines of memorized poems run in my head (they pop in unexpectedly)
- Macaroni salad (my signature dish)
- finding 4-leaf clovers (I'm really good at this!)
After you brainstorm, select one to explore in a poem. Remember how images and metaphors help readers experience your poem richly.
Here is mine:
My mind works like a
a top-loading Maytag
thoughts sudsing
in the wash cycle:
a tune from the radio
and pick up the rug at Servicemaster
rubbing up against
where did I put the chapstick
and Colin’s birthday is Wednesday.
Like so many beige towels and
gray t-shirts
impressions
churn to the top
then work their way
under again
with flashes of poems
–a red sock!–
startling my day.
My pancakes are the best to offer
ReplyDeleteLike the fluffiest clouds and the softest pillows
With great taste too my pancakes are
Like so many others
On the skillet or pan
Cook on the bottom, get all brown then flip
Once the raw side cooked, a perfect pancake cooked on both sides
A nice golden brown like the leaves in fall
I like the simile at the end! Yum!
ReplyDeleteStraight lines
ReplyDeleteThey make it pleasing to look at.
Maybe even a two way cut
Will look even better.
Everytime I press play
To make the music start,
And every pull of the starter.
I get into the zone and get the job done.
Some may even call it,
The Mow Zone
I love the assonance of "the mow zone"!
DeleteI'm grinning to think that you are a connoisseur of mowing! YES!
Agility courses through the system like blood,
ReplyDeleteTiny bolts of sugar-filled candy crud.
Typing had always been easy,
Never slowing down in fear of becoming queasy.
And like turning water into wine,
It's words into lines.
Though without meaning,
It keeps them reading.
Endlessly marching on.
And thus away to tyrants.
I especially like
Delete"turning water into wine...
words into lines"
The figure stands on the page,
ReplyDeleteNothing but a rough skeleton at the moment
The simple pencil lines beg
For a working leg, a fleshy arm
As I draw the character head to toe
I take in the image playing through my mind
And sketch it all down
Leaving a body with no eyes
The figure blushes, embarrassed by the lack of clothes
And I start to draw the basics over it
A shirt, a skirt, a pair of socks
A bag on her back, some bread for a snack
I draw her hair
Long flowing,
Impractical in real life
Useful in her story
She’s almost complete
But something is missing
I stare at the face
But she doesn’t gaze back
I finally draw the eyes
The glowing, happy eyes
Thanking me for finishing her
As she jumps off the page
She runs around, meeting new friends
All the other creations I’ve made
And as I lay down for bed
I happily think about her adventures in my head
"The simple pencil lines beg
DeleteFor a working leg, a fleshy arm" (SO GOOD!)
I love how you personify the figures' embarrassment when not yet dressed!
I love how you blended your art with poetry in this piece!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBaking and Cooking
ReplyDeleteMy not-so-secret talent
Learned from generations
Perfected with each addition
Concentration
A skill hard to find now
Can be learned
I liked "learned from generations."
DeleteBalance
ReplyDeleteFrom one foot to the other...
or from one hand to the other.
Balance is a hard skill to learn.
You become better and better,
but balance will always throw you off.
I have tamed the beast we call balance,
but even tame animals go wild sometimes.
I LOVE the taming of the beast that goes wild! (You must try the unicycle!)
Delete