To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie –
True Poems flee.
~Emily Dickinson
I wonder what Emily meant by “true poems flee”, I’m sure it is open to interpretation but after a hiatus I am ready to tackle some poetry again. Last summer I was writing about 3 poems a week, and then this summer after one semester I think I managed to write six and most of them are still in rough draft…I wonder where creativity lives why it manages to burst through some days and stay hidden in others. I know that daily writing has helped me as a writer but could I ever tackle daily poetry? I think I could answer that quickly, NO. For me poetry evolves, it might start with an image or a few lines in my notebook, but then it ends, goes into hibernation and appears again without warning. In my poetry workshop this summer we were urged to write 2-3 poems a day and in my opinion none of them are even worthy of a rewrite. Maybe other poets are different and they thrive on the blank page of a poem every day. Today, a prompt for the poets…write a poem with the theme of Emily Dickinson’s words “true poems flee” you can use the words as a jumping off point or just refer to the theme. Some things to check when you finish your poem. Inspired by Writer’s Digest Writing Clinic.
No cliches.
Is there tension in the poem?
Check for too many “ing” vergs.
Take out any unnecessary lines.
Read your poem aloud.
Make sure your last lines leave a lasting image in your readers mind.
Now get back to work!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag