Kick the Poetry Can’ts #8
This is another great prompt that can be used in a variety of ways. They haven’t made it to index cards of their own but they will soon. These are incomplete sentences. Some of them lead right into make a list, 3 Ways to . . . Some are a great invitation to go someplace unexpected, Isn’t it your turn to. . . Usually students don’t have much trouble completing these. But then I often (depending on the class) serve them a twist. I tell them then need to brainstorm at least 10 lines and then they have to swap it out with someone else.
I didn’t have anyone to play with me tonight so I’m doing this one on my own. I decided to take the phrase BEHIND THE and see where it
Here’s my quick 10 line brainstorm.
behind the tree is a bush
behind the bush is a branch
behind the branch is a leaf
behind the leaf is a nest
behind the nest there is hope
behind the hope is a belief
behind the belief there is years of nature doing its own thing
behind the years of nature doing its own thing is a girl
behind the girl is the dream
behind the dream is the will
And here’s my quickie first draft of a poem. I like where this is heading and think I’ll come back and work with it some more.
Just outside my door
a Japanese maple begins the garden
rimmed in lady ferns and baby tears
dainty violets and meadow foam,
a wetlands bordered by bubbling water rocks
Beyond the tree a scraggly bush,
no tree itself, at least not yet,
grows like a skeleton against the fence
bending and sometimes breaking, when the wind blows
Within the bush branches grow
zig zaging toward the sun
highways for ants and aphids, spiders too,
a place for birds to perch, to preen
after a midday bath
Beside the branch
dark green leaves cluster like a fan
protect the jewel nestled in the vee
that meets the trunk
Behind the leaves
there is a tiny nest
woven with bits of spider webs
scraps of lint
white downy feathers
a bed newly made
waiting to hold the tiny eggs
from the tiny dancer
humming her song of hope
Rough but something new to play with in my spare time. Your turn.
Original art by Susan Taylor Brown
Inspired by my special friend
Has given me great courage
She has also given me hope
She taught me how to love
Loves me back unconditionally
Inspired by my special friend
I have been able to reach higher
With a greater understanding
That anything is possible
No matter how hard the challenge
Inspired by my special friend
My life has taken on new meaning
Without so much as a word spoken
For sometimes actions speak louder
I love my golden blue eyed horse
She is my special friend
- Anne McKenna
This is simply lovely, Anne.