Umm…?
So today in my creative writing class we did this fun exercise with poetry. I’m not the biggest fan of poetry–I really only took the class so I could write short stories and fiction (ask me how excited I was to find out that this teacher loves poetry and decided to make half the semester about it). Regardless, this exercise was a lot of fun and yielded some interesting result.
The object of the “game” we played is simple. I wrote the first line of a poem and then passed my paper to the person on my right and then they would write the next line. After that, though, they would fold down the paper so only their new line was showing. This process would continue–passing and folding–until the paper reached me again and then I would write the last line. This is what my poem morphed into:
Walking, wandering,
I don’t know right from left anymore,
but I still know where I’m going.
On the road, straight to Seattle,
passing the evergreen trees,
light goes in and out, flashing to the other side
like a spotlight searching for its star.
Pin holes in a jar. Some straw.
Milk leaked out like a cow’s udder.
Nothing could contain it,
not even that superglued mason jar
could contain the firestorm of pain and anger.
It was like a magnificent dragon guarding its jewels
with fires coming out of the deepest and darkest hole.
The flames burn so high they cloud my vision.
Burning, burning, I am ash.
Well… this certainly turned into an interesting poem. It could make sense–at least until you get to the part about the cow’s udder and mason jars and pin holes. I mean, WHAT? Some people have a strange imagination if you ask me. At least at the end it starts to make sense again? Right? Maybe?
It doesn’t rhyme, though, so how is that a poem??? ;)
Poems don’t have to rhyme!
I don’t think that’s true. You might want to research that one… :P
Don’t get me wrong, I love rhyming poems, haha. But they surely don’e haveeee to rhyme…
I know. I think the rhymers are just more fun to write. You should have a poetry day on your blog and really wow us… :)
Oh yeah, that would go over well. Hahaha I am not good at poetry.
You’ve got keep practicing. It’d all the rage with college kids now… :)
Eh, I kinda do my own thing. They can rage all they want about poetry.
Poetry ragers…what miscreants! ;)
I loved every bit. In my imagination, as you go on a journey, according to the first few lines, a cow’s udder appears suddenly and its milk cannot be contained. In a weird way, it makes sense. I had a good laugh. Interesting. I did that in school once, with a friend, but we did not hide any lines, we just wrote a poem (to rhyme) in a wandering ‘story’ format . . . was fun! ;) Poems don’t have to rhyme. Rhyme is preferred, of course, what with rhythm and flow, but it’s not mandatory. Example: http://www.google.co.za/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=poems+that+don%27t+rhyme&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CEEQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjoekreydt.hubpages.com%2Fhub%2FFive-Short-Poems&ei=F-YUUfGoIMWmhAe_k4CQBA&usg=AFQjCNF3BVtNTDSGL-b-iwiszaJo_Xjc3A
I actually really enjoyed the exercise! It was fun! I was surprised mostly because poetry is not my thing. At all.
I would sympathize with that! ;) at least you enjoyed it! :D
Exactly! I’d much rather write prose though. Hands. Down.
Me too . . . like prose better than poems . . .
I enjoyed the part about Seattle, but that is where I live so you know, I’m kinda biased. I’m with you on the short stories though. I would prefer that over poetry.
Oh hands down. HANDS. DOWN.
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