Wednesday, April 18, 2018

PAD Day 18: An Experiment, with a Familiar Old Poem

Today's dual prompts from Poetic Asides and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "temptation" poem, and... (2) well, I'll let NaPoWriMo's Maureen Thorson describe this one: 

First, find a poem in a book or magazine (ideally one you are not familiar with). Use a piece of paper to cover over everything but the last line. Now write a line of your own that completes the thought of that single line you can see, or otherwise responds to it. Now move your piece of paper up to uncover the second-to-last line of your source poem, and write the second line of your new poem to complete/respond to this second-to-last line. Keep going, uncovering and writing, until you get to the first line of your source poem, which you will complete/respond to as the last line of your new poem. It might not be a finished draft, but hopefully it at least contains the seeds of one.

Okayyy.... Well, I tried this with a newly-published poem by a poet friend, and although I was pretty satisfied with the result, I didn't feel comfortable posting it because I couldn't contact her for permission to use it. So instead I'm posting this one, based on William Carlos Williams' classic "This is Just to Say". (Obviously, it's not a poem I'm unfamiliar with, but oh well....)



Tempting

and so cold
was the spring wind today
so sweet
was the hand I held

they were delicious
those lips
forgive me
for saying it to the world

for breakfast
I want to make you bacon
saving
you the crispiest piece

you were probably
wondering why I would
and which
kitchen I would cook it in

the icebox
that was my heart and the contents
that were in
it, have thawed
the plums
of my passion

I have eaten
of the juices of life
this is just to say
I love your flavor


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