POETRY IN PIECES

Blow Blow Winter Wind Constant as the Northern Star (from Shakespeare) Mixed Media by M. Slavin

Apples scattered through the trees, 

As if someone threw them up to the sky like confetti

They landed where the branches caught them.

I am leafing through my writing journal looking for phrases I can use in my artwork. I am no poet, but I like to find snippets of my writing that generate the same intense feeling or sense of wonder of good poetry, ones that reach deep into my soul or cause me to skip a beat to consider the meaning. I like to include them in mixed media pieces. I like how one word can create waves of thought.

ABCDarian by Martha Slavin

I like to read poetry but I can't read an entire book of poems all at once. I need time to savor each poem. I have a stack of poetry books, but  I may never get to read every one. 

People need to leave a mark 

initials on a table, 

empty plastic bags caught in a tree,

like leaves rustling 

I think of my high school teacher who handed each of us a copy of Sound and Sense by Lawrence Perrine, which introduced me to the why of poetry. The book, last published in 2018, gave thousands of students a foundation in poetry. It's a good book.

In the middle of the night,

My hips screamed for change

Writing poetry, like everything, takes practice to develop the skill to know when to stop, when and what to leave out, and to understand the visual experience of reading a poem. I'm still working on all of those.  Writing down these phrases from my journal help me see ideas that resonate. In my hunt for good phrases to combine into writing, I go back to William Shakespeare. What better wordsmith can you find?

A Pair of Star-Crossed Lovers (Shakespeare)  Mixed Media by M. Slavin

https://owlcation.com/about-us

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43320/the-ballad-of-rudolph-reed