Poetry Exercise...

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
29,138
Reaction score
8,563
Location
Toronto
Website
ktcraig.com
I did this 10 minute exercise in a workshop I attended. Take the title, I AM FROM and go from there. Just start telling where you are from and go back to the title as often or as seldom as you wish. Start with I am From and go crazy...ten minutes. No editing, no holding yourself back...


I Am From


I am from the rusty Miramichi,

Which swells and contracts to the heartbeat of the distant moon.



I am from the smiling lips of Shakespeare,

Who tells the young lover to look up into the night and shout:

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?”

I am from that most ancient of minds.

“It is the East,” I say, and I am from the sun.

“Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon,” which I am also from.



I am from the liquid reason of Neruda’s lines.



I am from the forest creatures

Who beat a path to my door,

Calling out my name through the darkness

Of night’s great blanket.



I am from the place where dreams die.



I am from a woman who is strong and dark and proud…

A woman of the soil who tells me that what doesn’t kill us

Makes us weaker, but more determined.



I am from that smell that escapes

Off the tattered spines of books

In the ancient library.



I am from the sadness that breathes in loneliness

And the happiness that comes with remembering the dead.



I am from anger,

Mounted foolishly out of false pride.



I am from the crumbling mountains

That yearn to be flat.



I am from Icarus,

The melted wax of his fallen dreams.



I am from the bridge we left behind

As the last Autumn leaves finished falling.


Kevin





NOW IT'S YOUR TURN...GO...

 

William Haskins

poet
Kind Benefactor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
29,099
Reaction score
8,848
Age
58
Website
www.poisonpen.net
poetry exercise

i thought this thread would be about lifting glasses of scotch.
 

Alphabet

Aspiring Inspirer
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Messages
961
Reaction score
265
Location
Stevenage, England
Sorry... I got inspired by the words 'poetry exercise' instead...

___________________________


Poetry Exercises

Lift ten words
Raise, erect, heighten, increase, levitate,
inspire, power, uplift, carry, elevate,

Now stretch ten
brilllll, thrillll, spilllll, willlll, chillllll
hisssss. yesssss, dressss, presssss, lessssss,

Now curl into a ball
.

___________________________
 

aspier

Banned
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Messages
3,172
Reaction score
261
Location
I live in my poetry and stories ... sometimes the
Website
users.skynet.be
hark!

I am from the rusty Miramichi,

Which swells and contracts to the heartbeat of the distant moon.

I am from the smiling lips of Shakespeare,
Who tells the young lover to look up into the night and shout:
“But soft! Hark! What light through yonder window breaks?”
Pleant to read and yes it gives that ewtra picture.

Just put in 'hark' when you talk about Sheakspear ... oee big guy! He likes it!
 

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
29,138
Reaction score
8,563
Location
Toronto
Website
ktcraig.com
LOL! It's funny. Ive noticed that a lot of people who quote that line often put in Hark instead of "but soft". For you I will add the hark. And Alpha...That was REALLY cool! Loved it.
 

Unique

Agent of Doom
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Messages
8,861
Reaction score
3,230
Location
Outer Limits
I Am From

I am from a place you've never been before
My eyes have seen things no one should ever see

Created from the dust of distant galaxies
Freedom flows with every breath I take and leave

If you ran across a blazing trail of stardust
If you found a place of peace and tranquility

You've missed a turn and passed right on by me
Back up and take the next road that you see

I am from a place lonely and long distant
Farther than imagination's cast can find

Look a little deeper inside your psyche
We might be cousins from another time.

In my world ten minutes passes slowly
An hour is as long as eternity

Should you ever dare to come and visit
Beware - you may find it hard to leave.

*******************************
I think I'm at the end of this little exercise
I find I still have 2 minutes left to go

KTC - thank you for the inspiration
If I'm published I'll be sure to let you know.
 

Cassie88

Make mine a double entendre
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
3,824
Reaction score
790
Location
Connecticut
I am from private
I lost the gold key
I am from Catholic
but no longer be
I am from family
All grown up alone
I am from searching
in poem after poem
I am from college
a Masters Degree
I am from acting
to be not to be
I am from drinking
The bottle went dry
I am from cocaine
I said goodbye
I am from eating
And ordering in
I am from diets
won't ever be thin
I am from illness
no one is safe
I am from cynic
lost ideals chafe
I am from sisters
Share the same heart
I am from hoping
not yet a dead art
I am from why
the questions repeat
I am from f**k you
my words of defeat
I am from laughter
my kind of prayer
I am from music
no matter where
I am from missing
the joy of a child
I am from kissing
in young days of wild
I am from honest
I am from sad
I am from country
I am from mad
I am from fear
left it behind
I am from loving
I am from kind
I am from friendship
I am from no grind
I am from children
I am from I can
I am from writing
I am from I am


whew... forgot the time... scary, I could have gone on and on.... but right now, I am from Shut up!

Great exercise.
 

Alphabet

Aspiring Inspirer
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Messages
961
Reaction score
265
Location
Stevenage, England
I am from prose into poetry
I am from madness into sanity
I am from hatred into peace

I am from anguish into ecstacy
I am from isolation into company
I am from doubt into belief

I am from dischord into harmony
I am from solo into symphony
I am from restraint into release
 

ricahardo

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 1, 2005
Messages
318
Reaction score
104
Evolution

Thanks KTC! Great thread!

Evolution



I am from distant places with little known names,

That resonate with common folk

Who go about their daily business,

With the usual problems and usual secrets.

I am from fear and ambition,

Hope and disappointment too,

A desire for recognition

That bubbles furiously on the backburner of humility.

I am from love.

Nervous, cautious love that wants to shout from

The hill tops but fears opening its mouth for

Fear of rejection.

I am from contentment and a partner

Who has been my rock,

Who has helped me rebuild my house

After the sand it was founded on

Washed away.

I am from people and their potential.

Seeing my mistakes, I have found ways

To help others cope with theirs,

Or avoid them and in doing so,

Live vicariously in the pleasure

Of small successes.

I am from the future

And all it has to offer -

If I can but follow the path.

I am from the journey.
 

Cassie88

Make mine a double entendre
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
3,824
Reaction score
790
Location
Connecticut
I just want to say that this exercise has a way of getting us closer to a more truthful voice, possibly producing images or thoughts...splinters ....that may be the beginnings of new poems. Your poem, Teddy, however, is a poem complete and I love it!
 
Last edited:

Paint

Warrior of Truth
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
1,549
Reaction score
389
Location
Standing at the precipitous cliff, believing I can
Website
www.shawnk.com
I am from wind
whispering in your ears.
I am from rocks
solid and always strong.
I am from trees
sacred and life-giving.
I am from sun
warm and surrounding.
I am from sky
endless and changing.
I am from grass
sweet, swishing and golden.
I am from sand
broken yet endless.
I am from flowers
fragrant and feminine.
I am from thunder
angry and crashing.
I am from stars
sparkling and falling.
I am from moon
waxing and waning.
I am from snow
pure and soulful.
I am from clouds
soft and ever moving.
I am from mother
nurture and love
I am from father
strong and sure.
 

TeddyG

The Other Shoe Will Fall!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Messages
2,689
Reaction score
549
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Website
www.virginisrael.com
Not Edited...first shot...no cheating...(sheesh!)



I am from
my mother's womb
with much courage and fortitude
did she bring me into this world
on love's wings did she protect me

At first she nurtured me
held me, fed me
fought my battles for me
held me when I cried and hurt
Though no memory of this do I have
I know
I am from that place

Then as my small legs began to grow
my father took my hand
and walked me along paths
that others dare not follow
taught me not to be afraid
and life would be what I made it
I am from that place

I am from a warm home full of love
with holding and kisses and comfort
Understanding of pain
Forgiving of mistakes
Supportive of ideas

I am from a place I no longer remember
with full clarity
It remains a memory
Full of music and sunny days
Baseball bats and swimming pools
Laughter and friendship
Warmth and understanding
Strong hugs and great kisses
I am from that place

I am from a place that demands only
One be all they were meant to be
Constantly striving
To take the place I was from
and make that the place I am going to

I am from a place
where I want my children to say
with smiles and tears to their children
I am from a place
where my father held me with love

I am from a place
which will be the place my children's children
well go back to
 

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
29,138
Reaction score
8,563
Location
Toronto
Website
ktcraig.com
I am glad this thread was brought up from its quick death! Everybody's version is truely incredible. I think the prompt is one that inspires us to speak from that place in us that we rarely glimpse, that Namaste in all of us. I still remember how mesmerized I was by the prompt when I did it. It's a fabulous leaping off place and your poems show this incredibly! Amazing work all!
 

ricahardo

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 1, 2005
Messages
318
Reaction score
104
Inspirational Threads

This thread and ( for me personally) the poetry game have been really useful tools for me. I hope that others who have such good ideas will continue to post them. Thanks again KTC and Scullars!
 

aspier

Banned
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Messages
3,172
Reaction score
261
Location
I live in my poetry and stories ... sometimes the
Website
users.skynet.be
How do you people know where you from! How can one know this? I mostly have the feeling I am lost. The mind calculates while the spirit, whoosh, its long gone in the wind. Is this 'freedom' of knowing an ideal? Mostly I admire people that 'know' wwhat they are and where they are from. Yet that seems like too much of a prison to me also. Being bounded up in the knowledge that you are made of this and that stone and am from there. Isn't that hampering a person? You then have to be and act that what you are and being and being who/what/from where you are is always more than that. But ok, there's that poetic sense ... that's a dream. Yes that's a wish.

Am I missing the point here?
 

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
29,138
Reaction score
8,563
Location
Toronto
Website
ktcraig.com
Paint has a good point, my friend A! You are poetic in all of your posts. The idea of I AM FROM is that each time you sit down to write a poem from that leaping off spot you are someone new, someone different than the last time you did it. You tell, in poetic form, what is close to your heart at the moment of the telling. I will do one...
 

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
29,138
Reaction score
8,563
Location
Toronto
Website
ktcraig.com
I am from the wet leaves
dangling from limbs
that brush against my windows.
I am from the sound
that is not a sound
when a sleek white canoe
slices through the morning calm.
I am from the feeling one gets
when beach sand glides through their fingers
tickling their outstretched toes as it falls.
I am from that river,
that always present and tumultuous river
that flows through my veins
just as it did through the veins
of my many ancestors.
I am from that MicMac woman,
dark and high-cheeked,
proud but hidden in lore.
I am from the sun
as it threatens to reach down
and caress the morning dew
from the browning fall grass.
I am from that place
reachable only by reason
that I fall to
when day turns to darkness
and I am no longer held up
to the scrutiny of others.
I am from,
still and always,
that bridge
I can just make out...
from the lost memories
of my long ago past.
 

Eliel Takavian

Here we go again
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 11, 2005
Messages
163
Reaction score
52
Location
On the brink
Where I'm from

I am from wind and ice
I am from wolf track and fir tree
Blizzard and frostbite
Cold autumn and long dark nights
I am from forest and river

I am from sun and earth
I am from asphalt and leather
Sweat stain and bruises
Warm summer and cool soft evenings
I am from park and sidewalk

I am from cloud and rain
I am from sea salt and white sand
Typhoon and sunburn
Hot winter and bright lightning strikes
I am from beach and ocean

I am from imagination
I am from love
I am from wonder
I am from mercy
 

Paint

Warrior of Truth
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
1,549
Reaction score
389
Location
Standing at the precipitous cliff, believing I can
Website
www.shawnk.com
Inspired by another thread

I am from a place so weary
crying for peace
from a place of war
children become men
with guns in their hand.

I am history
repeating itself
sleeping in denial.

This time it's different
more important.
Still lives are over
Families broken like glass.
 

Cassie88

Make mine a double entendre
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
3,824
Reaction score
790
Location
Connecticut
aspier said:
How do you people know where you from! How can one know this? I mostly have the feeling I am lost. The mind calculates while the spirit, whoosh, its long gone in the wind. Is this 'freedom' of knowing an ideal? Mostly I admire people that 'know' wwhat they are and where they are from. Yet that seems like too much of a prison to me also. Being bounded up in the knowledge that you are made of this and that stone and am from there. Isn't that hampering a person? You then have to be and act that what you are and being and being who/what/from where you are is always more than that. But ok, there's that poetic sense ... that's a dream. Yes that's a wish.

Am I missing the point here?

Aspier, won't you do one... starting with the line

I am from shoes

or

I am from red shoes


PLEASE
 

aspier

Banned
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Messages
3,172
Reaction score
261
Location
I live in my poetry and stories ... sometimes the
Website
users.skynet.be
Red shoe

Cassie88 said:
Aspier, won't you do one... starting with the line

I am from shoes

or

I am from red shoes


PLEASE


Oh Cassie, my darling! I told you I am lost! My view of poetry is so different from everybody's ... I cannot do exercises or compititions = sit down and write about something. Poetry for me is something like a seance. I then, priest doing a ritual and resurrecting words in a sort of Necro Poetica using 'words said and cold' and 'bring them to life' in new contexts.

But ok, I will post here something re what you asked: a shoe (+ being lost). NOW THAT will cost you a shoe fiction picture series! (To see whhat that is look here for examples! Those shoes are all from honourable muses form WRITE! YOURS is the only one that still fails! Oeeee go for it! Yesssssssss! Make one and mail it to me! I'll make you a beautiful page too with blurb + write up = URL = http://users.skynet.be/spier/excerpts.htm And by the way, your poetry! Why not look at this too? http://users.skynet.be/spier/argoboatindex.htm)


psychogenetic fugue (and the shoe)

Leaving home leaving no trace
Aphasia I have forgotten your name

Oh Apraxia for you the blame
the key I found of you I now have forgotten
how to unlock your heart

Agnosia sweet, its you who came
you who tease tying my shoelaces
for me and fête and panty

its for me and the taking to home
but worst of all and by and bye
and in the glass I have forgotten what you're …

where?