Friday, November 21, 2008

A Second Poetry Friday Post Today

Tricia over at The Miss Rumphius Effect has challenged people to write/post a list poem. Here's mine. It was originally written as a bout-rimes sonnet (can you tell by the end words?? Especially the "Hobo-/ken" which I'm especially proud of.) The bout-rimes poem is an experiment I love - it gets you out of your usual vocabulary/topic ruts. And the poem definitely qualifies as a list.

THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT

I worry about my head. I worry: Is it June
or is it December? I worry whether the stress
on my brain is greater when the moon
waxes or when it wanes. I howl. I obsess
about everything: cracks in the sidewalk, a snake
in the grass. Sneakers or boots? It's never moot
whether we come or go, eat bread or eat cake.
Life's little -ifuls (merc, bount-, beaut-)
are no tethers to keep me secure. Did Garbo
never get to be alone? And if the play
is the thing, what's not? From Cairo to Hobo-
ken, my anxious nose sniffs, sniffs: Is day
better than night? Jeans with this or rhinestones?
And those terrorists. And perfume or cologne?


8 comments:

  1. I can't believe you wrote this as a bouts rimés! It certainly fits the list format! Thank you so much for sharing it.

    BTW - We stretch every Monday if you feel like joining us again.

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  2. Mondays sound like a very good day to stretch! Will do.

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  3. That is amazing! Makes me feel like doing something too--and I'm no poet.

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  4. Hi, Julie. This is wonderful. You're quite amazing. :-) My favorite line? The one about the -ifuls!! Very clever.

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  5. I'm so glad you joined us with this fabulous poem! I really love the last line - it draws me further on. You really did a great job with the rhymes too.

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  6. Julie,

    Great poem! I hope you'll join us in a Poetry Stretch again!

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  7. Thank you, all! If you work with a writing group, just give this exercise a try - it's so much fun to see what everyone comes up with, given the same end rhymes. If you know six people, each person can put in one rhyme (like stress/obsess) which leaves one last pair of words that can be wild cards. You end up with 14 words and then it's up to you - Elizabethan, Petrachan, whatever order you like.

    I'm definitely going to try to Stretch on Mondays, Elaine.

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  8. This is excellent, a list poem that feels like real poetry!

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