Monday, April 13, 2020

Apr13Poetry - There's a Hand



I'm trying something new, taking a risk this month - participating in
#VerseLove with Sarah Donovan,
hoping to write poetry every day this April.







Today's challenge is to write a poem based on a dream or a nightmare; to begin, consider what happened in the dream, write down emotions associated with these events or moments, and then create a poem that is at least 15 lines long.


I keep thinking about my seventeen-month old granddaughter and a recent photograph, that shows nothing more than her hand...she has hidden herself inside a dark closet, delighted with this new game. This fascinates me; the dark is the stuff of my nightmares.





There’s a Hand


There’s a hand sticking out of the closet,
Fingers curled, reaching, grasping,
The breath is faint, labored, forced,
What moves in the dark, thrashing?

There’s a hand sticking out of the closet,
Which side of nightmare is worse -
Only a hint of what is emerging,
Or trapped within dark and cursed?

There’s a hand sticking out of the closet,
A brave, fearless detective
She chooses to look within the dark,
To explore new perspective.

There’s a hand sticking out of the closet,
Followed by giggles and pants
Just like Lucy in Narnia, she’s
Determined to take the chance.

There’s a hand sticking out of the closet
Breaking out, coming back to us,
Watch how isolation, dark, and scary
Meets daring and resilience.

There’s a hand sticking out of the closet,
Freely choosing the unknown,
She knows deep and dark is also free
There is much magic at home. 





5 comments:

  1. Angie, from Sarah Donovan's website:
    OMG Maureen, I was reading too fast and thought you said seventeen year old granddaughter and thought the hand sticking out thing was the latest “social media challenge” and I pictured many teens with their hands sticking out of closets HAHA! Anyways I love your rhyme scheme and repeated first line of each stanza. Also, stanza 2 is my favorite.

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  2. Emily Yamasaki, from Sarah Donovan's website:
    Maureen! I am entranced by the repetition in your poem. I am loving the beat that it brings to your lines. “She knows deep and dark is also free” is my favorite line. So dreamy and magical!

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  3. Stacey Joy, from Sarah Donovan's website:
    Maureen,
    Surely this is a children’s picture book! I can see it so vividly. Beautiful way to craft something as scary as “There’s a hand sticking out of the closet…”
    Don’t you see this as a book? The content, the rhymes, the images!

    Wow! Love it.

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  4. glenda funk, from Sarah Donovan's website:
    Maureen,
    Love the repetition of “There’s a hand sticking out of the closet” and the playfulness in much of the poem. Immediately I thought about Sarah Kay’s hands poem as I read. I love the way you prompt me to think about all the symbolic representations of hands. Thank you.
    —Glenda

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  5. So incredible.... I agree with all of the comments. A picture book would be perfect.

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