Sunday, May 17, 2020

Bud to blossom


I'm participating in a 5-day "Open Write" on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA.  
Today,  Kimberly Johnson inspires us to channel Jericho Brown and his invention of a poetry form he calls "Duplex." I found his poetry writing to be extraordinary - and the prompt to be extremely challenging...which he describes as follows:

Here are the boundaries:
Write a ghazal that is also a sonnet that is also a blues poem of 14 lines, giving each line 9 to 11 syllables.
The first line is echoed in the last line.
The second line of the poem should change our impression of the first line in an unexpected way.
The second line is echoed and becomes the third line.
The fourth line of the poem should change our impression of the third line in an unexpected way.
This continues until the penultimate line becomes the first line of the couplet that leads to the final (and first) line.
For the variations of repeated lines, it is useful to think of the a a’ b scheme of the blues form.   

So, here goes...my first attempt at a "Duplex." I don't believe this will be my last...I found this form to be truly inspiring.

Bud to Blossom

Time is to life as bud is to blossom,
with possible wither or grow.

Is it possible to grow while withering?
Her gentle kiss, while I read, told me so.

Her gentle kiss, while I read, made me glow.
This toddler seeks only our love and laughter.

This toddler knows only our love and laughter,
though we feel loss, walls, and isolation.

Through our loss, walls, and isolation,
this sense that time has been stolen from us.

While we know that time has been stolen,
she's outside, picking flowers in the grass.

Outside, holding flowers from grass, I know
time is to life as bud is to blossom.


4 comments:

  1. gayle sands, from Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA website:
    Wither or grow—as adults, we see that both are possible, and cannot be stopped. My favorite lines?
    “While we know that time has been stolen,
    she’s outside, picking flowers in the grass.”

    Those lines, that contrast, says it all…

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  2. Mo Daley, from Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA Open Write website:
    Maureen, the sounds in your poem are so soothing. I think you’ve really shown us that our current situation can be thought of in so many ways. The toddler’s perspective is so refreshing. The enduring love is just precious in your poem.

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  3. kimjohnson66, who gave the prompt on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA website:
    Maureen, this is a sweet sentiment about missing those young family members we love to watch grow – and knowing all the while exactly what they are doing, though we are not there to share the moments. “She’s outside, picking flowers in the grass,” is rich in imagery, and the analogy that begins and ends your poem is precious.

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  4. glenda funk, from Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA website:
    Maureen,
    Your duplex is gorgeous. I love the analogy that begins and ends your poem. The question in line four makes us think about how growth depends on death. Yet it’s so hard to be separated from a granddaughter. There’s a sad contrast in your watching to her growing among the flowers. Yet I know you’re comforted by her innocence in the midst of the isolation. Beautiful poem. Thank you.
    —Glenda

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