In The Literary Life section of the Sept/Oct 2019 Poets&Writers Magazine, Steve Almond wrote an article called “Manuals for Living: What Our Favorite Novels Teach Us About Ourselves. He says he rereads Stoner (assoc link) by John Williams (1965) “an alarming percentage of his time.” In the article he writes, “And so I read the novel as a study in human conflict, the ways in which Stoner unwittingly stokes his feuds, seeks to defend himself, and struggles to accept the limits of his power in the world.”
In another article in The Literary Life section, “The Turn” by Benjamin Percy, I read “But I am here to tell you about the generative power of no. I can’t wait to see what I build out of the wreckage of last week. I can’t wait to find the turn. Because I know the only true failure is to stop trying.”
In the fiction prompt, “School Days,” it talks about power dynamics and says, “You might chose to integrate narration from an older, more removed character with scenes from an adolescent’s perspective.
Writing is a way to express our struggles for and with power. We may write in spite of every no, in response to rejection, to show the power of our perspective. But there is another power of perspective and that is that the writer does not have to be the speaker. Though much poetry is confessional and assumed to be about the writer, it may be fiction, or written from someone else’s point of view. A poem can explore many perspectives, or through using second person have you questioning your own perspective.
Have you read a poem that changed your perspective? What did the poet do to accomplish that?
The Prompts
The Meet the Bar prompt at dVerse Poets Pub is to write a Pantoum.
NaPoWriMo : write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else, and explains why.
PAD Challenge : write a pessimistic poem
Poetry Non-stop : write a conceit (or unlikely metaphor); think of two things, perhaps one concrete and one abstract, which don’t immediately seem alike, and then use this interesting metaphor in a poem.
Today’s Poem
She Would Rather Be
A swimmer says
she would rather be a chameleon
as her tongue darts to catch
water dripping down her cheek from her eyelashes
She would rather be a chameleon
warm and dry, able to collect
water from her own eyes
easily changing to blend in
Warm and dry, able to collect
herself, still rosy from exertion
easily changing to blend
among non-swimmers sunning on the rocks
Herself still rosy from exertion
I observe her colors dissipate
Among non-swimmers sunning on the rocks
she wants to change at will like a chameleon
I observe her colors dissipate
as she darts to catch her tongue
she wants to change at will like a chameleon
a camouflaged swimmer says
Very creative, Maria! I love the idea of being like a chameleon.
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It is very good and good in comparison
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How relatable this poem is as we all want that chameleon ability, “easily changing to blend”! I love the sensory imagery, the details of skin, cheeks, eyelashes, rocks, colors — they so add to the potent desire of the poem’s persona “to blend.”
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I love the way you paint her, a shapeshifting swimmer… do you want to be seen or hide?
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I’m a chameleon in a crayon box.
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An inspired combination of prompts, Maria, and I love the way the water dripping in the opening stanza changes to and dissolves the colours of a chameleon. The lines that stand out for me are:
‘easily changing to blend
among non-swimmers sunning on the rocks’
and
‘she wants to change at will like a chameleon’ –
that would be a great super power.
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Thank you.
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You’re welcome, Maria.
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This line I like and can relate to: she wants to change at will like a chameleon.
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I’m glad you liked it.
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going through your stanzas:
she says, she wants, she does, she is
she wants to be, to be, to be
she is, she’s seen
she’s seen, she wants, she’s judged
no matter what she says, she wants, she does, she is, she’s judged. so is a human in the jungle
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Thanks for looking at that.
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I imagine that is the dream of many to become a chameleon. The perspective of water and swimming adds another dimension. That you for writing to the prompt(s)! 🙂
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I enjoyed it. I like the pantoum form and it added a fun dimension to my thoughts for today’s poem.
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed the prompt!
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Ah….sometimes I suspect we would all like to be a chameleon!
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