Poetry Exercise
Step 1: capture a moment (optional: take the photo)
- Describe the moment – what is in the foreground, background
- List associated nouns and verbs
Step 2: Impressions
- What memories, ideas, images are evoked?
- Create symbols: list associated nouns and verbs
Writing from steps 1 & 2 combined:
I sat down at a random area of Madison Square Park and felt my hair getting hotter and hotter from absorbing the sun’s heat. Confused about what I should write about, I thought back to the few times I have actually visited this park. Recalling that one day after a 11AM to 9PM shift when I sat waiting to meet up with my friend to give them the drinks I made near closing. I was sweating while I was writing this, constantly readjusting the grip of my pencil because of the moisture building up. Today was oddly warm compared to the 30 degree weather this past week. Every now and then, a gust of wind would pick up and blow a bunch of sand and debris around. When the first gust hit, it flipped through the pages of my notebook. Then, a girl approached and asked, “May I take these two empty chairs in front of you?” to which I responded, “yeah sure!” Her coffee breath was so strong and made me think about the Starbucks I was at earlier. Now it was just me, my backpack, and this one pigeon that circled around waiting for some crumbs to drop on the floor for it to eat. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any snacks with me so it eventually roamed off towards the other strangers eating lunch at the park. Bark! Bark! I was disrupted by a group of 6 dogs barking and dragging their walker along. They were huge and almost the size of the dog walker! A white, fluffy husky decided to take a squat, then proceeded to poop while his buddies were just tugging the walker, signaling their desire to go. I watched as the walker struggled to pick up the poop while trying to hold onto the colorful leashes of the dogs.
Step 3: Blend step 1 & 2 -> Write poem
Sitting in Madison Park
With my hair all dark
Absorbing the sun’s heat
Listening to the birds tweet
I take a while
To let out a smile
As I see a dog
And type for my blog
