Thursday, October 25, 2018

Secret Shape & Concrete Poems

Good Poetry Friday


Kay is hosting today's wonderful round-up at A Journey Through the Pages. Stop by for a visit with her poems. They're lovely and touching...just like Autumn.

Last week's Poetry Friday offered two prompts that caught my fancy. One was from The Opposite of Indifference:


"The secret shape of ________ is a ___________"



The second ... I can't recall the source of...(did I dream it?). was to take a walk, gather fall things and turn them into concrete poems.

This past week provided perfect combinations of those prompts -- I'm sharing some bits from responses from my journals.


my messy journal--I like it like that




the secret shape of
autumn
is college touring
   -- daughter leaves too soon

the secret shape of
an acorn is a jewel tree
adorning the sky

the secret shape of
october – is a frost sketch
made beneath the stars

the secret scent of
maple leaf is brown sugar
a low-boiled sun

(c) Linda Mitchell


14 comments:

  1. Oh, Linda, I love these! I think the third is my favorite, though I'm hard pressed to choose. I was just writing my post about how PF poets inspire me to try new things, and your poems surely do that. In the hubbub of conference week, I'd forgotten all about Tabatha's prompt from last week. Thanks for reminding me. I'm going to play around with it in the next few days.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How lovely your poems are, Linda! (I can relate to the daughter one...)
    Your concrete poems in your journal are very cool, and aren't even what I'd call messy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great prompt to try! I wish we had beautiful fall leaves like those. I love the acorn jewel and frost sketch and brown sugar, but especially the little pang of a daughter leaving home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your responses to these prompts. I can relate to the daughter one as well. At least she comes home this weekend. The last one, though, is my favorite, especially as the maples are just turning to their brilliant fall colors here.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice to capture that feeling in the first one, but it makes me sad even from a long ago goodbye. The notebook concrete poems are wonderful, Linda & beautiful to see. And, I do love that "low-boiled sun", just terrific!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your first secret shape poem is speaking to me, Linda. I'm missing my college kids -- especially my youngest, who is a freshman. Good luck on those tours!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such lovely poems, Linda! Very cool idea to make those leaf shapes; brilliant idea to combine the prompts.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Both poems are lovely. I lovelovelove "low-boiled sun." And your photo captures so much about autumn, including the sharp sunlight on the pages and leaves.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Linda, your poems are opening my eyes to nature and your concrete poems are so beautifully designed. Perhaps, #2 will make it to my Abundant Autumn Gallery, if you are interested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carol, your blog post and invitation are beautiful. I will try to respond to the invitation. This next month is jam packed with details that are going to monopolize my brain's time and attention. Your blog wouldn't take a comment from me. I hope everything is ok there?

      Delete
  10. Your shape poems are spectacular! And a nice connection with the secret shapes that follow. I also love the line " a low-boiled sun."

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like these secret shop lines,
    "an acorn is a jewel tree
    adorning the sky"
    And I love your notebook with the different textural leaves!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love these! Although being a NH boy, the 4th is my favorite. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Uh-oh. If that's what you consider a messy journal, Linda, I'm in deep doo-doo! I love your sense of play in these poems. That last haiku, especially, captures my autumn eye.

    ReplyDelete

Friendly, positive comments and feedback are always welcome here. Please let me know I'm not just whistling in the dark!