Thursday, July 7, 2022

Clunker Exchange '22

Hello, Hello, Hello!

Welcome to a third annual clunker exchange!

Below are lines from poems I've written over the past year that make me wince. I call them clunkers. They are a bone pile of lines that I might (probably won't) pick up and fix up someday.

In the meantime, I'm giving clunkers away! 

In exchange...give me one of your clunkers that I can work with to make into a shiny new poem. Leave one clunker from your drafts in the comment section below. Take any one clunker (or more--they are free) from my list below and use it as a prompt, a striking line, or a bit of something new you write. 

Beyond fixing!


I'd love to know if you are successful in refurbishing a clunker. 

  • We don’t want you to worry/
  • To light candles or say novenas/They aren’t necessary.
  • It’s OK…even though I never thought I’d have to do this alone
  • the spending of your hours/Autumn leaves falling fast
  • There wasn’t much poetry
  • then sleep ‘neath the starry sky we share
  • a whole sun’s rise to share.
  • I put a sprig of lilac in the bud vase
  • See those stars? They have already died
  • Once a blue moon, brilliance is pressed between pages of meticulous notes 
  • That’s what you wrote about the green beans
  • love and attention I gulped in and took for granted as air and sky and rain
  • cradling clouds like morning
  • except for two newcomers/slowly turning pages--
  • a banquet of learning/for hungry eyes.
  • and I am sweeping winter away
  • new green pushes/pushes up from the ground–breathless/and running late
  • Housewife-ing prescribed children, laundry, /gardening, canning, cleaning, and writing letters to home.
  • But tucked inside each letter a seedling wants rain


Can a clunker be saved?



Star padlet has been updated: https://padlet.com/mitchellhubeimom/4bzbfu2cg5k7awk5 



The incredible Jan at Bookseeds Studio is hosting this week. Drop by and share some love with her. Thanks for hosting, Jan!

p.s. I'm out of pocket for a wedding this weekend...I'll catch up on posts asap!

7 comments:

  1. Hi Linda. This is a fun idea. I'll take: "We don't want you to worry"

    I'll donate to the list: "Your smile is like the tundra."

    ReplyDelete
  2. ...as I told Tab: you two should collaborate on a book of prompts "captions & clunkers" ! xo p.s. I love the stars-they-have-already-died line!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for your generosity, Linda! I'll have to ponder your list clunkers and narrow myself down to just one clunker (out of WAY too many) of my own. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Clunkers can be saved, Linda, so thank you for one that appeals to me: "then sleep ‘neath the starry sky we share". I am offering you a thought that never developed beyond prose: "quiet the outside noises". I would love to see you add your creativity to these words. Have fun. I know I will.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this idea and I'm not so sure that these lines are actually clunkers. I'm thinking each one could be refurbished into an awesome Golden Shovel. Could be worth playing with...

    ReplyDelete
  6. What wonderful inspiration your clunkers offer! proof that one person's "trash" is another person's "treasure"! I'm going to bookmark this page as a source of inspiration, and will definitely let you know if any poems grow from them!

    ReplyDelete

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