Hello Poets,
A few years ago I started what has now become an annual activity. I call it a Clunker Exchange. None of the of poetry lines below were quite right for the poem I wrote them into. Sometimes, the line held a grammar gaff, or a spelling mistake. Maybe a metaphor didn't quite work, or any number of things that caused the line to clunk instead of sing.
Here's How a Clunker Exchange Works:
I'm giving you any of the lines below in exchange for a clunker of your own. Find a line from a poem you've revised or meant to but never got around to revising.
I will gladly take your clunker and turn it into something new if you take one of mine and do the same. Please and thank you.
 |
Photo Source: Jerry Lofaro  |
- again the notion that with
- How to write a peace poem
- into another world
- only sure of light pushing her brush
- She is gone and she is there
- You listening,/my face deep in shadowed spaces
- In the sunroom, our old lady faces
- weave our own cloth. I go
- pattern belong to each other
- under an electric wire salad slaw
- paints like it’s an epiphany
- My only flaw and freedom
- Just a little puff of spray for interaction
- It’s an engineer’s puzzle niche
- What is Autumn to the bee?
- you’ve lost your way – up ahead lies harm
- wrapped up in a gift box, bag or stocking stash
- Joy as a prairie poppy
- more a drawer of worlds
- are my eyes in the mirror like his?
- thinned and whisper wept–
- with large or small emptiness–air space
- I could see that the group wasn’t really helping me
- The window radiator / sure made a bumpy seat
- the lightning truck keys
- You are sad and relieved at the same time
- pinning another year into memory
- A band that relegates bright
- What are the odds/That you would be/The less than six degrees
- Sunshine and short shorts
- joy is a choice / Still I struggle
- a dandelion dotted day
- weedy dirt patch of writing /should never see the light of day.
Don't forget to respond with a line of poetry from your stash that I can play with and write into something new. Remember, blogger marks some comments as anonymous. Make sure your name shows up so I can give credit to our masterpiece later. Ha!
I'm hosting the round-up this week. Please leave your links below. If you aren't familiar with Poetry Friday, check out this description here. Jump in!
 |
 |
Mr. Linky's Widget
"under an electric wire salad slaw"?? Not sure it's a clunker as much as something that I find puzzling. Interesting list! Not sure "sunshine and short shorts" is so bad either. You know what they say: one man's clunker is another man's gem. :) Thanks for the thought provoking challenge and for hosting this week!
ReplyDeleteI love the leg hanging out of the clunker car! I think there's a poem in there… Intriguing list, and I don't think they're all clunkers either. I'll return again to select one, here's one I crossed out in a poem, Reason for hope, and time to consider… Thanks for hosting Linda!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that leg a hoot? I found that pic online and it tickled me too. Thanks for the clunker.
Delete"a dandilion dotted day" doesn't sound like a clunker - sounds like something Buffy would make a book out of! ;0) I'll return too. Thanks for hosting us all this week!
ReplyDeleteOne poet's clunker becomes another's little treasure. So Linda, I offer you this- 'We think the camera reveals everything' and I choose to work with -'weedy dirt patch of writing /should never see the light of day.' I have enjoyed this challenge on previous occasions and my mind is already in overdrive with this little gathering of words. Thanks for the wonderful provocation and also for hosting.
ReplyDeleteOh, that weedy patch has potential...I know you'll work it over into something good. Thanks for your clunker!
DeleteWhat a great list, Linda! I do like the take-charge attitude of, "Weave our own cloth, I go!" Thank you for hosting! : )
ReplyDeleteI've loved this idea ever since you began it a few years ago, Linda! I'll have to look these over and see which one I want to use, but I do have one to give you:
ReplyDelete"Soft, pink prison
dark and dangerous"
Good luck! (and thanks for hosting!)
ooooh...this is intriguing! Thanks for the clunker.
DeleteLove it always, Linda. Thank you! I'm choosing "What is Autumn to the bee?" but what a wide and wonderful array of choices you've given us, te he! I'm looking forward to what everyone writes! Here's mine for you: "“I had six errands to do, glad to have the car.” Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWonderful clunker. Thank you. I have been in this position before, for sure!
DeleteThanks for hosting, Linda! Your so called clunkers are actually gems. I'm going to see what I can do with "paints like it’s an epiphany"... :)
ReplyDeleteSome of these clunkers look like fun!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: "When you come between Earth"
ooooh. This lines up with 'World' so nicely. Can't wait to play with this one. Thank you.
DeleteThank you for the list and for hosting today. Your clunkers are wonderful fuel for the imagination. I'll take "In the sunroom, our old lady faces" and here's one for you - "despite your gnarled limbs" Love the photos, too!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that cool! Your offered clunker could work with the line you are taking...I feel a collaboration coming on and I like it! Thank you.
DeleteThank you for your faith in clunkers! Everything can have a rebirth :) Thanks also for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea of clunkers growing on someone else's page. I have quite a few tis week, but I'll exchange just one: Such a sudden thing, a poem...
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful jumping off place. Thank you for this gem of a clunker to play with.
DeleteWow, Linda, I am struck by the number of lines you've shared here...you have been writing....A LOT! Yay! Thanks for all you give. xo
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love this list and love that you do this every year now. So many of these are *not* clunkers! They are simply errant wanderers looking for a home. :) ❤️
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to trying a Clunker! And apologizing now for this one: "hidden progress runs deep" - lol. Thanks for hosting and for this challenge, Linda!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how our clunkers look like yuck...but someone else can pick them up and make them shiny. Thanks for this clunker.
DeleteLinda, thank you for hosting today. I love this annual event, and look forward to sharing clunkers. I didn't have to go far into your list when I saw my mom in this line: "only sure of light pushing her brush"
ReplyDeleteHere's one for you: "bringing light to dark, patches of connections" Thanks!
Awww, glad to bring you an image of your mom. That's a great feeling--especially this weekend. Thanks for the clunker...those dark patches. Hmmmm.
DeleteLinda: I didn't get a post ready this week. But... your clunker reminded me of some lines from a Ted Kooser poem, So This is Nebraska... the entire thing at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42625/so-this-is-nebraska
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Nebraska, and I love this poem...
Behind a shelterbelt of cedars,
top-deep in hollyhocks, pollen and bees,
a pickup kicks its fenders off
and settles back to read the clouds.
You feel like that; you feel like letting
your tires go flat, like letting the mice
build a nest in your muffler, like being
no more than a truck in the weeds,
clucking with chickens or sticky with honey
or holding a skinny old man in your lap
while he watches the road, waiting
for someone to wave to.
Thanks for this reminder, and for hosting the gang.
HI Linda, I am going with "You are sad and relieved at the same time." Last night, I laid away for a couple of hours thinking about my mom who passed away last summer. It will be our first Mother's Day without her. Although I wrote a Poetry Friday post yesterday, I am going to redo it and share some of my poetic thoughts for remembering my mom. Thanks. - here's one for you, too - "Replaces lost visits, now that we know how" ~ Carol Labuzzetta
ReplyDeleteSending love over Mother's Day weekend. It's not an easy time for many people. I'm sending peace too...just close your eyes to take it. Thanks for the clunker! Lost visits is juicy!
DeleteI couldn't manage a Poetry Friday post this week, but I'm so glad I made time to stop in for the Clunker Exchange! I'll take your "My only flaw and freedom" and send you
ReplyDelete"gearing up
ramping up
still working on"
Wait. I might need those lines for the clunker I chose from you!
You can have
"not a pie-sized wedge"
Jackpot! A bunch of short clunkers to play with. Thank YOU!
DeleteI always love the clunkers game! I'm donating "opened, like an oyster." From one of my Magnipoem drafts:) Thanks for hosting, Linda. Happy Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's back to you! And, thank you for the clunker...Love it!
DeleteI always love your clunker list! I didn't manage to post this week (or write much at all lately), but I'm hoping to spark something with all the tinder you've shared so generously here.
ReplyDeleteSorry I was AWOL from Poetry Friday this week. My, this is a long clunker list. I will peruse it for a gem I can use! Ugh! Recovering from a sore throat that I am blaming on the chill and rain in Syracuse. Thanks, Linda!
ReplyDeleteLinda, I love this list. Your clunkers are gold. I am going to find my notebook today (it's been a bit of a time!) and will send you one later. Thank you for you always-generous-spirit every week. Your students (us included) are lucky to be part of your community. Thank you for hosting! xo, a.
ReplyDeleteAt last!
ReplyDeleteFlowers love the feel of rain.
xx
Beautiful!
Delete