2011 Poem A Day Challenge - Day 2
For today's prompt, write a postcard poem. Make it brief and communicate what it is like where you are. Also, make it personal.
I am remembering the postcards I have received from friends on vacation. They would come from such exotic locations. Well, exotic to me anyway. To be honest, I have never crossed an ocean or even ventured west of the Mississippi river. So to receive something from a faraway land would bring that part of the world to me.
Sidebar conversation: I think that is the problem with this generation we find ourselves part of today. We literally have the world at our fingertips. The days of wonder and discovery are no longer the adventures they once were. If we wanted to see the Grand Canyon, we could either look at a picture or go there ourselves. No webcams or websites were available. If you wanted to find a rare book, you drove out to a bookstore, not order it from Amazon. We would send our friends mix tapes, not use our mobile apps. We are too connected without actually making any true connection.
Back to the challenge for today...
I'm actually going to take a cue from the sidebar and do something old school. I have some 3 x 5 cards in my amazing supply of paper products. Using them as templates and tools, I am going to handwrite this like I used to. Back when I discovered writing, I would take out a piece of paper in my dorm room and write on it. There were no prompts or techniques or even clues as to what would appear on the paper. There was just a desire to take something out of the ether and commit it to a two dimensional reality.
(one hour later)
I have written 4 postcards out, but they are not quite singing. There is something missing, and I am not feeling it. I am going to take a nutritional interlude and ponder things further...
(half hour later... grilled hamburger and pasta with a tall glass of fat free milk, and an apple for dessert if you were curious...)
Ok, taking the time to cook gave me some added insight. I looked over the ones I wrote earlier, and found the means to edit my postcard poem...
Look at the foothills, my darling
I am to the left of the waterfall this very moment
Listening to the sounds of river against rocks
There are birds dancing in the open sky
And the wind from the north is the sweetest I've known
I would give anything for you to be here now
For you and I to share this moment together
J.
I am remembering the postcards I have received from friends on vacation. They would come from such exotic locations. Well, exotic to me anyway. To be honest, I have never crossed an ocean or even ventured west of the Mississippi river. So to receive something from a faraway land would bring that part of the world to me.
Sidebar conversation: I think that is the problem with this generation we find ourselves part of today. We literally have the world at our fingertips. The days of wonder and discovery are no longer the adventures they once were. If we wanted to see the Grand Canyon, we could either look at a picture or go there ourselves. No webcams or websites were available. If you wanted to find a rare book, you drove out to a bookstore, not order it from Amazon. We would send our friends mix tapes, not use our mobile apps. We are too connected without actually making any true connection.
Back to the challenge for today...
I'm actually going to take a cue from the sidebar and do something old school. I have some 3 x 5 cards in my amazing supply of paper products. Using them as templates and tools, I am going to handwrite this like I used to. Back when I discovered writing, I would take out a piece of paper in my dorm room and write on it. There were no prompts or techniques or even clues as to what would appear on the paper. There was just a desire to take something out of the ether and commit it to a two dimensional reality.
(one hour later)
I have written 4 postcards out, but they are not quite singing. There is something missing, and I am not feeling it. I am going to take a nutritional interlude and ponder things further...
(half hour later... grilled hamburger and pasta with a tall glass of fat free milk, and an apple for dessert if you were curious...)
Ok, taking the time to cook gave me some added insight. I looked over the ones I wrote earlier, and found the means to edit my postcard poem...
Look at the foothills, my darling
I am to the left of the waterfall this very moment
Listening to the sounds of river against rocks
There are birds dancing in the open sky
And the wind from the north is the sweetest I've known
I would give anything for you to be here now
For you and I to share this moment together
J.
posted by Jim Steinhoff at
12:48 PM
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