Daffodils
Daffodils
Bit of an odd exercise, this one, but ultimately rewarding. The challenge was to pick a poem you're unfamiliar with: I chose Sylvia Plath's "Among the Narcissi" because I love spring flowers, especially daffodils, and thought this might be a comfortable subject to work with. I didn't know the poem though, which was the point.
So - cover the poem over and reveal the last line only. Write a response to that line, or something that is prompted by it. Move the paper up a line and repeat the process. Carry on until you run out of lines. Your poem will relate to the original in reverse order. Now use and revise this to come up with your own original poem.
As I wrote out my first draft I kept the original form of four 3 line verses, but realised the lines were getting shorter, like the distance the woman has left to travel, so I made them deliberately fit that shape.
Daffodils, sun yellow and gold, punch through the distance,
A woman, out of breath and wheezing, staggers up the steps
Getting on in years, not as fit as she used to be.
They lure her on, swaying wildly in the wind
Glowing bright like a promised salve to her pain,
Standing tall and straight, as she used to do.
She stops for a breather, then pushes on
Their bright faces drawing ever closer
Blowing and dancing, teasing.
She catches her breath,
Bends over the pot,
Inhales. Made it!
© Copyright 2018. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved
Bit of an odd exercise, this one, but ultimately rewarding. The challenge was to pick a poem you're unfamiliar with: I chose Sylvia Plath's "Among the Narcissi" because I love spring flowers, especially daffodils, and thought this might be a comfortable subject to work with. I didn't know the poem though, which was the point.
So - cover the poem over and reveal the last line only. Write a response to that line, or something that is prompted by it. Move the paper up a line and repeat the process. Carry on until you run out of lines. Your poem will relate to the original in reverse order. Now use and revise this to come up with your own original poem.
As I wrote out my first draft I kept the original form of four 3 line verses, but realised the lines were getting shorter, like the distance the woman has left to travel, so I made them deliberately fit that shape.
Daffodils, sun yellow and gold, punch through the distance,
A woman, out of breath and wheezing, staggers up the steps
Getting on in years, not as fit as she used to be.
They lure her on, swaying wildly in the wind
Glowing bright like a promised salve to her pain,
Standing tall and straight, as she used to do.
She stops for a breather, then pushes on
Their bright faces drawing ever closer
Blowing and dancing, teasing.
She catches her breath,
Bends over the pot,
Inhales. Made it!
© Copyright 2018. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved
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