#11

Dreamless

My hands are shaking.
My eyes are half shut.
Delirium flows through my veins
and sloshes around in my head.

Something is holding me here
in this state of consciousness.
I have knelt at the feet of my
sleepless specter.

I pleaded for some relief.
For she is the one who-
prohibits me to sleep.

She's dressed in white.
Her form is squared.
Every night her head is there beside mine.

And she whispers...
"You mustn't sleep dear one.
There's far too much you have left undone."

So, when I wrote this poem I had gotten the idea from Parks blog page. The idea is that my bed is talking to me. However, I did tend to want it to seem like the subconscious as well. I would really appreciate any feedback given now that I am able to discuss what I was going for. Also, any suggestions for a better title. It was Wishes for Dreams which was horrible, but I really don't like this new one either. I don't know I'm running out of ideas. Thanks!

#10

Where's Middle Ground?

Tonight as I sat down to write yet another poem, I found myself stuck. Stuck in the same place I have been for quite sometime. Right there between not mysterious enough and too abstract. Let me explain. Last semester my work did not contain any elements of surprise. My poetry was too forward and this was very well noted. So I have tried and tried to work on this. But it seems now, that my mysterious is too mysterious. I can't seem to find that middle ground. I have been told that this is what every writer struggles with when first starting out. Finding your middle ground. So if any of you have any suggestions on how to do this please let me know. :)

#9

Learning to Write a Sonnet

The sonnet form is old and full of dust
And yet I want to learn to write one well.
To learn new forms and grow is quite a must,
But I will learn it quickly, I can tell.

So I sit today, with pen in hand,
Composing three new quatrains with a rhyme.
The rhythm flows like wind at my command.
The A-B-A-B form consumes my time.

But I am not done until there's fourteen lines.
One ending couplet, after three quatrains.
I've tried to write this new form several times.
The effort's huge; I have to rack my brain.

But I persist, my fourteen lines now done.
I wrote my poem; my sonnet work is won.

~Denise Rodgers

I found this sonnet while I was researching others. I found a lot of humor in it, as it is exactly how I feel when composing my own work. So I decided to share with all of you. Enjoy!

#8

I really enjoyed reading The Good Thief by Marie Howe. It really showed that an artist can keep their own style in tact, even when they use many different forms. I can respect that and aspire to do that myself by the end of the semester. Right now, I tend to go for really short lines and usually a three or four lined stanza. I find it hard to stay away from rhyme and can only assume that's because my earliest readings of poetry rhymed. So I have it etched in my mind that poetry is supposed to have some element of rhyme. Howe did a nice job of keeping a nice rhythm without using rhyme and when she did use rhyme she did so gracefully. I really admire an artist that can use so many different techniques without losing their particular style.
Just a side note- Did anyone else notice that she used the word muddy in several of her pieces?