The morning session for Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Writers' Conference
was titled, "Who's on First? The Persona Poem at Play". The session was parallel to yesterday's session, but had unique aspects that expanded my understanding of the persona poem. Again, these poems were done during the
open writing time, so they will probably be revised later.
The first writing prompt was centered on a fictional character. I chose the very hungry caterpillar on Saturday morning.
“In the Park”
Hmmm,
There should be a song about Saturdays and parks
What a lovely day
I almost don’t feel the fear of why
I am so ravished with this hunger
It seems as if my very soul is empty
For days I’ve been searching
Enjoying delicious fruits
Walking in your rays
But each night, I fall into a troubled sleep
Stomach hurting
Feeling myself expanding
Each morning
When I see you
This hunger drives me farther from my home
I need more
Huhhh
What is this red and white thing on the ground?
The second writing prompt was centered on a historical event before we were born or during our lives.We were asked to take the perspective of someone at the event that wasn't a main figure. In the Love Poetry session yesterday we read the first ever recorded love poem, "The Love Song of Shu-Sin". I considered how a servant might have been there.
“The Love Poem”
I remember how much time it took
Sun moving through the sky
I would bring her food and drink
She barely touched them
Her hands working the sharp reeds into the wet clay
The pile growing smaller as the edges became dull
I could see her mouth move
Repeating words
Verbal kisses she transcribed onto the clay
I don’t remember what she wrote
I was assigned to prepare for the wedding feast
Before she was done
The next time I served her
She was queen
The afternoon session was focused on prose poetry, "The Pliable Prose Poem". We had a number of writing activities that helped the attendees understand the form. With one of the exercises, our instructor shared info on the Blue Lake Rhino Cave.
“Blue Lake”
We’ve lost more than our names in the waters of today. The echo of us is in the caves formed in our lives by time and trouble. We must take a deeper breath than ever before. Dive into the lake that once created a cave from the death of a rhino.
