Sunday, April 14, 2013

the Progressive Poem visits mjlu!



It's my turn to catch the Progressive Poem today, juggle it a little, and toss it on to the next player!  Organized by Irene Latham of Live Your Poem, this piece has grown itself  a six-line stanza of longish lines and a good strong rhythm (though a variable meter).  It's a poem about writing, about the movement and sound of words as they dance across the page, sometimes in a "solitary samba," then whispering as they come together in a "jitterbug and jive." 

This image of words in motion was expanded yesterday by Catherine's new twist--she took Linda's swing and sent it to the circus!  This turns up the volume (and makes me a little hungry for popcorn and cotton candy)...and I'm keen to maintain the internal rhyme, too.  Here goes...

When you listen to your footsteps
the words become music and
the rhythm that you’re rapping gets your fingers tapping, too.
Your pen starts dancing across the page
a private pirouette, a solitary samba until
smiling, you’re beguiling as your love comes shining through.

Pause a moment in your dreaming, hear the whispers
of the words, one dancer to another, saying
Listen, that’s our cue! Mind your meter. Find your rhyme.
Ignore the trepidation while you jitterbug and jive.
Arm in arm, toe to toe, words begin to wiggle and flow
as your heart starts singing let your mind keep swinging

From life’s trapeze, like a clown on the breeze.
Swinging upside down, throw and catch new sounds--
 
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Over to you, Mary Lee, and thanks to Irene and the authors of lines 1-13 for all the possibilities! To watch what feats the poem performs next, follow the schedule below. Also, don't forget to keep reading below for today's 30days30words one-word-a-day poem--things are getting interesting!

April Progressive Poets, Day by Day
1  Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
2  Joy Acey
3  Matt Forrest Esenwine
4  Jone MacCulloch
5  Doraine Bennett
6  Gayle Krause
7  Janet Fagal
8  Julie Larios
9  Carrie Finison
10  Linda Baie
11  Margaret Simon
12  Linda Kulp
13  Catherine Johnson
14  Heidi Mordhorst
15  Mary Lee Hahn
16  Liz Steinglass
17  Renee LaTulippe
18  Penny Klostermann
19  Irene Latham
20  Buffy Silverman
21  Tabatha Yeatts
22  Laura Shovan
23  Joanna Marple
24  Katya Czaja
25  Diane Mayr
26  Robyn Hood Black
27  Ruth Hersey
28  Laura Purdie Salas
29  Denise Mortensen
30  April Halprin Wayland

 

9 comments:

  1. On to the circus! I like the image of the sounds going back and forth. We try them out, say them aloud, try to pick out the best sound to set in to our poem or song. I am amazed at the movement of metaphor in this poem. It's fun to watch it grow.

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  2. I like this line very much Heidi, especially carrying on the movement and back to playing with words! Nice!

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  3. Yay for all the motion in this line, and yes, metaphor! Well done, Heidi, and we'll see what Mary Lee has to add next. Thank you! xo

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  4. Very nice, Heidi! I see words flying through the air!

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  5. Upside-down indeed! Nicely done, Heidi - thanks for sharing your thoughts about the poem, too.

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  6. Ooohhh, so good. Solid images we can grab hold of.

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  7. The lift and swell of energy...love this line!

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  8. Great movement in your line, Heidi! It's so much fun to see what each person brings to the poem each day!

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  9. Love all the internal rhyme, especially the latest lines from you and Catherine! The motion and rhythm is terrific.

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Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!