Becoming a poet

It was our writers group Christmas party, and time to read the poems each of us was challenged to write and share with the group. We could write anything we wanted, but we were encouraged to write about ourselves.

There were so many good poems and so many different approaches to the writing of a poem. Some were profound, some funny, while some rhymed and some did not. We had epic poems and even haiku.

Like so many things in life, stepping outside our comfort zone can result in a wonderful experience, one full of discovery. Writing a poem was such an experience for me. I've shied away from this genre ever since a professor told me several of the "poems" I'd written for a class assignment were "interesting thoughts, but hardly poetry."

Some of the things I learned about writing poetry

• It's a thought provoking process. I found myself thinking often about the theme I wanted to explore, and as a result, how I saw my life.


• Words are so beautiful. And there were so many to choose from!


• Lacing words together is fun. It helped me to write down a list of words that related to my theme which was that of my life as an unfinished quilt.


• I want to try it again. Soon, very soon.


• The person most important to please is yourself. That is, unless you are planning to publish. Otherwise, there's great satisfaction in expressing your thoughts and emotions in poetry rather than prose


• It's surprisingly freeing. Knowing I can shape the words into any type of rhythm or spatial arrangement that holds meaning for me allows me to play in a way I hadn't expected.


• It helps to brainstorm a list of rhyming and related words. If you want to rhyme as I did, first list words that relate to the theme, topic, or emotion you want to express, then see if there's any words that relate or rhyme. *A list of the words I came up while brainstorming my poem are below

I write these thoughts as a complete poetry writing novice, but like that old cliche: "Every journey begins with the first step," I hope to write some more poems.Maybe even try one that doesn't rhyme.

Here's the poem I wrote for our Christmas party. I hope you like it even a fraction as much as I enjoyed writing it.

An Unfinished Quilt

Initial colors chosen by Another
Soft and gentle, pieced by my mother
Joined by greens, yellows, and blues
Fields and forests, nature’s hues.

More squares are added, some dark, some bright.
Deep reds, passionate purples, not always right
Stitched together now more as if by chance
But was it all planned or happenstance?

Dominated now by pink profusion
Whilst I stitch in dazed confusion
So many more patches to sew
I baste in haste to see it grow.

Unexpected stripes and patterns emerge
textures, values, shades, and facets converge
Yet it comes together, in joyous blend
Into a unique balance that will not end

Muted green, lavender, and lemon driven
Quieter tones are now a given.
Yet scarlets, cobalts, still fight for place
Oh, how long can they interface?

Now time to match and link
To ponder its pattern and think.
Examine it all for its symmetry of design
I stand back to view it as a whole, what made it mine?

*worn and warm, frayed around the edges
warmth and comfort, light and easy
color of the sun, border and stripes
symmetry of design, stained glass, mosiac
Interspersed shapes and colors
washed clean and new
viewed as a whole, yet distinct
seen from a distance
A burst of joy when cohesive and ends meet
texture/facets/value/fiber/blend
growing always, imperfect but yielding
a balance of colors, sizes, and shapes
new squares are added, the quilt grows larger
rip out the discordant parts
patch/match
swatch, scotch, botch, watch
lace, interface/interlace/place/grace/base/retrace/embrace/trace
slate/wait/abate/rate/dominate/placate