Happy Poetry Friday!
GLOBAL REPAIRERS…
Woodsmoke rising horizon-turning day
Gypsy wagon wheels ready to roll
Air quality-checker climate changer
who can foretell what our future holds
Gratitude old-growth-trail referee
we’ll come around again someday, you’ll see.
© 2023 Michelle Kogan & Linda Mitchell, draft
Ah… and the end of August has crept upon us…
I’ve joined in the Poetry Sister’s prompt to write an Exquisite Corpse poem, and my partner on this journey has been the creative and talented poet and artist, Linda Mitchell. We had a fun romp together on this via emails, proving quite an intriguing way to compose a poem while not trying to reveal to much of each other’s lines…
An exquisite corpse poem is written with at least two or more poets. You can decide on a topic or not,
decide on a structure, or not. Decide on a word per line, or a line per line– it’s all very open and meant to be playful. The biggest objective involved is that while composing it you’re not sharing or reading the participants lines. The lines are read after you’ve all written your individual words or lines. The surrealist poets and artists both composed exquisite corpse poems and drawings. Here’s what the Academy of American Poets writes about them. Here’s a bit about the drawings from the Chicago Art Institute.
For our poem I picked a couple of words from Linda’s collection of Clunkers from her earlier post in June. From here I knew I wanted to introduce an environmental thread in there somewhere. I shared only a few words from my initial lines with Linda, and then she did the same. At that point we decided we wanted to see more. From the get go I suggested we have fun with this form and play. It was challenging and fun, many thanks Linda for traveling through this poem with me!
Many thanks to the Poetry Sisters, Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, Tricia, Kelly, and Andi, be sure to stop by their blogs and read their responses! Find more of these poems tagged with #PoetryPals.
The lovely and talented poet Linda Baie is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog Teacher Dance, be sure to stop by! She’s sharing a poem about play and how play is good for all of us whatever our age…
Here’s to all the scientist’s and citizen scientist’s working to maintain and focus light on our Old Growth Forests, may they continue on, and we continue to appreciate them!
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
This is lovely, Michelle and Linda!
But it also sounds incredibly challenging to write.
Michelle, it was fun to hear more of your process here. So fascinating! I love the idea of an old-growth-trail referee.
How about that? I worked with some of my clunkers after all! You are a poet wizard, Michelle. I love your artwork. Fun working with you.
I love that you and Linda played along with a two-person Exquisite Corpse! OF COURSE you wanted to insert an environmental thread to your poem!! I love that you shine a light on preserving our old growth forests. We’ve destroyed so much that can never be repaired; let’s work hard to keep the bits that remain whole and original!
I love your and Linda’s collaboration, Michelle, and as I wrote to her, too, love the hope of that final line, “we’ll come around again someday, you’ll see.” Your art with that young one looking up into the tree feels just right for all of us to see and to show the hope, too. Wishing you a lovely weekend!
Michelle, what a great outcome! Corpse poems seem to operate on faith, and yours turned out beautifully!
I love that the art teachers collaborated!!
My gosh, here’s to coming’round again someday. What a hopeful image interposed with old growth forests and the idea of traveling, unsure of destination or future…
So happy y’all played along — this is lovely and complex and twisty and so full of vivid imagery!!
What fun you two had, and now we have the pleasure of reading the result. Thank you!
Michelle, you and Linda as the dynamic duo played together and created an interesting poem with environmental concerns. I noticed that the beginning of each stanza introduced an idea the world needs to define in the light of current conditions. I did not participate this month but am playing around with the Poetry Sisters draft poem. Have a great week.
Your corpse poem is exquisite. What fun for oyu and Linda.