For National Poetry Month, I am writing poems to art, ekphrastic poetry. My father has generously offered his art work for my project. He works in pen and ink, using a method called pointillism in which tiny dots create the image. The white spaces are defined by the dark.
Turtle doves are nesting
in
sanctified
altars,
hovering
in
holy
spaces.
Tranquility
in
nesting turtle doves.
Skinny Poetry Form: A Skinny is a short poem form that consists of eleven lines. The first and eleventh lines can be any length (although shorter lines are favored). The eleventh and last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line (however, they can be rearranged). The second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. All the lines in this form, except for the first and last lines, must be comprised of ONLY one word. The Skinny was created by Truth Thomas in the Tony Medina Poetry Workshop at Howard University in 2005.
“Names are powerful. They influence our perception. The Chinese master Confucius believed all wisdom came from learning to call things by the right name.” PoemCrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge
The name turtle doves originates from the Hebrew word tor meaning twice, which became tur tur, transliterated into English as turtle dove. Thus turtle doves have nothing to do with turtles. They are referred to often in the Bible.
Gorgeous pictures and matching poetry! Looking forward to your April journey where I learn more about poetry through you! ❤
I have never seen this form before – it’s fascinating. And I love the notes on names. My children were *just* asking about why we call things what we do, so I’m going to be sharing this tonight.
Wow–what a drawing! That’s really incredible. I hope to see more of his work this month. I took notes on your form here and might try it today. Still fishing for my poem this morning! Fascinating note on the origin of the name, which I’d wondered about before but never bothered to look up. I am marveling at your word choices here and how the language of the sacred works throughout.
The discovery of the Skinny form was an eyeopener for me. They are tough! NIce job.
Lovely, lovely, Margaret! The drawing. The poem. The bits of knowledge. The sacred tone. Thank you for making my day richer.
Beautiful poem and drawing. Thanks for introducing me to the Skinny poem. I am going to try my hand at one.
I have never heard of a skinny poem. Yours is beautiful, and I cannot wait to try one!
Lovely semi-surreal turtle doves and skinny, I liked hearing about the origin too, thanks Margaret!
How simply beautiful!
Beautiful in every way. Talent runs deep in your family, Margaret! Thank you for the background on skinny poetry and how turtle doves got their name.
I think it’s really neat you are pairing this with your father’s art. You should turn all of the poems and photos into a book at the end of the month. 🙂
The art is luminous, as is the poetry.
Beautiful work, and the poem perfectly suits it. I studied pointillism in college, and recall one of my projects was a self-portrait…I spent at least 20 hours on it, and still had only finished less than half the picture! Not an easy method, for sure.
[…] I have been wanting to try a skinny poem since I discovered the form at Reflections on the Teche. A skinny is a poem of eleven lines. Lines 1 and 11 may be any length, though shorter is better. […]