In early August, Molly Hogan wrote a post about titles and suggested that we use a title of a poem to spark a new poem. I took it one step further. I read the poem of the intriguing title and wrote a response poem. From Molly’s post, I clicked on A Poem for Pulse.
After reading the poem, my writing went on a roller coaster ride of response. It just flowed out. Here’s the draft with little revision. I’m not sure if it reads as a poem on its own, without the original poem.
Margaret Simon, draft, response to A Poem for Pulse by Jamison Fitzpatrick
A Poem for Pulse
Digging deep into the dirt
of a poem about guns and death
and people judging people
was a line that caught my breath,
made me gasp
for air because I thought
at first the air
was too thick to breathe through.
I thought I knew the end.
This poem took me for a fool
and made me question myself.
Am I the shooter or the lover?
We
must
love
one another
whether
or not
we die.
The poet’s directive
pointed to love,
away from judgement,
or criticism
which is really only
fear. Not giving in,
an act of resistance.
In the end,
there was kissing.
