This first Friday of National Poetry Month, we have an Inklings challenge brought to us by Mary Lee Hahn. Mary Lee asked us to write a haiku sequence about poetry without using the word poetry.
I’ve been on an Emily Dickinson kick watching the surreal series “Dickinson” on Apple TV and reading through a dog-eared collection of her poems. When I read Mary Lee’s challenge, I decided to write individual haiku on slips of paper from the pile on the kitchen counter. That way I could arrange them in a logical/ illogical/ artistic/creative way.
I played with the order and this is what I have, for now. One of the best parts of writing poetry is revising, so I am open to rearranging and rewording or throwing it all into the flame.
- Envelope opens
words release into hands
timeless treasure2. Flame rises too high
under the white carnation
searing joy to ash3. Whispers of wishes
within earshot of your eyes
written by my hand4. Slips of paper
feathers folded in hope
message delivered5. Metaphoric
Margaret Simon, draft
company of lacewings
urging me to fly
To see how other Inklings met this challenge:
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Mary Lee @A(nother) Year of Reading
Reflections on the Teche 
I love the mix-and-match approach, and also the order on which you landed. The “earshot of your eyes” is still my favorite! I definitely have had to revise my shorter poems–the haiku and elfchen–much more than my longer ones. (In fact I think I need to go back and redo my haiku series…I see a lot of ways to improve it!) Nicely done, Emily-Margaret!
What a clever way to organize these haiku via your scraps of paper, and so related to how Dickinson wrote on scraps of paper too. In poems #2, 3, & 4 I could feel the connection of Dickinson’s poems, really like 2, thanks Margaret!
A splendid sequence!
Especially floating with your
”paper feathers”
Thanks for including your process, Margaret. I like all of your haiku, but especially the way the first one anchors or introduces all the others – holding the words that will become treasures.
Margaret, thanks for sharing the process and the photo. Such a fun Emilyesque activity. I love the “company of lacewings / urging you to fly” and ”feathers folded in hope” So much that hearkens me back to Dickinson.
I love that Emily D. was your inspiration for these!
oooooh. So many pretty phrases–“flam raises too high,” is such a good beginning. I’m expecting pow. And, you bring it with “whispers of wishes,” lovely.
What a great challenge. Margaret, thank you for including your process, photo, and inspiration. All your haiku are beautiful, heartfelt. To me #3 and #4 make me think of Emily and seem more about what poetry is or a definition of poetry. #3 sounds wonderful with all its alliteration, consonance, and the 4 short /i/s. “Whispers of wishes” is repeating in my head: yay! I adore the line “feathers folded in hope” and how it’s a metaphor for your first line. Ooh, it could be a metaphor for your last line, too. Now, I’m repeating “feathers folded in hope”, too. #5 is my favorite haiku. Thank you. 🙂
Margaret, these are lovely. I can read number 2 in two ways: literally as a carnation getting caught in a flame, but also as a ball of paper shaped like a carnation in a fire. All five pieces are beautiful!
These are lovely, Margaret, and like so many others, I enjoyed learning about your process. There’s something so powerful about those scraps of paper adorned with poetry–like they just had to burst into being and slip out to be recorded on whatever paper was available. I love that sense of urgency!
Lovely from start to finish…Emily (and We!) are smiling! xo
I love your idea of writing about your mail, Margaret, poetry unbound, right? And the ending, “urging me to fly” like a cheer for you, Margaret, get going! Happy weekend!
Margaret, your little messages were surprise snippets of thoughts. #4 and #5 of the haiku sequence are a wonderful ending. I look forward to reading other Inklings work.
Wow, I see how the order could really be subjective. I like how your first stanza could also be your last.
So much beauty here, Margaret. Those lacewings and that final haiku…sigh. Lovely.