M Christine Delea's Blog, page 30
September 3, 2023
On Virtue by Phillis Wheatley
On Virtue
by Phillis Wheatley
O thou bright jewel in my aim I strive
To comprehend thee. Thine own words declare
Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach.
I cease to wonder, and no more attempt
Thine height t’explore, or fathom thy profound.
But, O my soul, sink not into despair,
Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand
Would now embrace thee, hovers o’er thine head.
Fain would the heaven-born soul with her converse,
Then seek, then court her for her promised bliss.
Auspicious queen, thine h...
August 30, 2023
Our Idea of Nothing at All by Alice Duer Miller
Our Idea of Nothing at All
by Alice Duer Miller
“I am opposed to woman suffrage, but I am not opposed to woman.”—from an anti- suffrage speech by Mr. Webb of North Carolina
O women, have you heard the news
Of charity and grace?
Look, look, how joy and gratitude
Are beaming in my face!
For Mr. Webb is not opposed
To woman in her place!
O Mr. Webb, how kind you are
To let us live at all,
To let us light the kitchen range
And tidy up the hall;
To tolerate the female sex
In spite of Adam’s...
August 27, 2023
When Joy Finds You: Prompt
Using the Ed Ochester poem posted today on my blog as inspiration, write a poem (or write some prose, or paint, or sculpt, or draw, or whatever it is you do to be creative) in which joy finds you.
Some elements you can add:
make the setting outdoors
use an adjective as a noun and capitalize it
involve an animal
share one of your own weaknesses/flaws
describe how joy finds you
end by saying what you wish for other people
The Gift by Ed Ochester
The Gift
by Ed Ochester
(from A Geography of Poets, edited by Edward Field, Bantam Poetry, 1979)
One day
as I was lying on the lawn
dreaming of the Beautiful
and my wife was justifiably bitching
out the window
at my shiftlessness and
the baby was screaming
because I wouldn't let him
eat my cigarettes,
a tiger cat leaped over the fence,
smiled at my wife,
let the baby pull his tail,
hummed like a furry dynamo
as I stroked him.
My wife took the car to get him some food,
my son began to sing ...
August 23, 2023
Crossroads by Joyce Sutphen
Crossroads
(published in her book, Straight Out of View, 1996 by Holy Cow! Press)
The second half of my life will be black
to the white rind of the old and fading moon.
The second half of my life will be water
over the cracked floor of these desert years.
I will land on my feet this time,
knowing at least two languages and who
my friends are. I will dress for the
occasion, and my hair shall be
whatever color I please.
Everyone will go on celebrating the old
birthday...
August 20, 2023
Be Something Else: Writing Prompt
Today's posted poem is "Diary of a Carpenter Wasp" by Gary L. McDowell. His chapbook also includes poems about mosquitos and birds, and persona poems written from the viewpoints of a yellow jacket and a horsefly.
Your prompt for this week's writing exercise is to write a persona poem from the point of view of one of the beings pictured below. A prose piece can also be written from this animal point of view. Learn a few facts about the creature and incorporate them into your piece, but focus on ...
Diary of a Carpenter Wasp by Gary L. McDowell
Diary of a Carpenter Wasp
by Gary L. McDowell
(from his chapbook, They Speak of Fruit, published in 2009 by Cooper Dillon)
I sing the days in the morning. My breath weighs less than a
chickadee's. Voice is a good detractor. So are wings. I have
learned a few things and studied many. Mostly things change.
Angles and feathers. It's always about birds. Flying or not.
That they sing at all makes me aware of their lightness, their
eruptive, hollow chutes that when palmed look exactly like the
l...
August 16, 2023
The Revenant by Billy Collins
The Revenant
by Billy Collins (hear the poet read this and another of his dog persona poems here)
I am the dog you put to sleep, as you like to call the needle of oblivion, come back to tell you this simple thing: I never liked you – not one bit.
When I licked your face, I thought of biting off your nose. When I watched you toweling yourself dry, I wanted to leap and unman you with a snap.
I resented the way you moved, your lack of animal grace, the way you would sit in a chair and ...
August 13, 2023
After the Happily: Prompt
Yes, it has been done before, and not only by Jane Yolen! Lots of writers and visual artists have depicted what really happens after those fairy take endings of happily ever after. There is even a wonderful journal where you can read some of these takes (and submit your own): Fairy Tale Review.
But today it is your turn to try to reimagine a fairy tale. You don't need to write a persona poem, as Yolen did in today's other blog post, or focus on a main character or a well-known tale, which she d...
Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary by Jane Yolen
Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary
by Jane Yolen (from her book, The Faery Flag, 1989)
It is winter now,
and the roses are blooming again,
their petals bright against the snow.
My father died last April;
my sisters no longer write,
except at the turning of the year,
content with their fine houses
and their grandchildren.
Beast and I
putter in the gardens
and walk slowly on the forest paths.
He is graying around the muzzle
and I have silver combs
to match my hair.
I have no regrets.
None.
Tho...
