Autumnal Offerings Autumn giveaways Golden vestments Shed  Alan j Wright

In his 1954 poem, '13 ways of Looking at a Blackbird,' Wallace Stevens wrote thirteen short verses providing different images of blackbirds.  Michelle McGrane adopted a similar stance in writing her poem 'Thirteen Ways With Figs' where she wrote 13 slightly longer stanzas.  Looking at a particular  object from different perspectives  we learn to trust the images that offer themselves up. I decided to imitate the style of these earlier poets to inform my own poetry writing. I chose as my subject the enduring image of a large oak tree that stood in the yard of our family home, when I was growing up. I have modified the format of the earlier poems slightly, choosing to use seven, three line stanzas. The lines possess a consistent brevity. Oak Tree Perspectives Shade giver,  Backrest For a young reader Autumn giveaways Golden vestments Shed  Time resistor  Gnarled weathered skin Mossy trunk Climbing frame Lookout spot For spying eyes An acorn carpet B...

New VIDEO, Read Aloud of the poem- ' Summer Comes Rushing' taken from my most recent anthology, ' What The Poemster Found.' Enjoy...

 'In our lives we need both the comforts of repetition and the delights of change and they need to be in balance. Too much repetition means a routine of dull habit, of closing out the world. Too much change and we lose our centre. The same principle applies to poems that use repetition.' Kim Addonizo and Deborah Laux, 'The Poet's Companion : A guide to the Pleasure of Writing Poetry, 1997'   Repetition can be used in a variety of ways: A word is repeated at different points. A phrase is repeated. One line is repeated throughout the poem. An entire stanza is repeated. Many times, repeated phrases or lines come at the beginning and end of stanzas or poems. The repetition of words become an echo; a familiar melody running throughout the poem. Here is a poem by English poet John Rice that uses repetition and rhyme to good effect. ON SOME OTHER PLANET On some other planet  near some other star,  there’s a music-loving alien  who has a green estate car  On some o...

This week I'm focusing on food. Well, not just this week, if the truth be known.  Food is a universal theme in our respective lives and a favourite topic for writers and poets.  I love cooking and as a consequence have written extensively about all things culinary. When we know a subject well, it tends to feature strongly in our writing frame.   For me food is a continuing theme for my poetry. Sometimes it features in reflective tones, but at other times I have an inclination to  indulge in a bit of food fun. Here are three poems concerning food related matters. A poetic snack, an appetizer for you to enjoy. I urge you, fellow poets, to serve up some foody, flavoursome words... SOMETHING SIMPLY GRUESOME Something simply gruesome  Is sitting on my plate I can't identify it It's simply far too late Something really gruesome Is pretending it’s my dinner With a shape and smell Straight from hell -It's not a dinner winner Something quite obnoxious Is waftin...