I have found myself provoked into action by fellow Poetry Friday poets and the attention they have been giving to prose poetry.I wanted to go to this same place. It sounded so intriguing.
I quickly settled on a theme -travel experiences. I delved into a vast collection of entries in an unpublished manuscript tentatively called -Inklings, for they all originated from writer's notebook entries across more than forty years. So this is a sample of a new anthology currently under construction with the draft title -Travel Seen.
Economical Exfoliation
Young American woman walks to the water's edge on Seminyak Beach. Assuming a Buddha pose she begins scooping handfuls
of shoreline sand, covering her entire body with a wet, black, gritty application
of a clearly abundant natural resource. With admirable flexibility she covers her entire back,
rubbing, rubbing, exfoliating her skin with this plentiful gritty application.
She stands, removes her sunglasses and wide brimmed hat before parading into
the surf. No cost beauty treatment. Such application.
Each time I visit Sicily, Mt Etna, starts erupting. Have I upset the Gods, or is it merely a coincidence? Three visits, Three eruptions. I hear you Etna. I see your sulphurous plumes rising into the sky. I understand. Indigestion is irritating. Ten per cent of the world’s population lives in range of an active, or dormant volcano. I’m not among them. I’ve never even owned a lava lamp.
An Inkling of Change
Things have changed. Things are different now. There was a time when we used ink to convey messages on postcards when visiting exotic destinations. We would acquire a stack of them before scribbling hasty notes to friends and family struggling with mundane daily events, while we luxuriated in foreign climes. Sending postcards has diminished as a means of communicating holiday moments, it seems. More ink travels home on tourists bodies than they ever expend on postcards. Tattoos, no matter how indistinct, implausible, convey the traveller’s deeds while away. Mobile phone messages, blogs and emails have also risen up the list, instantly informing the folk back home, how your days in Paris, Phuket, Florida or Tierra del Fuego are delivering delight. Postcards meanwhile, sit on racks, forlorn and neglected. Their colours fading in the sun, symbols of our earlier pre-occupation.
What wonderful and interesting postcards you've shared...yes, they used to be with a pen, stamp and a letterbox. But, I have the same feeling reading your poems as I do receiving a postcard collection from you. Oh, to be that tourist exfoliating and stepping into a warm surf. Sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I like the connection you make between my travel prose poems and postcards. I suppose they do have that hint about them.
DeleteEach one brings us the picture, Alan, and wrapping up makes a tale with bite, no matter the topic. I like the observations, the thought of a volcano's indigestion connected to your visit, who knows? I still collect the postcards & do send them, but I know it's the old way! Wishing you a great "next" way away!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. There is a sense of nostalgia aorund postcards. I like that you feel my tales have some bite...
DeleteI really enjoyed this post, Alan. Your dive into prose poetry was definitely productive. I like how all of the poems share a common form and theme, but have such variety in topic. I hope you keep going with this!
ReplyDeleteI freely admit that I enjoyed this little project. I guess the variety comes from drawing inspiration from different places, different events. I do intend to keep going with this anthology. I have already created about twenty poems. Having travel as my theme is proving productive. I shall keep delving Tracey...
Delete(This is Patricia - cannot figure out why it won't let me comment w/my user name)
ReplyDeleteAlan, your prose poetry comes to me as a refreshing change. I looked at "Economic Exfoliation" as written and then imagined if you had created line breaks and stanzas, and felt the words very differently in one form vs the other. Perhaps the prose puts me a bit closer to the poem's speaker...not sure. But thank you for offering this change up.
Thank you for your astute observations, Patricia. Writing these prose poems made me consider the poetic aspects of the form. I became conscious of including poetic elements into the mix. Forgoing line breaks and stanzas made it feel like a deconstructed poem. Thank you for provoking my thoughts on this as well.
DeleteYou evoke such strong images, Alan. I enjoyed reading your prose poetry tinkerings. Like Patricia, I found myself wondering how the dynamic of each piece might change if line breaks were imposed. So intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThanks you, Karen. Line breaks are always interesting. Sometimes I give young poets deconsturcted poems and invite to re-organize them with their own line breaks.
DeleteI agree that you have created strong images. I'm coming across quite a few examples of prose poetry lately and may have to to try it on for size. Thanks for the motivation.
ReplyDeleteGo Rose!
DeleteEconomical Exfoliation brought me back into time, Alan. I enjoyed your prose poems but EE reminded me of summers with my daughter as a little girl. She would take the gritty sand mix it with the ocean water and create mud packs for pedicure rituals. Ah, I can recall the feeling of ocean meeting sand mud rubs on my legs. For a little girl she was quite good at offering leg massages. "scooping handfuls of shoreline sand, covering her entire body with a wet, black, gritty application of a clearly abundant natural resource."
ReplyDeleteYou have made a strong connection with the exfoliation experience, Carol. More thoughts to ponder perhaps?
DeleteAlan, Travel always inspires me! Last year, after traveling to Maine, I wrote a haibun. Your travel prose/poetry form reminded me of that post. https://theapplesinmyorchard.com/2022/09/23/poetry-friday-the-haibun-form-and-inspiration/ I love the postcard entry - how true - and kind of sad, too! Thanks for sharing this inspiring work!
ReplyDeleteI too have employed haibun in this little 'Travel Seen' project, Carol. It's a form I enjoy. I shall check out the link you have provided. Thanks for your feedback.
Delete