In March, Flowering … and your next Wednesday Writing Prompt
“The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper. You must not edit until you get it all on paper. I you can put everything down, stream-of-consciousness, you’ll do yourself a service.” Stephen Sondheim
an exercise in stream of consciousness
Redwood City, City Hall
In March, flowering
It’s so palpable, I can
pick it, I think, from
a break in the concrete,
like an intrusive dandelion
Pluck it, from the air,
like a feather
. . . . March!
It’s a good month here,
anything not in bloom is in bud
The Peninsula will strum a rainbow
with extra green on St. Patrick’s Day
The clover in Wendy’s front yard
is mutant, half the span of a hand
at the old place, the deer come down
in season, waiting for the apples
They owned that tree and
Their hunger is honest, don’t you know
a bit of Henry Miller there
They only eat on empty
Human take note!
I need a joke for the poetry reading ~
Did you hear the one about Descartes?
He walked into Milagros near City Center
The waiter asked if he wanted salsa
“I think not,” said Descartes
and promptly disappeared
How about the one on Dante?
[a Robert Pinsky fave]
Dante at the Dodge Poetry Festival:
“I have three poems to read.”
brilliant verse
[first self-deception of the day]
Paces to the rhythm of my steps,
[lost amid the scattered thoughts
and my craving for coffee]
Husband #1 – poor guy
would have rolled his eyes and said …
“Mind like a sieve!”
That might be why I left
Or did he leave me?
Can’t say I remember,
having abandoned marriage
and domestic suffocation
……..to breathe like this!
during early morning walks
in March, flowering
© 2013, Jamie Dedes
WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT
“As we take, in fact, a general view of the wonderful stream of our consciousness, what strikes us first is this different pace of its parts. Like a bird ‘s life, it seems to be made of an alternation of flights and perchings.” William James
As a writing technique stream of consciousness was named by May Sinclair – appropriated from William James’ idea – in her review of Dorothy Richardson’s Pointed Roofs in which the technique was used. It was brought to us, perhaps most infamously by that prodigal Irishman James Joyce, and by the French Marcel Proust, the American James Thurber and the English Virginia Woolf among others. Though more a novelist’s tool than a poet’s, one March I decided to experiment with stream-of-consciousness as I went digging for a poem on my morning walk. Now I pass the challenge to you.
Share your poem/s on theme in the comments section below or leave a link to it/them.
All poems on theme are published on the following Tuesday. Please do NOT email your poem to me or leave it on Facebook. If you do it’s likely I’ll miss it or not see it in time.
IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.
PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.
Deadline: Monday, November 26 by 8 p.m. Pacific.
Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro. It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning non-judgemental place to connect.
ABOUT
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. I currently run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers. My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman. My poetry was recently read by Northern California actor Richard Lingua for Poetry Woodshed, Belfast Community Radio. I was featured in a lengthy interview on the Creative Nexus Radio Show where I was dubbed “Poetry Champion.”
* The BeZine: Waging the Peace, An Interfaith Exploration featuring Fr. Daniel Sormani, Rev. Benjamin Meyers, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi among others
“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.” Lucille Clifton
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 