read write prompt #14: love poem to your crooked toes, or: writing an ode

by Jill Crammond Wickham

‘Tis the season of the heart here in the United States. Heart-shaped valentines. Candy hearts. Big red heart boxes of chocolate candy. But have no fear. We’re not into clichés around here. We’re celebrating, all right, but not just hearts. Hearts. Hands. Feet. Stomachs. Ribs.

This week, we’re writing odes: poems of celebration and praise. Our subject, in keeping with the passion of February 14, is the body.

Here’s a brief history. One of the most ancient forms of poetry, odes were originally meant to be sung in public. (Go ahead! We dare you!) Over the centuries, the ode became a form heavy with classical references and “great” themes, its tone lofty and solemn (although, John Keats of “Ode on a Grecian Urn” fame, did write an ode about the poet John Milton’s hair).

Then, along came Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Neruda wrote odes in everyday language about everyday things and people. He praised. He exaggerated. He made you want to run to your sock drawer and take a pair out to dinner. You can read some of his odes here.

Beginning with a metaphor that establishes the greatness of the subject, Neruda would often conclude with a moral or philosophical note. However, rather than instruct, Neruda emphasized what he learned from the experience with the thing or person celebrated in the poem.

Your mission this week at Read Write Poem, should you choose to accept it, is to write an ode on the body. Your body or someone else’s. You might write about your toddler’s toes, your lover’s bellybutton, your father’s ailing heart (my inspiration for this prompt). Write about any old body part you might be in love with, no matter the owner. Just dig deep and show us the love!

*Of course, in the spirit of diversity and poetic license, you may also write an anti-ode. Curse the belly you hate. The shoulders that sag. The nose that threatens to tip you over. The feet that toe-in …