Durable pigments – I totally understand, am write there with you. I have recently been pleased to discover that I can still write poems without waiting for the bird of inspiration to land on my shoulder.

Jillypoet – I should read that Hirsch poem. I’ve been trying to describe a moment when I swear I could actually see my my 3-year old change right there, the actual moment he grew. Like a sudden rearranging of cells, but I can’t capture it, it was so ethereal.

The idea for my most recent poem came from (check only one):

Pure inspiration (29%, 15 Votes)
A photograph (or other image) (15%, 8 Votes)
Other (13%, 7 Votes)
My journal (10%, 5 Votes)
Reading another poet (10%, 5 Votes)
Current events (8%, 4 Votes)
Another prompt site (8%, 4 Votes)
Read Write Poem (6%, 3 Votes)
A prompt from a book (2%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 52

I usually work from a prompt, but gather thoughts from my journal or observations of life around me to write from. I have tried (unsuccessfully) in the past to use too many prompts or ideas in one poem. (Hence the lack of success; I think one poetry pal mentioned I had a lot of wheels on the poem. And he was right!!)

I chose “a Read Write Poem prompt” for my poll answer because it had been the nudge for the very last poem.

I love the prompts everyone here comes up with. I don’t think I am too biased, either!

The next step usually takes place between 4:00 and 6:00 in the morning, which is my thinking time. (This is also when I think about prompts.) If thinking about it turns up anything, I’ll jot that little bit down right around 6:00, when I have to get my butt in gear to get to work by 7:00. Everything I write at this point sucks.

The next morning I think about it some more. And I edit. If the editing seems promising, I might edit some more in the afternoon, especially when there are people I don’t know in my house and I seclude myself in the bedroom all day. And I keep going like this, maybe posting it on my blog in the process, until it seems like something I enjoy, or I reconcile myself to the fact that it will never be something I enjoy, which is more frequent. I still keep them around, though, because sometimes I rewrite them completely as a new poem, and they don’t suck quite as much.

That’s my magical process, or lack thereof. Wake up, think, write, think, sleep, wake up, think, edit, ad nauseam.

From there, I was reminded how irritated I’ve been lately that my kids always pick grumpy daddy over me. How could they!

I had an idea, I began writing and, of course, as is the case lately, some God stuff floated in.

The poem isn’t finished. It’s in pencil on the back of a face my 3-year-old drew. Even now as I’m typing, I’m thinking, oh yeah, my mom doesn’t believe in the rapture, but she believes in Jesus.

You see, poetry is everywhere, if only you can quiet your mind for a moment and let it in. But just for a moment, because the noise is half the poem.

At least, that’s how I work.

I’ve been obsessing on issues of practice and process since my son was born three years ago, and I’ve needed to find ever more creative ways to find enough time in the busy days for writing. There are two things that have worked best for me. First, I never sit down to write “cold.” I’m always thinking about the poem or project of the moment, while I’m in the shower, washing dishes, folding laundry, during dull stretches around the conference table at work. I try to have a general concept I want to explore and an opening line or two when I finally have a moment to sit down to commit something to paper.

Second, and somewhat conversely, I try never to wait for inspiration. If I do have a moment to sit down and write, I spend a lot less time staring at the page and waiting to come up with something good than I used to. There’s just not enough time for that these days! I just start writing, and while I may not keep anything I started out with, the process of spinning out words is often enough, it gets me to that place I’m trying to reach.

CGP: that’s interesting about pairing certain poems with certain content. aside from the more obvious cases, it’s difficult for me when people say, “let form serve the piece not detract from it” b/c form often does distract me when i’m reading and, certainly, kills my writing. i do “get it” but it’s very hard to make it work. it’s nice there’s a text that suggests a path!

linda: i like that you write along with your students. i’m sure it makes them feel part of a process instead of just students being observed. (and bonus! you get some ideas, too)

dale: you always leave us wanting more. “unhappily” in love. oxymoron? you’re holding out on us.

jennifer: i sometimes have trouble writing from photos. something about them begs me to tell the actual truth, the facts, the nuts and bolts of the event being captured. and i get stuck there. i know i need to look at it like just another prompt but i have a lot of trouble, especially if it’s someone i know. what permissions do you give yourself to make it work? i think i’d have to pretend i knew nothing about the person in the picture.

Its interesting to think about where inspiration comes from, because we may find that there are pockets of potential inspiration that we don’t really pay much attention to but which could offer us rich seams of poetry

I also try to respond to a few of the online prompts each week.

In the summer, I get inspiration from sitting on the beach and just letting my thoughts flow. It’s weird, though; when I have all kinds of free time, I don’t write much. I guess a period of hibernation is good because I always feel refreshed and ready to write again once school resumes.

And sometimes, I just listen and observe the world around me and something pops into my head that insists on becoming a poem.