Carolee Bennett –> poet. artist. crankypants.
oh, my! it was a struggle to get today’s poem for tupelo’s 30/30 project. in fact, i pooped out after the first eight lines — couldn’t figure out where to go next. and so i did what felt unthinkable at first: i just let it go. i let it end right there where it was.
one reason today’s process and even the resulting first draft delight me is because i had a chance to be playful. it’s called (for now) “december sonnet #4: a saucy advent calendar for your man,” and it happened quite by accident.
i am still working in the modern sonnet form: 14 lines. today, although there’s internal rhyme, i let the end rhyme go. writing daily, things tend to fall away. and not just things like rhyme: eventually, guardedness, as well. for now, i am still self-conscious about cliche and the inadvisability of using the word “love” alongside stuff about the heart, of being too sentimental, of attempting to weave anatomy and comets and romance.
as you know from yesterday’s post about tupelo’s 30/30 project, i’m writing a poem-a-day to help tupelo with some fundraising. and isn’t today’s poem — “december sonnet #2: may your penis hurt when you make love” — worth a donation based on the title alone?!
so today is only day 1. i’ve done enough of these poem-a-day challenges to know day 1 is difficult… but not as much so as day 19. and so i’ll just keep chuggin’ away and crossing my fingers and hoping that if i write a real stinker you’ll understand.
a draft of something inspired the ABBA poems by denise duhamel & amy lemmon … in which i also joke (sort of) about online dating and follow the ABBA rhyme scheme. yes, a rhyme scheme from a poet who typically can’t manage rhyme without going all green eggs & ham. but this time, with the exception of “something” and “humping,” i think i avoided the dr. seuss effect. i’ve also managed to be light and a little bit funny — two other traits not ordinarily in my poetry wheelhouse.