Write a poem of your own wherein you explore the possibilities of metaphor. For instance, take a typical idea that might pop into your head (“conversation” comes to mind for me) and then flip through a book, jotting down any words that catch your attention. From this list of words, pick one at random and then explore its connection to your idea. For instance, just now I opened Pedersen’s collection The Thirteenth Month and saw the word “quicksand.” I can now ask myself how a conversation is like quicksand. Or I could ask myself how quicksand is like a conversation.
TOWARDS MORNING
Towards morning
I ride high in the
saddle:
scram
or you’re dead meat
I snarl at all
the small rodents in my heart
the day is a
falcon
on my shoulder
Inge Pedersen
WHAT THE POSSUM KNOWS ABOUT DYING
When it comes to Grief
Lie down Let it over-
take you Slow your heart and
your breathing Stay still still
with your sadness Eyes rolled back
in your head jaws slack Hands
curled into question marks
Then get up
unharmed
Shake yourself off
And walk away
like it
never
happened.
Laura Sommers