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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Edge of Dreams



The Edge of Dreams

Words             g
                        n                                              at the edge of DREAMS
                        a
                        w
t e a s e                                    t a u n t
catch me if you can
wake & wait
                        yearn
                                    for those
                                                                        elusive lines
RUSH      of
                        t
                         u
                          m
                           b
                            l
                             e
                              d                            thoughts


sudden                        s  c  r  a  m  b  l  e                       to spit words                                    OUT

to scribble words
                        o
                        w
                        n   
      
spill the

                                     R  i   P  p  L e  S                     of                                 SONG



In lesson three of my online writing course, one assignment is to write a poem using the whole page. I must think about how to tap the page's white space and resources to surprise the reader with expressive moments, using gutters, margins, headers, footers, fonts, etc., without taking up space merely to use space.

This poem "The Edge of Dreams" is loosely based on an excerpt from "Writing Poetry," a poem I wrote in 2011, published in The Calling, A Collection of New Canadian Poetry.

7 comments:

Jane Tims said...

The poem has the disassociated and non-linear feel of a dream! Jane

Deborah Carr said...

Beautiful, Carol...you have delighted and surprised me. I love this.

Carol Steel said...

Thanks, Jane. That's what I was going for.

Carol Steel said...

Thank you, Deborah. I'm glad you liked the poem. I was playing with an older poem that never really worked well in its former version. I like it better now.

Anonymous said...

Poor, poor Carol:
With Jane and Deborah having their say,
I'd be goin' the opposite way!
For poems with freedom, meaning,and feel,
start takin' your tips from ol' mister Neil.

That's what I'd be doin'.

He has taught me SO much.
sincerely,
just a side-lined observer

Carol Steel said...

Hi Neil. Thanks for your comment on this blog entry. All joking aside, I suppose I should pay attention to your advice on how to write poetry. Congratulations again on winning the Honorable Mention in the Alfred G. Bailey Prize from WFNB for your poetry manuscript "Apples on the Nashwaak." And, congratulations also for the 2nd place win for "Three Pounds Big" in the Creative Non-Fiction Prize.

Anonymous said...

Awww, there you go, gittin' all mushy-gushy on me.
But, thanks. Thanks for your kind words.
I do appreciate my writer-friends.

Now, listen. Keep this to yourself - but I gotta say that Jane and Deborah are okay, too.
I'm warning you, Carol. Don't you DARE tell anyone I have a softer side. It'd ruin me.
Neil