Pokey had the brilliant idea that she would do her 30 Poems in November (a fundraiser for the Center for New Americans) differently this year. Instead of writing a poem a day, which in the past has resulted in many not-so-good poems, I’m trying to write one long poem from “found” text that represents some of what I read during November.
So far, this includes the local paper, a Trader Joe’s circular, and a scientific article, among other things. The rules are that I have to use what I find–I can re-line it, but I can’t change the text in any way, not even with punctuation. At least, that’s how crazy-for-the-rules-Pokey does it.
This is actually way harder than I thought. But a certain friend of Pokey’s (you know who you are) who has most generously sponsored this endeavor with a donation to CNA, is calling into question the legitimacy of this method. He has even gone so far as to posit that Pokey will write a big overstuffed turkey of a poem (my words, not his) during Thanksgiving and pretend to have been writing all along.
Pokey can’t take this affront to her character lying down. So, for your reading enjoyment, here’s what I came up with so far, which is TOTALLY subject to change, because really, i have no idea what I’m trying to say yet and have lots more text to use as I read through November. We’ll call it “The Uncooked Turkey Poem.”
Just when you think you’ve got it all
figured out, visible matter and dark matter
have apparently come unglued.
We were not expecting this.
The dive was, in fact, more than just a stunt.
The bad news is, there’s a strong
likelihood of household damage.
Expect a small Social Security bump.
It will break the record books.
Those clusters get so massive
that they bend the light of distant galaxies like a lens.
We really like that it’s fully cooked.
We really need to share our joy.
We have to respect each other and always think
before we speak. Sounds good, right?
Winter is coming. Most of the associated galaxies
seem to have moved on. The work week
should be pleasant after today’s rain.
I know that technically, I’m not following the format of 30 Days, and I know that right now, this is kind of a mess, but you and I must trust that eventually we will have a fully cooked bird. (Apologies to my vegetarian friends.) That’s the way poetry works.
There’s still time to make a pledge and support CNA’s family literacy programs. Here’s my fundraising page at CNA.
Amy Dryansky 
Don’t you need to know what you’re saying before you start writing?
when I’m writing a press release or a newsletter, or directions to my house, yes. But the opposite is true for poetry. I write to figure out what i’m thinking/feeling. If i already knew it would make for a pretty dull poem. As I said, at the moment this one’s pretty undercooked , but the meaning will out.
keep on stuffing…and break as many rules as possible!
Markie