It's taken some effort to keep up with the blog while I've been out of town this week. So for Poetry Friday, enjoy this extra little ditty from Helen Frost's ode poem challenge:
ODE TO AN OBJECT
I see you squatting solidly on the far side of the verb.
You wait patiently for action: will it be bringing,
singing, ringing? You might be licked, lifted, lit.
I may pronounce you struck, sipped or sifted.
Oh—perhaps that is not patience,
but resignation, even fear? Object, do not fear.
There’s not much I can do without you.
© 2017 Heidi Mordhorst. All rights reserved.
Other featured poems this week were "Ode to Wind" by Linda Baie, "Ode to One Knitting Needle" by Laura Purdie Salas, "Ode to a Tissue" by Donna JT Smith, and "Ode to a Hyacinth Glass" by Diane Mayr. Only one week left to submit your poem in response to Helen Frost's challenge!
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."
Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration next Friday, March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:
Well, what a surprise! (I was actually quite confused when I went to post my link at the round-up and I appeared to already have been there.) Thanks for sharing, Michelle, and hope you're enjoying wherever you are.
ReplyDeleteHa! Sorry for the confusion, Heidi. That's how I roll these days. Was just about to give you a heads-up, but now see I'm a bit late for that!
DeleteThanks for this clever and unique take on Helen's ode poem form. I love that opening line and how you startle us into awareness. I also love how your closing line leaves us thinking about our relationship with objects in a larger sense. (Written from my parent's house where we're currently sorting through lots and lots of objects!)
This is a wonderful ode, with the grape koolaid tingle of Schoolhouse Rock.
ReplyDeleteAn object, indeed! This is certainly a poem for the language lovers among us.. .and I will share with my son who just took the ACT. :) Thanks, Heidi! xo
ReplyDeleteHa! Loved the Ode! Quite a unique yet common thing!
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, some words were used from this poem to use in the new Scavenger Hunt today! http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2017/03/poetry-friday.html
HA! As an ESL teacher, this definitely tickled my funny bone. Verbs get all the action, but are nothing without an object! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis Ode to an Object is wonderfully tricky, Heidi. I'm smiling. Brava!
ReplyDeleteClever as all get out, Heidi! Thanks for sharing the Ode and object love, Michelle! =)
ReplyDeleteThat Heidi! She's a clever one, isn't she?!?
ReplyDeleteI see many others have used the word "clever", and I too want to use it, but will find synonyms like "inventive", "crackerjack", "slick", and "witty". I re-read it a few times so I could appreciate it more.
ReplyDeleteBut what can I say, after Linda just pinched all the synonyms?!? You are indeed nimble on your literary toes, Heidi. I can't object to this unobjectionable object ode.
ReplyDeleteI love the play on object in this ode!
ReplyDeleteOf course, Heidi, YOU would write a poem about an "object"! So great. Yep, and all those other synonyms for clever up above...
ReplyDeleteI love this!
ReplyDeleteBravo, Heidi! You always find an unexpected angle into a subject. ;-) Thank you for sharing this, Michelle, and bringing a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun, and surprising poem Heidi, and the ending is perfect, thanks!
ReplyDeleteLOL! That is a GREAT ode. Oh, my gosh. I love it. I spent the day at a conference and my brain is too fried to do any writing so I'm relaxing with some PF fun. I love your sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteLove it! Of course, an object!
ReplyDelete