Thursday, April 16, 2020

DMC: "A Story Lost" by Kay Jernigan McGriff




A STORY LOST

I wander
through the shelves
looking for a story
I lost somewhere
among the stacks
of stories
I devoured.
It’s an old-fashioned
story, with children
and a pony pulling
a cart through
summer mornings.
There might have been
strawberries or blackberries
kissed by the sun
and probably
a rambunctious mutt
bounding through a meadow.
I look for my lost story,
pulling books off the shelves
and flipping through pages,
but no one can tell me
its title
as I wander
through the shelves.


© 2020 Kay Jernigan McGriff. All rights reserved.

For the back story of this poem, visit A Journey Through the Pages.


Our second of three challenges from My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice: A Guide to Writing Poetry & Speaking Your Truth by Patrice Vecchione (Seven Stories Press, 2020) is to write a poem about a time you lost something or somebody. Click HERE for more details.

Post your poem on our April 2020 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, April 24th, and one lucky participant will win a copy of My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice, courtesy of the publisher.





7 comments:

  1. Such a lovely poem has come out of what must have been a frustrating experience for you as a child, Kay. Before I knew the back story, I identified with the poem metaphorically— a frustrated writer searching for the elusive story idea. I love that your poem works both ways!

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  2. I read this earlier and love how you travel the shelves in your poem, Kay. I wonder how many have "lost" stories they would love to find? It's a wonderful 'lost' poem!

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  3. Thanks, Michelle, for highlighting my poem. It was fun to write once I finally settled on what "lost" thing to focus on. I definitely feel the same way about stories I'm trying to write that float just out of reach.

    Linda, I love thinking about all the lost stores that could be found lurking along those shelves.

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  4. I love your poem, Kay, how it takes me on this search, but also with a sense of loss. "but no one can tell me the title." This happens more and more, the loss of titles. Doesn't Billy Collins have a poem about this?

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  5. There's so much longing in this poem, Kay. The opening sentence makes me wonder if we can ever get back those magical books that swept us away when we were children.

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  6. I can completely relate! Love this!

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  7. I've tried to find some of my childhood favorites without success - now just happy memories. Great work.

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