 |
Story Poems
I find free verse is the best way for me to write poetry. Poems are not my strongest writing genre. When it comes to writing poetry that rhymes, I usually cannot find enough words that rhyme to say all I wish to say. So free verse is my number one choice. Ode to a Little Girl is one of the story poems I wrote way back in 1971. I was young and foolish and decided I wanted a blond blue-eyed daughter. When I realized it wasn’t in my hazel-eyed, dark auburn-haired genes, I eventually faced reality. I’ve since let go of that impossible dream, but out of the longing came a beautiful poem about a friend’s little girl who came to visit. One of my story poems was forming even as I spent time with her that day. Something else I experience when writing poetry, especially story poems, is that they help clear the air for me. I write poetry to understand my deeper feelings. In writing about the experiences that trigger the deep emotion, poems become cathartic.
Ode to a Little Girl
someone I used to dream of many years ago, so very long ago. And I was stunned when I first saw her, the impression shook my soul. Her hair was golden, her eyes were blue, set in a pixie's face that laughed and teased and offered love and tugged at my heart to rekindle a yearning I once knew so very long ago. But how could I, with dark, dark hair and olive skin hope to ever bear a child so fair, as if from sunlight. And so it was, through reality the dream had faded and with it went a part of me. An impossible longing I couldn't justify I freed so very long ago to seek and find the kind of tiny girl that I could never bear and take its place inside her soul to touch her heart and make it glow, so warm with love, even if I might never know whose little girl she was. So I was stunned to see today a little beauty, all happiness. The girl I'd dreamed about so very long ago had come to visit me and asked if she could stay, as if the yearning I once felt had homed and brought with it the kind of tiny girl that I once loved because she was so much a part of me so very long ago. 
Epic poems, of course, cover broader expanses of time. I have, however, written some poems about one moment in time. Free verse is like being given free rein in writing. That’s one reason I refer to free verse as story poems. Poems should reflect your feelings about that which you write. Poets and writers usually find the form of poetry they are most comfortable with and stick to that style. I’m most comfortable if I can sense the rhythm of a piece. A guitar-playing friend once set Ode to a Little Girl to music. We could not sell the song, however, because I wasn’t ready to give up all rights to something so personal. I still have that music and might be able to do something with it in today’s markets. The truth in poetry for me is that it enables me to express some deep feelings. I encourage you to try all forms of poetry because I still experiment with all forms, though I’ve found more ease writing story poems. I hope you will try all forms until you find one style with which you are most comfortable. _______________ This poem, and perhaps the music, will definitely be printed in my upcoming print and eBook.
|
