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Jim Melvin's avatar

"Consequently, let education be our shield,"

If only this could be true.

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Caro Henry's avatar

If only. Now there's another idea for a poem!

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Mark Kolke's avatar

Caro ... great piece. Well done. In my poetry experiments, I recall an article I read (can't find it now or I would share it) by the late W.S. Merwin [ https://merwinconservancy.org/land-and-home/press-release-w-s-merwin-permanently-preserves-rare-hawaiian-palm-forest/ ]; he was U.S. Poet Laureate and late in life a long term Maui resident where he boasted having one of every known species of palm tree on his property. His take on poetry writing, which I've tried to emulate - obviously without his considerable talent - with some effect is the shortening/deletion of everything unnecessary to the message. Here are some links you might like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYgiBlyS_Jw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_hCCufVVhQ ... among many worth any poet's time. Anyway, I thought I would share this with you and anyone who, like me, is a fan of your work. Cheers, Mark

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Caro Henry's avatar

Thanks, Mark, and thank you for sharing the W.S. Merwin link and the videos. I will definitely take a look. I think of many little poems and stories every day, but most get lost because I’m usually in the middle of doing some task and am not able to write down my thoughts. I’m now thinking about using the voice memo feature on my phone.

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Jim Melvin's avatar

Ha!!!

If only

I could have

10,000 subscribers

with 2,000

of them

paid 😀

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Caro Henry's avatar

🤣 Good one!

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Mark Kolke's avatar

great idea! ... While I'm not a strict adherent to the Merwyn Mantra, I've written a piece of prose and let my thought loose - writing it in a stream of consciousness belch - and then, rather than polishing, I try to 'write a Merwyn-esque poem with as few words as possible but first, pulling out every unnecessary word and I'm left with bits that are often 'just the line I need' to carry the flow of the poem to be...

Anyway, 'whatever works' should be our battle cry!

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