Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Poem Starting With a Line by Rod McKuen

thank you
for kissing me in the elevator last night.

two strangers passing as ships
      different floors...
               different mores...

over your shoulder
reaching to press

         your scent: fragrant

lips vagrantly brushing
        eyes searching
                cheeks flushing/blushing

lips meeting fully
      no greeting exchanged.

i didn't even catch your name!



- Line taken from Rod McKuen's poem, "Another Thank You"


***

From "Quickly's Winter Doldrums" - Jan. 3,  2016:

“Poem Starting with a Line by _______” is your title.
POEM STARTING WITH A LINE BY ______
Look around. Read some New-to-You poetry. I usually begin with the Poets.org poem-a-day and follow the links for further reading, or the Poetry Foundation site. It doesn’t matter how you browse, though. Just look for a line that captures your imagination (and holds its own as a unit of syntax)
That is your first line*. 
It sets the tone for your poem. You may want to go farther–if you want a little more challenge–and let the length of the line, and possibly its meter, be your template. 
Just have fun. Let it take you somewhere you wouldn’t go on your own.
(*be sure to cite the source at some point)


2 comments:

  1. That's one friendly neighbor ; ) Wonderful where you went with that line. I remember McKuen-had one of his albums years ago. Loved it.

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  2. The line was an eye catcher! I heard McKuen sing and thought, "This guy is delusional." I was much older when I found his poetry. A wonderful all its own! Thank you, Debi.

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