Saturday, February 27, 2010
"Thirteen Ways of Looking at a _____________"
In my column for this month, I included parts of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." I'm hoping we can use this great model to write our own "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a ________" poems. Every week I facilitate a reading and writing group in a Chicago homeless shelter. This past Thursday we wrote a collaborative piece, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Wrigley Field." It is posted under the comments section of this post. Whether you write one alone or as a collaboration, please post your poem as a comment to this post!
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Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
ReplyDeleteby: Wallace Stevens
I
Among twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird.
II
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.
III
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.
IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a blackbird
Are one.
V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
VI
Icicles filled the long window
With barbaric glass.
The shadow of the blackbird
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.
VII
O thin men of Haddam,
Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how the blackbird
Walks around the feet
Of the women about you?
VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.
IX
When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.
X
At the sight of blackbirds
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.
XI
He rode over Connecticut
In a glass coach.
Once, a fear pierced him,
In that he mistook
The shadow of his equipage
For blackbirds.
XII
The river is moving.
The blackbird must be flying.
XIII
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar-limbs.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Wrigley Field
ReplyDeleteI
From my 16th floor perch,
I hear the crowd cheer,
Knowing I’m two seconds behind reality.
II
10,000 seats filled to the upmost,
loud sounds of joy in the air.
III
A drunk haven for fans of all ages to forget about reality,
a time for all to become one as losers.
IV
The Cubs are my red, white and blue.
God bless Chicago.
V
Over-priced seats and eats, but still ,
to us, Harry Carry is our life beat.
VI
Entering into Chicago a new city
I saw this historical place
Which still serves its duty in this community
VII
The team is ready
And so am I
VIII
This place where
Families meet regularly
Memories of great experiences
And where people live up their dreams
IX
Wrigley Field reminds me of the strip club.
You pay for something you won’t get.
Sometimes it’s better off to dream.
X
With the goat
Without the goat
The ivy holds secrets
Derek Lee cannot.
XI
Back, back, back
It’s a homerun.
XII
The bleachers section: drunk
Popped collars and energy.
XIII
Beer, peanuts, hot dogs, sun.
Oh—and I guess there’s the game too.
By: Alex Permijo, Carolyn Henson, Steven, Ty, and Kate Brady