It was a weekend that inspired poetry, and perhaps more importantly, allowed time for it. My husband and I were driving our daughter from Maine to Philly to move into her new apartment. She’s the first one of our children to fly far from the nest, so this was new territory in more ways than one. One of the upsides of the drive was time with my writing notebook in hand as we careened along the highways or, all too often, idled in traffic. With my husband willing to handle most of the driving, I had the luxury of plenty of time to read and write.
A highlight of the long road trip was reading some of poemcrazy: freeing your life with words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge. I just purchased this recently after reading about it in a post by Catherine Flynn. (Thank you, Catherine!!) It’s a joy of a read with so many wonderful prompts for dipping into words and poetry– for playing. Her love of words shines through the pages and inspires me to look closer, to notice, and to write.
English muffin clouds
nooked and crannied
drenched in buttery sunlight
Molly Hogan (c) 2017
I also was inspired by Michelle Barnes who writes Today’s Little Ditty and who recently shared a challenge from Carole Boston Weatherford to write an abecedarian poem. I’ve been toying with this form for a week or two and played around with it on our car ride as well. I shared the concept with my husband and daughter and we had some fun creating possible themes for such poems–words you’d like to yell at drivers, inventions you wish were created, etc. Michelle’s invitation stated that you could use sections of the alphabet, as long as they were sequential. Although initially I was determined to use all 26 letters, I finally decided not to try to force the x,y,z lines. Here’s what I came up with:
Foggy night
A blank canvas
dew-damp and dark
Ethereal fingerlets and
fronds of fog
ghost and hover
in insubstantial inky jumbles
a kaleidoscope
of lingering moonshine
and nebulous outlines
a patchwork of quivering
roiling swirls and
tenuous tendrils of undulating
vaporous waves
Wisps of wizardry
Molly Hogan (c) 2017
And then there was this heart-full moment with my daughter as we shopped for apartment accessories and essentials at Target. I’m not satisfied with the poem, but the moment was priceless.
Suddenly stopping
by the Home Goods aisle
she rushes around the laden cart
and wraps her arms around me
hugging me close
When I loosen my arms
to release her,
she holds on tighter
longer
til tears prick
and the all-too-short
eternal moment
tattoos my heart.
Molly Hogan (c) 2017
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by the magnificent Amy Ludwig Vanderwater at her blog, The Poem Farm. Talk about inspiring! Make sure to carve out some extra time to spend exploring her rich site–You won’t regret it!
Nix the comfort zone 
Oh, my goodness! What a productive week you’ve had. I’m in a kind of awe here. From clouds I want to eat to one of those hugs in the middle of Target. You might not be completely satisfied with the poem….but give it time. Those moments are so heartfelt and universal. I’m sure that time will allow you the perfect words. Isn’t the abecedarian challenge fun?! So many incredible and fun and beautiful responses to the prompt that at first seemed too hard, for me, to even attempt. I am a lover of fog. I love foggy days and nights. I like feeling wrapped close. Those nebulous outlines are a fav of mine. Happy Poetry Friday.
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Thanks, Linda! I have loved the abecedarian challenge! It’s really impacted how I’ve been seeing things lately–in a very fun way! Also, as you noted, it’s amazing to read the different responses. I’ve been “wowed” over and over again!
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Wow, Molly. I like your abecedarian, your scrumptious clouds and your love-tattooed heart. I can feel the after-ripples of your trip moving me.
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Who knew a long car ride with lots of traffic could be a treat? I should probably go thank my husband again for driving so much!
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You are a person making lemonade, not a person without gratitude. 🙂
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English muffin clouds!!! Love that fresh look so very much. Thank you! And your abecedarian is just right, ending with wizardry. Well done, not forcing through to Z. That takes such discipline and attention to craft. Wonderful!
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Wow! What a scrumptious offering of poetry to feast on this week. I love your abecedarian poem–so playful and mysterious. Enjoy those moments with your daughter. They are so special, aren’t they?
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“All too short eternal moment” love the image and taking us to Philly.
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It was a wonderful moment, Dan–heartwarming and wrenching. I’m looking forward to exploring Philly soon–the little we saw intrigued me!
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You made a long road trip very productive !! The touching moment in your last poem reminds me of my niece, who just started college last month. Of course I love abecedarians and enjoyed your clever lines. English muffin clouds is my favorite, though, can’t help it. 🙂
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Geez, Molly! I certainly don’t need another book! I love your poems and you’ve inspired me. Now I’m off to see if I can find POEMCRAZY at the library and if not I know Amazon won’t disappoint.
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Blame Catherine Flynn! It’s all her fault 😉 You won’t regret it Amy–it’s a wonderful book! I’d love to hear what you think!
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What a productive drive–and how great that you brainstormed ideas with your daughter and husband. These are all fun–I especially love your english muffin clouds!
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Awww… How to end it on a tear-jerker. That’s so precious. I just don’t think I’ll ever get that from my Mum!-don’t-embarrass-me boys… And I’m a little envious of your buttery English muffin clouds.
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The skyscape was wonderful on the trip down. I think the clouds were strutting all their stuff and we were captive spectators.
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Love this tear-jerking poem moment you’ve created Molly, and these lines are fit so well:
“and the all-too-short
eternal moment
tattoos my heart.”
I like the weaving in and out of your “Foggy night” abecedarian poem–it has a fall, halloweenish hint to it. Sounds like you had a rich writing week, thanks for sharing these.
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Oh Molly, what a delicious post to read from beginning to end! Those buttery clouds! Those wisps of fog wizardry—LOVE! And of course, that beautiful moment with your daughter. I was going to say if only you could bottle it, but you did! In a poem. 🙂
You know, you did such a fabulous job with that abecedarian, I think you might want to try another… I’m pretty fond of that “words you’d like to yell at drivers” theme. But maybe that’s not one for public consumption. LOL!
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BTW, are you on Twitter, Molly? I thought you were, but when I tweeted your post just now I couldn’t find you to tag.
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I am on Twitter, but as mbhmaine. Thanks for tweeting my post! 🙂
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Really weird, Molly. I could have sworn that I looked for the mbhmaine tag, but didn’t pull anything up. Found you this time, though. 🙂
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Thanks, Michelle! We laughed quite a bit while considering possibilities for our “words you’d like to yell at drivers” abecedarian, but you’re right, it would have required a “mature content” warning label! lol
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Such a warm, rich, post, Molly- thanks for sharing all! Your foggy abecedarian is wonderful. Best wishes for your family and recently fledged daughter.
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Oh, I want to hug all three of these poems. With our eldest just beginning college and me heading down there to visit tomorrow…I feel the tattoo needle. Thank you. What you did with the abecedarian is fabulous…and English muffins – come on! Just wow. Peace to you and yours. x
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Thanks so much, Amy! I hope you enjoyed your visit with your collegiate. It’s wonderful to have adult children, but it sure is bittersweet!
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