Heidi’s prompt to us this month was to try out some automatic writing. She wrote, “Try a thing that I do from time to time which always produces surprising and often striking results: close your eyes and type a poem. Keep going until you’re done. There will always be little typos to deal with afterwards, but something about not watching what’s coming out (and immediately proofing/editing/revising/critiquing/arranging it) is extremely freeing. It’s not really automatic writing at all, but sort of paranormal anyway!”
As someone who typically writes by hand, this approach added another layer of challenge. I tried it out a couple of mornings and got wildly different results. Here’s one of them:
Moving Slowly After a Sleepless Night
Go! Go! Go!
I listen to myself
yelling at myself
to get moving
to shrug off the sleepless night
and face the day with energy
and resolve.
Go! Go! Go!
It’s like I’m a belligerent coach
inside my own head
berating
exhorting
bellowing at myself
to rise to the occasion
to pull off the come-from-behind win
to get moving already, damnit!
Never give up!
Never give in!
Hup! Hup! Hup!
Sometimes,
I swear to God,
I want to kick that loud-mouthed bastard
right in the face!
©Molly Hogan
This was an interesting process. In another attempt, I realized that while I can touch type, I do NOT know where the numbers lie on the keyboard. Part of another entry read like this:
Today’s Dad’s birthday. He would have been eighty six. I can’t touch type numbers apparently, and have no idea what age he would have been if I’d just stretched my fingers upward and given it a try.
Perhaps there’s another poem lurking in there somewhere…
If you want to see what the other Inklings did with this challenge, be sure to check out their links below:
Mary Lee @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche (Click on this one to access Poetry Friday!)
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Catherine @ Reading to the Core
Find more poetry at Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Joyce P. Uglow at her blog, Storied Ink.
