Sunday, August 3, 2008

Week Four

This week, some small poems from Peter Bakowski:

The Letter 'S'

dreams of becoming
a dollar sign.

In the Hardware Store

Bald men
admiring
the heads
of mops.

Subtle

A tomato
reddening
on the sill:
sunset
to a snail.

Bathplug

A way
to edit
water.

What Peter says: I think inanimate objects and letters of the alphabet have secret lives. I like to put them under the spotlight, to remind the reader of their existence and to lead the reader into thinking further about them.
I get my poems by observing small objects and creatures, human beings and world events and thinking about them.

Melbourne poet Peter Bakowski has been writing poems for 25 years. He tries to write as clearly as possible with a painter's eye. These poems are from The Heart at 3a.m. His other books include Days That We Couldn't Rehearse and In The Human Night.

Poetry Exercise: In order to write a very small poem, you can begin to think of it as a word picture. Choose a small object or experience - look around your room, your house, your school, your neighbourhood - find a small thing to write about that intrigues or interests you.
Think of how to describe it with one simple image or simile or metaphor. You are aiming to show other people how you see the small thing in a new way, a view they might not have thought of. Even a gum leaf can inspire you. E.g.

Gum Leaf
a green road map
for ants.

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