Our Hosts
Brooke Merrick, Bailey Davenport, and Ryan Paul are preservice teaching candidates at Oklahoma State University. Brooke Merrick is minoring in special education and is interested in teaching middle school English. She has a passion for writing. Bailey Davenport is pursuing a certificate in TESOL. She hopes to teach English to international adults and families. Ryan Paul currently works with students at a junior high school and is interested in teaching junior high or high school when he gets his degree.
Today we will be introducing you to the Duality Poem.
Inspiration
Life is full of duality. There are plenty of aspects in life that are either/or (either speaking or silent). There are also many moments that are both/and (both nervous and excited). Especially in the last year, but generally in life, we all experience a myriad of extremes, sometimes simultaneously. Consider the dual experience of stress and joy that occur during the holiday season. Perhaps you know the duality of ultimate love and crippling fear that comes with bringing a first-born child home from the hospital for the first time. What about the love-hate relationship we sometimes have with our jobs, organizations, or even people? How about the thankfulness you feel for the blessings in your life coupled with heart-brokenness for those who have faced more challenges than you? Or, that feeling of really wanting to eat that chocolate bar, but also being determined to stick to the goals you made. This style of poem was designed to explore the relationship between two (or more) themes, symbols, and ideas.
Process
Alternative italics is where a poem is written with two meanings. The first meaning is the poem as a whole, and the second meaning is given to it through the italics. Most commonly, the two themes are fundamentally (or, at least, seemingly) opposed.
Take two opposed ideas or concepts and make one the base. The other idea will be repeated throughout the poem and written in italics.
Consider ways to play with the words and sneak ideas relating to your hidden theme into the base poem.
There are two ways you can proceed from here. You can either try to find words that include your theme in their spelling (as in “Redefine Blue” and “Looking for Love” found below), or you can choose words that are associated with your theme, like in this short, silly example, ironically written from the perspective of a cat:
She dog-ears the pages
Creeping up
My tongue like sandpaper
Hairball.
She fetches the mail
I punish her by hiding
Here are our personal processes as we wrote our poems:
Bailey: I started this poem with the opposing ideas of fear and love. I had a hard time thinking of words that would include “love,” so I used this website to give myself a starting place: https://www.wordgamehelper.com. After thinking through these options and some of my own, I made a short list of “love” words I thought were most promising. I tried to include as much repetition, parallelism, and symmetry as I could so the ideas of fear and love would stand out as contrasts. The italicizing of the words didn’t highlight them quite as much as I would have liked, so I increased the size of the italicized words. I chose to only italicize the word “love,” rather than words associated with it because I wanted the reader to feel as though they (as we often must in life) are looking for the love in the midst of fear. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Brooke: While creating “Redefine Blue,” I wanted to take the emotions associated with primary colors. Blue is often correlated with sadness while red is correlated with passion. I wanted to create a figurative poem that mixes these colors and their associations to convey the complex shades in life that come from our emotions. It was challenging finding words that had “red” in it to convey the ideas I wanted in the poem and I often had to reference a dictionary to make sure my words make sense.
Ryan: My poem was inspired by the successes and failures that come with finding your own way through life. I used words like right and left that can mean directions, but also good and bad. Everybody in life will face obstacles and hardships and each person will react differently when faced with them.
Our Poems
Redefine Blue by Brooke
Redye blue,
this abhorred color,
which I accredit
to deep sadness.
Redeem cerulean
to a burning sky
overflowing with passion
as powerful as the red sea.
Redden my blue
into a vivid violet
a pallet of life shaded
with sorrow and ardor.
Road Home by Ryan
Life is a continuous journey.
When making the right turns,
the trip flows smoothly.
But with one wrong left,
it can be a long and windy road,
until you are finally back home.
Looking for Love by Bailey
Fear can be overwhelming.
Like a glove
It grabs onto every surface
Holding your hand like your beloved
Sometimes you wade in
A plover
Because you just can’t help but wonder
Other times, it pulls you under
An undertow
Selling you lies that you truly are
unloved
Until you feel the nauseating doubt
All over
Until it begins to spill over
Into everything you care about.
And lovelessnesses
Wreck havoc
A child, gripping a
lucky
Four-leaved Clover,
Fear grips your
lovely
Four-quadrant Heart.
But here’s the truth
The wonderfearul truth:
Fear is a liar
And perfect love casts it out.
Your Turn
We look forward to reading your poetry below. Also, on April 14th, Dr. Padma Venkatraman invited everyone to share their poems written then to the social media hashtags campaigns #AuthorsTakeAction and #DiverseVerse on April 20th. This campaign is to bring attention to the power words carry, bring attention to racial violence, and amplify the voices of BIPOC poets.
Hi Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan. I thought I would have time to write today but back to school on campus is kicking my “used to Zooming from home” butt! I will do my best to get back tomorrow and at least read and comment if I can’t share a poem. I love this prompt. I feel like today was the epitome of living in duality! I must find a way to write and share tomorrow. Thank you!
Duality
A shrill alarm, and
from blissful slumber wake
arise to smell the coffee — not the roses
rush to discover Zen,
amid traffic jams the express lane
crawls
sometimes anxiety hides behind smiles
attempts to discern the indiscernible are futile
when facts meander from truth
and politicians equivocate
a guilty verdict evokes a sigh of relief —
a collective exhale
but for the extinguished souls
Justice served too late
Tammy, so true. What a powerful description here:
I think of all the murderers who were not held accountable over all the past centuries. Thank God for Darnella Frazier and those who will continue to document the murders until we do something about it. Justice has not come yet, but with that collective exhale, we can keep striving for it.
Thank you, Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan, for sharing your poetry and challenging prompt!
I often ask students to hunt for oppositions in poems (Where is the tension? Where is the conflict?) I’m going to add “duality” to the language I use to ask my students to find complexity of meaning as they read. THANK YOU.
Your prompt made me think about the horrible last steps of a grueling run that butt up against the elation at the end of a run. There is duality there: one moment containing both pain and relief, anguish and joy?
That reminded me of a passage in “Moby Dick” when Ishmael and Queequeg are warm under the covers with their cold noses shivering above the quilts. It is the contrast that gives the pleasure.
With that as my “in,” I wrote this.
CONTRASTS
Melville wrote:
“There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast.”
I tap my app
at the end
of a run;
it is the going
that gives the stopping
its rippling firsson.
I read the
closing lines
of a thousand-page book:
releasing and relief-ing
goodbye dear friend
my heart swells
and hurts.
Friday-night tired
pushes through my muscles
and settles in my bones;
ah, sublime hour
when the week
meets the weekend.
Allison,
I love what you’ve done with the prompt and I found myself clenching and relaxing as I read through each of your contrasting. I especially enjoyed the symmetry between the ending of a book and the ending of a week. Thanks for a savory and sweet poem!
Allison — I love all your vivid contrast but especially this stanza” I read the/closing lines/of a thousand-page book:/releasing and relief-ing/goodbye dear friend/my heart swells/and hurts.” I absolutely feel the same after reading a good book.
Allison, oh you’ve captured such an interesting contrast in life..pain and pleasure. I have often felt so torn at the end of a really great book…even thinking about the characters as though they are friends and wondering how they’re doing. I love how you share that in your poem. Gorgeous poem!
Allison – The contrasts really do give way to those “ah” moments. Your reflection on Melville’s tome and the finishing of those pages is that sweetness of a book that stays with us forever. The “relief-ing” is the perfect word…. both the thickness of the book as well as the whew-factor from having finally come to the end of that long story…. not to mention pages/leaves. Such crafting!
I also love the Friday hour that “meets the weekend”… the work we love and the relief of weekend. So much in this poem! Thanks for this poem. Susie
Tide and Undertow
Tossed between choices
this way and that,
I hear voices:
Stay steady, follow the rules,
be patient, abide the timetable.
Tide moves in measure.
Try another way, a different direction,
a salty interjection grabs you by the ankles; helluva ride.
Undertow pulls hard, against what floats on the surface.
I keep my boat moving forward,
pushing the water backward.
In a perpetual flux
Tide and Undertow
keep me rockin’.
by Susie Morice, April 20, 2021©
Susie, you’ve captured the tide and undertow of emotions and trying to stay on a steady course so well here. I’m fascinated by “salty interjection” closely followed by “helluva ride”..the tumultuous pull is strongly felt. I love your last line and the multiple interpretations the reader can infer. Very thought-provoking poem. Loved it!
Susie, I keep reading your poem, letting it wash over. The tide/undertow imagery is perfect for finding balance in life. I’ll have to keep this poem in my pocket as I navigate finding balance. Thank you!
Susie — pushing forward through life turbulence is never easy. These lines capture the struggle so well: “In a perpetual flux/Tide and Undertow/keep me rockin’.
Susie,
I feel that undertow, perhaps more so this past week as I’ve watched the crashing waves from the shore. Your poem is such an apt metaphor for life. We keep moving forward only to have the undertow pull us back.
Life-less
My life seems to have no purpose
without You I seem to have no thrive
why can’t I shine without the thought of you?
I feel as if my life has no purpose
looking from the outside within, you gave me life
but now I fear without you I live in strife
how can I live in this world without that light?
The joy, the laughter, the fun are no longer bright
because I feel as if I am just
lifeless
Tarshana,
Thank you for sharing such a strong longing in this poem. You captured the sense of tying one’s life’s purpose to a relationship.
If this poem is autobiographical, I FELT it. I’ve been there. Life does return. Hang in there.
Tarshana, When I read your poem, I kept wondering who the poet was speaking to, and if it could actually be an object, but this feels directed toward a lost love. An overwhelming loss is heartbreaking, and feeling lifeless is one of the most difficult emotions because it seems impossible to embrace the normal joys. Your poem communicates that pain so well. Hugs!
Tarshana — Wow, this one hurts. I feel this. Stay strong!
You have captured loss so beautifully here. I appreciate all of the light imagery (shine, bright, etc.) Lifeless=darkness. Hang in there!
Work/Labor
His waking mind is consumed with his work.
Her waking mind is consumed with her labor.
At night,
He dreams of holding his baby,
memorizing the flecks of his cornea,
finding music in his distinct noises.
She dreams of forgetting to go to school,
winding up in a foreign country,
struggling to pull up the substitute teacher platform on her perplexing cellular device.
All day long he is tying up loose ends with coworkers, bosses, members.
All day long she thinks about, mulls over, learns about, ponders, daydreams about her labor
and where she can find the closest bathroom.
Laura,
This is another poem to tuck in the baby book! I am STUNNED by the clever/perfect contrast of work and labor!
Beautiful!
(And LOL at the last line!)
Laura, Your last line had me laughing. The contrasting dreams in the opening is so interesting. Loved the line “memorizing the flecks of his cornea.” So intense and deeply moving. If you’re about to have a child, good luck. An impending birth can create a lot of anxiety. Thanks for sharing this beautiful poem!
Laura — you capture the anticipation and work of labor and birth so vividly. The ending is perfect. I remember those days well. The bathroom was never close enough. Congratulations & good luck.
Hahaha I love this! Such a creative play on words here. I wasn’t totally sure what you were going for until the end, and then I read back through it and appreciated it even more. Your last line made me laugh — that’s pregnancy in a nutshell!! And the dream descriptions are definitely relatable. Thanks for sharing!!
Love Haiku
By Mo Daley 4-20-21
opposites, and yet
Ubuntu- because of you
we are- perfectly
Mo,
I really enjoyed your Haiku. Although it is short it has so much meaning to me and I love how it makes me feel. opposites attract right? I think this is beautiful
Hi, Mo — I had to look up Ubuntu, as I had no clue what that was… but now I love the term and that is a beautiful poem! How romantic! Susie
Mo — I love how you pack so munch punch into your Haiku’s. I learned a new word too.
Thank you for this challenging poem! This product was really fun to create, though it might not seem like much (but my brainstorming paper would suggest otherwise ?) I explored the duality of TEACHING and LEARNING
On that first day
of teaching
I learned
that although I teach,
I am always learning.
And although my students
have so much to learn,
they have so much
to teach
me.
One of my favorite things about teaching is learning. I love how open you are to learning from your students. I’m sure they feel valued in your classroom, Rachelle. I found this a challenging prompt, too!
Rachelle,
Yes, yes, yes!! I feel like teachers are constantly learning from their students, colleagues, and administrators. I know I learn so much from the teachers I work with.
This is a perfect example of the duality of teaching. Thank you!
Rachelle, you LIVE this out in your teaching and life. I love how your twitter description continues to age as you identify yourself (currently) as 20th grade! You inspire me with your mindset!
YES! This is why I teach! It is an exchange of knowledge–different kinds, but nonetheless valuable and worthy. This is expressed perfectly in your poem. Lovely!
Rachelle,
I related to “have so much to learn” because I knew this could be referred to by both the teacher and the student. I love how the teacher continues to learn from the student and vise versa which continues the cycle.
Ahhh, Rachelle — That is the glory of teaching and learning…right there! Terrific! Susie
Perfectly stated!
Rachelle — Yes! This is so true. I feel exactly the same way. I have learned so much about myself through my students. I feel I am a better person because of the connections I have with my students and their families over the years.
Rachelle,
I’m shouting “yes” for every word in your poem. I have learned so much from students.
Letting Go
When they are little, you don’t think about letting them go.
They think about what you will let them do,
and let you believe they have done less than they have.
As they get older, you have to let them do more.
They go to school, sports, parties with their friends,
and letting them do these things is part of growing up.
Parents don’t think about all that they must let go
before they have kids, before their lives change forever.
But that is the whole point, I suppose, letting life happen.
Now, my son will be nineteen on Saturday, he’s moving
to an apartment in July with a friend he’s known since
they were in second grade, and I’m learning to let him go.
The goal of parenthood is not to hold on to our children
forever, but to let them learn, grow, make mistakes, and
become the kind of people we can trust to let them be.
Very true, Cara. However, my kids are 50 year old adults and I am still learning how to let go. Don’t think the letting go ever ends.
This is spot on, Cara! I know how difficult this is – “I’m learning to let him go.” As you wrote, “Parents don’t think about all that they must let go” – you simply don’t know and can’t imagine this when you become a parent. There is such duality in “let” – and you captured it so well!
Cara,
As a mom who has “let go” of three of her five children this poem really resonated with me. Thank you for sharing your poem today, and putting words to my feelings.
I really enjoy the poems you write about motherhood because it makes me think about all the things my mother let me do so that I could grow/develop/and become who I am. I don’t always think from her perspective, so I really appreciated this poem today.
I really love this line: “But that is the whole point, I suppose, letting life happen.” We just live in the moment as much as we can, right? Beautiful thoughts here, this reminded me of my own mother too.
Cara — This truly is the epitome of duality. As parents are job is to raise our children to be independent so we can let them go. When they are ready to leave the nest there is happiness and pride in the milestone they have reached, but sadness too. Letting go is hard. Really hard. I’m feeling this one.
Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan, thank you so much for your wonderful poems and prompt. The future of education is looking great from here. My poem is based on my initials, BE. What I want to be and reality is the base of my duality poem.
BE
Sweet defier of
gravity; buzzing delight—
fragrant; delicious
broken down antique
tail a-dragging buzzing like
an endless zoom meet
Barb Edler
20 April 2021
Love it, BE. Why is it we want to BE different that who/what we are? I was thinking of the poems we’ve be writing this month, so many of them challenge us, don’t they?
I adore this poem and can relate to it only too well! Love the interplay of buzzing bee with ‘be’ – all we want to be. This line made me chuckle so, “tail a-dragging buzzing like” – yes, that is me, too! We gotta be who we be!
Agree. I heard the buzz/ BE somewhere in my head, but your comment brought it into focus for me.
I love it. I love watching bees and wondering how they stay in flight with such tiny wings–they are a marvel! Thank you for this little poem of beauty.
Hey there, Barb — I think I see the “sweet defier/of gravity”!!! But that “unless zoom meet” is a real dog of a feeling… I just got off a long Zoom… and almost didn’t manage to even scrawl down a post for tonight. I’m feeling like the last half of your poem. Hugs, Susie
I hear you, Susie. I zoomed from 8 to 4:30 and had to zoom some more. Two more days of this ahead, too. Save us!
This poem is like the essence of my education right now! I love how you put this together. “an endless zoom meet” stuck out to me the most because they are so constant in my life
Oh, Barb! I want to celebrate both of your BE haiku!
Both create vivid, sensory moments.
The contrast between the two (and the magic that both are, in fact, the same poet) is joyfully satisfying.
I can relate, friend.
Thank you.
Barb — I love the rhyme and rhythm of this poem and the contrast between the buzzing bee and an endless Zoom meet.
It is a profound truth
that washing machines
eat socks
and keys confoundingly
disappear in the abyss
between couch cushions.
Important info underneath
piles of junk mail
disintegrates to dust
and dumbfounded mothers
spend hours searching for those
shoes their kid just took off—
entropy increases with
time speeds towards disorder
and I, too, was lost
till I held on to
you became my foundation
Rachel,
The first few lines had me smiling with the profound truth of socks, but then I felt a noticeable shift in the line “I, too, was lost” in the tension of the profound and what happens to us in the disorder of all the surrounds us. I began to think about my mother and all she managed wondering to whom she held on to.
Your poem surprised me, I was surprised by how this moved me.
Sarah
Ha! This is great…and too true! Love how you wove “found” into a poem about lost socks.
Rachel, the end of your poem is so moving, and I love how you connect the every day things we lose to this more personal and important connection. Beautiful.
What beautiful, poetic word play ! Love the hidden ‘found’ in “Important info underneath,” love this exploration of loss – and its ‘love’ ending, “you became my foundation.” Nice!
I, too, was entranced by your word play in this poem. Your cascade of lines just pulled me down and those last three lines were awesome:
Rachel — I love the randomness in the poem and how, despite “entropy,” the whole thing comes together in the last stanza… dang! This is really a tight poem! Now I have to go look for the sock missing from the dryer. LOL! Susie
This is a lovely poem. Found works so well in this type of poem being within words.
Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan – thank you for today’s (challenging!) prompt. I really could feel the strength of love in your beautifully crafted poem.
Here is a draft of something I am working on which is really about the duality of relationships, and how the cause of heartache is often the cure.
We can wish
We can pretend
To forget
But the darkness will
Always remind me
And I will always
Remind you
How can I turn
My mind away?
And how can I draw
Your face
Without looking at the page
And where I drag my pen
I beg myself to
Walk ahead
and look forward
I promise to bring you
With me
I promise myself
Because I need your distraction
I need you to
Remind me
To open my eyes
To walk out of the darkness
That is my consciousness
What beautiful sentiment. There is a feeling of sadness in this poem for me as the loved one is not yet in the relationship…is still out there. Sigh.
Eric, your voice is clear throughout this and full of emotion. I appreciate the focus in these lines and the heartache shared.
It can be so difficult to move out of the darkness. Beautiful poem!
Love the connections in this poem with drag my pen without looking at the page and begging to walk ahead with a special person that provides distraction and open eyes. Oh how we need that special person in our lives! Love this poem.
This is so poignant; it is such work “To walk out of the darkness.” You capture this sad tension of a broken relationship so well.
Venerated be the
Battered, beaten, broken,
Isolated, immolated, interrogated
Raped, robbed, removed,
Starved, stripped, smothered,
Enchained, enslaved, enervated
Venerated.
Katrina, your word relationships and stem complement each other in unity and duality.
Wow. This is a great poem to read aloud. Those words of harshness…ending with venerated. Reminds me of stories of saints I read as a kid — this what you get for your birthday when your uncle is a monk…books about the lives of saints.
Katrina,
You use alliteration to perfect effect here. There is such a beat and insistence to your lines–excellent word choices!
Thank you for todays fun prompt. I wish I could figure out how to change my font size here. When I wrote this in Google Docs I had the font size of BIG one size bigger than the rest of the font, and I had small one size small than the rest. During my copy and paste stage, I lost that some how. Please enjoy.
Moments…
Life happens in moments
There are BIG life moments
Being born comes first
Dying comes last
However some of the best life moments are small
Rocking your niece to sleep
Coffee dates with a friend
Sitting quietly reading a book
Enjoying the small moments doesn’t take away from the BIG ones
Small moments can lead to BIG moment just as BIG moments can lead to small moments
Walking your dog small moment
Getting your puppy BIG moment
Coffee date with friend small moment
Being asked to be a bridesmaid BIG moment
Getting married BIG moment
Watching television together at the end of the day small moment
Having a baby BIG moment
Singing a lullaby to your baby small moment
Thank you, DeAnna! Your poem is beautiful. The bolding and capitalization of “big” and italicizing “small” is so creative. I especially love the final stanzas where small moments are followed by big moments and the reversal of big moments being followed by small moments.
I love the many dualities you explore in this poem. It’s fun to read this poem through that lens. It’s giving me the reminder that I should enjoy this small moment of driving country roads with my love and put away my phone ❤️ Thanks for that
DeAnna,
It really is about recognizing the value in both the small and big moments–because both hold value and can be remembered with abundant joy and fondness. Nice.
Excellent prompt! I love the process you each used. I can’t wait to play with this duality idea!
Thank you, Bailey, Brooke, and Ryan for this very clever prompt and your wonderful duality poems! Let me share my favorite lines from each of your poems – “The wonderfearul truth” – Bailey; “But with one wrong left” – Ryan; “Redden my blue” – Brooke. Such poetic word play!
I had fun with this prompt! The trickiest part is italicizing my duality words – hope this works. Here’s my poem:
Twilight
Is there a
truer delight
than the
light and dark
of twilight?
To wait for night
with no lamplight,
watching
the darkness
enter slowly, slightly,
slyly darkening,
is enlightening.
The light grows
darker, darker,
darker still, as
daylight takes flight.
Suddenly, all is
darkness.
Here, when light is
at its darkest,
the moon alights.
There is no
truer delight
than the
light and dark
of twilight.
Maureen,
I can picture the twilight perfectly as you describe it. Thank you for sharing you poem today.
Maureen,
This is lovely. Seeing the sky in these in between moments offer
Your poem is lyrical and comforting.
Maureen, one of my favorite themes and motifs is light and I love the way you bring in the duality of the darkness.
Maureen — When I read this the first time, I was struck by how beautifully you captured prompt for duality…all the light and dark. The title is perfect, of course! I have so long been fascinated by this time of day…that caught in between moment. You did beautifully here! Susie
Maureen,
What a lovely spotlight you have shone on the intersection between the end of the day and the beginning of night. I was thinking about those many evenings of quiet I’ve had sitting on the porch in the desert in California, watching the sunset and sitting long enough to watch the stars come out. It’s not often we take time to do that, and your poem brought me lovely memories.
And your alliteration is always magical…
The Duality of Mundane Tasks
These chores to be done
Are not always fun.
Opposite feelings. A list has begun
to be completed, one by one.
Each brings a reward I will accept.
So glad things are not left unkept.
The first is EMBARRASSED.
My car blanketed in dust.
Then soap and water – washed clean I must
Now PROUD to be driving.
Next, I’m ASHAMED.
My sandaled feet are grimy.
Then soap and water – cleaned, no toil.
Now BOLD showing my pedi.
Really UNCOMFORTABLE.
My carpet is littered – bits of debris.
Then vacuumed twice – that’s the key.
Now AT EASE to show you my house.
Often ANNOYED.
My pillow is covered in cat hair
Then merits “pillow spanking” on the chair.
Now COMFORTABLY fluffed.
Always SORRY.
My dishes are stacked in the sink.
Then soap and water washes the stink.
Now CHEERY with sparkle.
Lastly UPSET.
My windows so spotted – can’t see!
Then windex wiped – ah, “la da dee!”
Now BRIGHTENED with light.
Susan, your stanzas hit home so many times, one would wonder if you have cameras in my house! Well, thanks for letting me know I’m not alone in feeling these dualities about what must be done, what should be done and whatit feels like to have it all done!
Susan, with your rhythm I truly felt like you were channelling Mary Poppins in your poem! You’ve captured the dualities in such a whimsical way–and rhymes to boot! Nice work!
Thank you Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan for today’s prompt! I got a bit sidetracked and then tried circling back to the “spirit” of the prompt. With marginally successful results. Lol.
___________________________________
I’m not unaccustomed
to this idea, this play
of words within words,
this Inception of language.
Please, I’m an English teacher:
I eat figurative language
for breakfast, (generally
a slice of metaphor, cut
just so — on the
diagonal, with a helping
of lightly seasoned litotes
met with a morning mug
of mocha-accented alliteration)
but this idea of words
hiding in other words
gives me the heebe-jeebes.
Don’t get me wrong, I
enjoy a good nesting doll, of
Russian descent or other,
as much as the next
person, but this reeks
of sleeper cells. It’s
too Manchurian
Candidate if you ask
me. What is this?
The Cold War?
Somebody better tell
global warming.
And what if you
miss the hidden
message, don’t follow
the linguistic clues
to the buried treasure
(or dead body — choose
the metaphor you
prefer)?
There is only one
Sherlock, right?
(Unless you count
Cumberbatch or
Jonny Lee Miller
or Basil Rathbone
or, I guess, Sir
Arthur Conan
Doyle himself.)
The point is
you just might
miss an obvious
cry for help.
Haha! I don’t think you need any help at all, Scott! That is a masterful and magical description of breakfast:
I just wanted to put it here and read it again.
Scott,
I loved what you did with your “hidden” message throughout your poem.
I have a teacher friend or two who totally resemble that line. 🙂
Scott, I look forward to reading your peoms and marvel at your ability to employ such a range of literary devices so skillfully. But, I also look for the “message”. What is he saying today? Today, the “message” that comes through loud and clear is in your closing stanza,
The point is
you just might
miss an obvious
cry for help.
reminding us to be attentive to others. The challenge is to know what do we say, do, not say or not do when we hear the cry for help. That is my prayer, that we hear and respond with love. And sometimes the loving thing is to say nothing. That’s tough for talkative people like me. But, that still is my prayer. 🙂
Thanks for the reminder, Scott.
Scott — You sly dawg! The words within words Idea about sent me over the edge. You finessed this baby! I’m applauding! I was really laughing with the nesting dolls, the sleeper cells, and all the Sherlocks. LOLOLOL! I don’t think you “need help,” my friend! What a creative mind! Love it. Susie
Scott,
Wow. I am floored. This poem is absolutely incredible. Chilling, but somehow also still warm and friendly. I wish I could offer more words of encouragement, but I am simply in awe of this poem and rendered speechless. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Bailey
Fully Empty
The Space is wonderfully big.
Ears seem to grow fruitfully into hollowed holes.
Where there is nothing,
There is everything.
Even barren, there is fullerene.
How can it be that this is where fulling takes its place?
The weaving in and out of nonexistence.
It is a sea of emptiness,
Which is true fullness.
Sarah, the oxymoron of the fully emptiness is a great way to show duality right from the start. Fullerene is a new word for me!
Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan, I love this prompt! It’s so thought-provoking. The examples you each gave are beautiful and very helpful! I’ve attempted to display the duality between rising and falling by using imagery from the season of Fall.
Rise and Fall
Autumn leaves
Of orange and yellow
Rise in spirals
Through the air
On lifted breezes
Quick and playful
Dancing upward
Without care
The branches now
Unfettered by
Their lush green garments
Now disposed
Ascend into the
Velvet skies
Twisting, winding
As they rose
They say what goes up
Must come down
And all good things
Come to an end
But bright Octobers
Go to show
The things that fall
Can rise again.
I love this play on words how so many things are rising and then falling for Fall! There is such contrast and then suddenly hope of rising. Makes me think of the different circles of life, all things rising and falling. Also, I thought of resurrection! Thanks for this hopeful poem, filled with beautiful imagery.
Your poem is great Ann. love your play on words with rise and fall and all of the vivid imagery. I felt like I could see the scene you created in my head!
Ann, what a lovely metaphor captured here. I love the falling leaves given all the positives of rising, lifting, ascending upward. It’s a lovely image you’ve created here.
Ann,
I absolutely love this poem! You did an incredible job with naturally including the italicized theme! The last stanza is my personal favorite. The flow of the familiar sayings into the final four lines was absolutely captivating. Thank you for sharing this poem!
Bailey
One
By Nancy White
One is sometimes better.
I’m in the zone when I’m alone
Honed and toned.
Everything flows when I own my own time,
And I can get things done.
But, when you’re gone
I bitch and moan
Where are my friends?
Apparently, I have none.
What is life if it’s never fun?
We could just talk on the phone,
Yet, how much nicer to sit in the sun
Or go for a run?
I need Thanksgiving with someone, I groan.
After all, it takes two to break a wishbone.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Maybe it’s true, two is better than one.
Nancy, I love the rhyme in “I’m in the zone when I’m alone, honed and toned.” You also perfectly capture the duality of wanting to be alone and wanting to be with others. You can find joy in isolation, but you also need the company of those you love. I’m still repeating the line “it takes two to break a wishbone” in my mind!
Great contrast between one and two. The feelings are so much upon us after being isolated during this pandemic. I laughed at “Where are my friends? Apparently, I have none.” Friends are also isolated and out of sight. Yes, hooray for that phone call.
Nancy,
I loved your rhyming and vibe of your poem. I am such an extrovert, but even I still truly enjoy my alone time, with just me. However, I’ve found two motivates me to get out and walk unlike when it is just me. Thank you for sharing your poem today.
Afraid to be full
when the glass is full,
I cannot take a sip
for there will be more to fill.
when my stomach is full,
I wish for flat lines of emptiness
for hunger is more comfortable.
when the calendar is full,
flutters of belonging flourish
until the what-ifs of failure
overflow.
but what I most fear
is that Full
in-satiates Longing,
quenches Insecurity,
stills Flourishing
for Enough is
hollow.
Sarah,
This is phenomenal. I keep re-reading it. I especially love
That is so true…too much satiating and we are seeking to be less filled. I love this:
So good.
Wow – enough is hollow – I will be carrying that with me for a long time! Fascinating poem!
I wrote a duplex today. I like the way this form bot repeats and invites contrasts.
Binary Convergence
When two become one,
You go your way I’ll go mine.
We’ll go our way and live
Our separate lives in the middle,
Meeting in the in between like
two paths leading to one destination,
One destination forged by a fork in
life’s road where opposite paths converge.
Disparate lives on a converging byway
Exit, detour, journey beyond I do.
I do not divorce myself from myself
Thinking my place subjugated to yours.
My place is beside not subordinate to you
When we two became one.
—Glenda Funk
Oh, going home already?! What a lovely trip you must have had. What a great marriage duplex here. Many truths, like “two paths leading to one destination,” and the ending:
Glenda,
I had to review the duplex, and remember I first learned of it from Kim Johnson here: http://www.ethicalela.com/may-openwrite-duplex/
The rhythm you create in this form with your words feels beautifully intimate, and I feel honored to be able to read your words from Maui to Oklahoma. The line that is really hitting me among the other beauties is this:
and the line that follows, the thinking that we must disrupt/interrupt and so your poem as a whole and your title in particular offer much to ponder today: Binary Convergence.
Sarah
Glenda is a powerful statement about the roles of men and women in committed relationships. The thought comtes to married couples, but I also see your thoughts as important guidance to teams, departments, committees that gather to work towards a single goal without insisting that each person give up his/her thinging rather than contribute those thoughts and experiences for the good of the whole.
Talking about dualities. Is there such a word and quadralities?
Glenda, this form works so well with your subject. Love the flow of this poem and how your end says it all. I especially enjoyed the lines:
Such an important message….loved “I do not divorce myself from myself”. Wonderful!
This is the stuff of great couples, I think:
Great duplex, Glenda! Yes, it does work beautifully for contrasts.
May you hold onto sweet memories of your vacation for a long time! May Idaho be warm and springlike!
Glenda — The title sure fits perfectly. Each of these stances is worth its own examination… a very rich structure. I especially love “separate lives in the middle” and “I do not divorce myself from myself…subjugated to yours” — such strength in this.. and the glory of it is that this kind of strength is what makes the “two became one” so powerful. Quite a love poem. Susie
I love searching for binary relationships in literature? This prompt immediately reminded me of “Hate Poem,” which I think most will enjoy reading. Here’s a link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52944/hate-poem-56d231d1c9ca8
Glenda, thank you for posting that link. What a brilliant poem!
Thank you, Baily, Brooke and Ryan for your challenge to consider the dualities with which most of us struggle. We welcome you to the profession in the belief that we need educators with your heart from the start to help set us apart as educators who are there ’cause we care!
Validating Value
What we value is what we validate
What we hate is what we berate
Who we value is who we validate
Who we hate is who we berate
What is right is for what we fight
We fight for what we think is right
Who we think is right is not who we fight
Instead, we shed light on the problems they face
Which all too often is based on their race
It’s a waste of time to spend our time
Hating and berating.
Let’s do what’s right. Let’s join the fight
Let’s be the light
Let’s validate what we value
And thus neutralize that hate.
Let’s go—no time to wait.
Oh, the way you have started with “What we value is what we validate / What we hate is what we berate” and switched it to “Let’s validate what we value / And thus neutralize that hate” is Brilliant, Ana! Such a positive message, powerful, and inviting.
What a great poem! I like your use of repetition and your lead up to the final stanza, an invitation to join the fight against hate.
My favorite lines are:
Anna,
There’s so much truth in your words today. Love these opening lines:
Anna,
This poem reads as an anthem! Love the call to action throughout and the anaphora that amplifies this work as collaborative, needing all of us:
This was great Anna! I really loved how you began the poem especially your opening lines:
“What we value is what we validate
What we hate is what we berate”
They are very thought provoking.
Anna — I think this is just the right poem for today. I was on such an edge today awaiting the outcome of the trial… your “Let’s be the light… “neutralize that hate” feels so hopeful. Thank you. Susie
Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan: What a fascinating approach! I had to think about this for a while – finally dawned on me that rally short words work best… here goes:
Cravings of the Human Heart
Peace
sweet peace
drifting earthward
as prayers float heavenward
Peace
enveloping souls
like winter coats
pulled from a magic wardrobe
thwarting winter’s chill
Peace
seeping inward
warms the heart
dwarfing all fear
Peace
is hardly for cowards.
It is
its own reward.
Oh Fran. Such a beautiful poem. I love the sound and look of this:
and love these lines as well:
The words you have chosen flow so well, so peaceful, even though words contain the opposite.
I’m glad you chose war and peace, it works out so well! I especially like the lines
The label of bravery is often reserved for those most likely to get us (or keep us) in never ending wars. Peace is much more novel.
Fran,
I tried to pull a favorite chunk to share in order to give you specific feedback, but I just can’t. The entire thing is so well-done. Peace is so hard to achieve . . . within ourselves and with other people.
You nailed it!
This was extremely impressive Fran! I love how you italicized and highlighted the word war throughout.
aRISE
I guess we
all have to fall
sooner or later
whether
terroRISEd
by the bully or
looking out your window
only to see a cloud-blocked
sunRISE
tenth day in a row
left alone with your own beliefs
and dreams and hopes
polarRISEd;
it shouldn’t be a
surpRISE
you will fall.
when you do,
extempoRISE
with what you’ve got
familiaRISE
yourself with your own
iRISEs
look inside
mesmeRISEd
and
know
when
you
fall
there’s
nothing
left
to
do
but
RISE.
Oh, boy, this is beautiful. Nice job, and that didn’t take you very long!
I love this sweet extemporaneous advice for those who fall:
I want to familiarise myself with irises! I love those flowers, and they symbolize: wisdom, hope, trust, and valor, according to the internet. I also thought I could familiarize myself with my irises and open the eyes of my heart. Oh, so many thoughts about irises right now.
You were able to sneak in some British spellings too. I’m curious, are you teaching in a British curriculum?
Haha, well, not necessarily. I would call it a mix of British and English. I use the s and z interchangeably and put periods inside or outside of quotations depending on my mood. HA! (jk, kind of). Managebac, the school system we use, is automated to British though, so I’ve gotten used to it.
Angie! This is stunning. The text features, the line breaks, the embedded meaning, the inspiration here. This poem is one of my favorites that I would love to see on a blackboard painted wall in every coffee shop and school and bus terminal and…
Angie,
This is a brilliant response to the prompt. My favorite line is the play in irises and rise. The poem is visually stunning.
Angie,
I enjoyed aRISE. The reminder that we just have to RISE once we have fallen, needed often throughout a lifetime. Thank you for sharing.
Angie – what a flow of words and truths here! I am intrigued by the idea of looking inside ourselves during or after a fall to be mesmerized by what we really have within us. “Rise” is a favorite word of mine and I love hearing it echo throughout your poem. It’s like a wind chime – so hopeful. Literally uplifting!
Angie,
I got chills reading your poem. Thank you for this absolutely stunning piece. There are so many wonderful things happening in this poem. I love the line “You will fall” and the white space that separates it from the other stanzas. What a beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing it with us today!
Bailey
Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan . . . this prompt is incredible and it helped me to write what I’ve been trying to capture for a few weeks. I even started a poem last week titled “Duality” but I couldn’t get the words out. There is unlimited potential in this inspiration and I plan to not only write multiple based on this but also to have my students write based on it this week.
I love each of your poems: Brooke, your use of RED within lines contrasting with the color blue is purely brilliant. Ryan, short, simple, and sensational! Filled with fundamental truth! Bailey, clever, clever, clever! I love how some of your LOVE words run from one word into another. Contrasting with fear is perfect.
So, I know mine is not exactly like the model, but I needed to write it today as it has been a really, really tough go at school here of late. The italics shows the hypocrisy between my “beliefs” and my actions.
My Hypocrisy
I want to uphold standards.
I give voice to the kids on the fringe.
I want a dress code to maintain expectations.
I connect with the kids most likely to break it.
I yearn for a society with norms.
I empathize deeply with the different.
I teach in a system drive by measuring.
I spend all of my energy feeding.
I pray for families and students to find God and church.
I am surrounded all day by so many faithless and unchurched.
Teaching is the core of who I am.
Teaching is imploding me from the inside out (or the outside in??).
~Susan Ahlbrand
20 April 2021
Ohhh Susan. I feel you. So many moments that feel hypocritical. It’s such a paradoxical world as teachers. I WAS a kid who broke the dress code rule, so of course I connect with them, even though I’m supposed to enforce it. WAH! The ending with the question supports your whole idea in this poem. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Susan, powerful poem you wrote today. I’m glad you took time to write it. It definitely matches the spirit of the prompt–the duality of that inside/outside struggle. Which side will wreak havoc this week?
I’m struck by the truth of these two lines:
Susan,
You’ve written a courageous poem. It is rare for those w/ a deep commitment to their religion to acknowledge their and their church’s hypocrisy. I think we’d all be better off if we stopped policing everyone’s clothing choices. Maybe you connect w/ those kids because deep down that dress code isn’t all that important. And being a person who doesn’t attend church doesn’t mean an absence of faith. Anyway, keep speaking your truth.
Glenda,
I tried to separate faith and God and church. I guess I wasn’t successful. 🙁
Susan,
I find a lot of me in what you have written. I understand many of the dress code policies, however I’m not likely to be the one cracking down, unless I’m seeing body parts I shouldn’t see, I tend to let it slide.
Honestly, I’ve prayed for more than one student, but I’ve asked for that student to turn to God, but just for God to help with whatever is troubling the student.
Thank you for sharing today.
Dear Susan – I think you speak for many of us, of late! There really are so many dichotomies or perhaps dissonances between one’s beliefs and, say, what systems perpetuate…what shines through here is that you are a nurturer. Even – or especially – as people of faith, we always battle that dual nature. This is a brave and moving poem.
Susan,
Oh my stars. I would never have thought to portray duality in this way, but it leaves me paralyzed with the realness and relatability of it. I completely understand this feeling of “I do what I don’t want to do and don’t do what I want to.” Just wow. Thank you for giving voice to feelings I (and, I’m sure, many others) have felt but have yet to find the courage to speak into existence. Absolutely beautiful. Lines 9 and 10 were the most convicting and penetrated my heart. Thank you for sharing.
Bailey
Thank you again, Ryan, Brook and Bailey,
What a fun challenge. I almost didn’t do it, to be honest. Usually I am a 20-minute drafter, but this one was fun. and I took a little time to play. I have about 12 tabs open–the list of sun words from WordGameHelper, rhymezone, dictionaries, thesaurus, and some other random sun and moon word collections. Great prompt.
Regular rotation
Moonth after moonth
Decrescent, increscent
Full wanes to youth
Unsung in radiance
High hopes are sunk–
Never to be a beacon
How, when so shrunk?
Linked, but disunited.
Moon: reflecting only
the Light of our galaxy
When veiled, so lonely
Tsunami of sparkle
Moon unable to refine
As bright as the Sun
Brilliance defined
Haha, Denise!! I started with sun too because I didn’t spend enough time on summer yesterday. I can’t believe you draft all your beautiful poems in 20 min. Actually, I’m sure that’s what most people do, but I can’t. I’m not that good. Most times I spend more than an hour. AHHH! I guess…I’m dedicated??!
I immediately saw tsunami and love how you have phrased “tsunami of sparkle”! and I also love the word play in the entire first stanza! KEWL!
I will have to set a timer because I was guesstimating. I probably actually spend more time! However, today was an hour, and that’s a bit on the long side for me. Hooray for the sun and summer.
Denise,
You have taught me a way of seeing, noticing that I had not done with such intention. Seeing the “sun” in so many ways and the connotation of its presence and absence of light, its force to harm and heal in so many ways. Especially stunning is the way your poem embodies the “sun” or the light within us if we have the courage to see it, let it illuminate for good, for healing.
Sarah
Denise,
“Moonth” is a fun play on words. Poor moon, only “reflecting the light of our galaxy.” Your poem is very clever. It needs to be in a picture book about the moon’s phases.
Denise, I loved looking through this again almost like a game of I Spy. You snuck “sun” into your poem so many times, and each time it fit flawlessly. Also, I so relate to having all of those tabs open!
Such a beautiful, musical poem, Denise! It is a joy to read – and to read aloud. I thought of sun and moon but hastily abandoned it – now I am really glad! Your artistry is radiant – indeed.
Wow! What amazing wordplay here. I wish I had written this. I love all the ways you found complements and opposites throughout your poem.
Love this interplay of sun and moon – such great subjects for a duality poem! This line jumped out at me, reads so beautifully, made me a little melancholy somehow: “Full wanes to youth” Beautiful, Denise!
Thank you Brook, Bailey, and Ryan,
Ryan, your short and sweet poem about finding the way home is beautiful. That one short second stanza could be volumes long for some people who take the wrong left:
Brook, I love your word play with the red and blue–so many fun words you’ve chosen. Magical! I like blue and red, so I wouldn’t appreciate the sky looking like this:
But I love the way you wrote your poem!
Bailey, that love winning out over fear is so powerful! These last two stanzas are something I can relate to in my life:
WOW, yall. This is going to take some time for me. I want to share my thoughts about your poems and thank you for giving us such a creative prompt today.
Brooke, my favorite color is blue so I have a “love/hate” relationship with your poem. I don’t want blue turning red, haha. But the idea and the visual aspects of the poem are lovely and creative. I think I read that you even wanted these words to be red and blue in color. COOL. I am wowed and I especially like the power in this line:
Ryan, what meaningful ideas to focus on for your poem and I keep coming back to the double meaning in this line:
Bailey, I really like that you let us know you needed to look up some words that contained “love” in them. I had to look up plover! (Not a bird person; I only like blue ones.) EEK. I love, love this textual element you added here:
(not sure how to make fear small) although I kept saying it “wonderfearful”. Such a great last two lines as well.
All of you are so, so very creative!! Off I go to write!
Brooke, Bailey, and Ryan, what a deep prompt that I could spend all day thinking about. So many dualities for sure! Even the hours in the moments. Thank you for hosting us today! I wrote a Haiku today and hope to revisit this prompt sometime soon and give it more of myself!
How do you honor
her legacy of blessing?
You put others first.
“You put others first” -YES!!! Thank you for this short, inspirational haiku.
Putting others first is the perfect way to honor her legacy of being a blessing. I hope you haven’t gotten some recent bad news. 🙁
The thing about a haiku is how much it can really say – like this one. There’s love and longing and a desire to be, in every single syllable. Big shoes to fill…big heart, too <3
Lovely. true. short. sharp. I know women that this could fit.
Good Morning Writers! Brooke, Bailey and Ryan, thank you for today’s prompt. It’s challenging and fun. I’ve been sitting at my computer poking around my thesaurus and dictionary having fun with words. That really is such a great way to start the day, isn’t it? Love the wordplay in all your poems. And, what lucky young people in your futures to learn along with you.
I have no idea where I’m going with this piece below. I’m sharing the first few stanzas? paragraphs? Not sure what the final version will be. But, I’m having fun and it’s a great piece to come back to in revision.
The lost art of tree reading
My people have been tree readers for generations.Though there’s not much call for it these days, all us kin learn tree reading right along with letters and such.
Like you in school we begin with shapes. We recognize a tree friend by the height and width. Trees live in families just like we all do. There’s ancestors and generations all around if you know how to look.
A skilled tree reader used to be able to live off trees in desperate times…
The Hidden Life of Trees has been on my book list for a while. This has reminded me I should read. I’m fascinated to read about the history of trees and how much life they have that I don’t know anything about. This is lovely comparing it to reading and people. The last line trails off into much to think about.
Linda, what a fascinating subject. I’ve read your poem twice and took tree reading different both times I read it. I like what you are doing here. It would be interesting to see where it takes you. Do you have a blog or somewhere you publish final copies? Or do we just have to wait and hope to see tree reading finished here someday?
Linda, I am loving your format today and your use of regional dialect in telling us about tree readers!