Holding hands with poems

Stef is an Associate Professor of Education at Aquinas College in Michigan. She teaches courses for pre-service and in-service teachers in instructional design, literacy, ed tech, and research methods. Her K-12 teaching was in California prior to moving into teacher preparation. @stefboutelier

Inspiration

During #Verselove 2021 I hosted a very similar prompt around titles. I have heard many teacher-writers in our community mention this prompt. Poem titles are not discussed/practiced/modified as often in the art of poetry. Therefore, I wanted to remind us again about the power of titles and how they have the potential to hold the hand of the poem and lead it to new interpretations.

First, read this translated poem by Chilean artist Claudio Bertoni:

I’d like to be a nest if you were a little bird.
I’d like to be a scarf if you were a neck and were cold.
If you were music, I’d be an ear.
If you were water, I’d be a glass.
If you were light, I’d be an eye.
If you were a foot, I’d be a sock.
If you were the sea, I’d be a beach.
And if you were still the sea, I’d be a fish,
and I’d swim in you.
And if you were the sea, I’d be salt.
And if I were salt, you’d be lettuce,
an avocado or at least a fried egg.
And if you were a fried egg,
I ‘d be a piece of bread.
And if I were a piece of bread,
you’d be butter or jam.
If you were jam,
I’d be the peach in the jam.
If I were a peach,
you’d be a tree.
And if you were a tree,
I’d be your sap…
and I’d course through your arms like blood.
And if I were blood,
I’d live in your heart.

Take a moment to consider how you would title this poem. Is it about a romantic partnership, a parent-child relationship, or something else? As the audience, we can only determine this based on our interpretation of the words or our own experiences.

Here is the original title of this poem in Spanish: “Para Una Joven Amiga Que Intentó Quitarse La Vida” and the English translation: “For a young friend who tried to take her own life.”

Now, read the poem again partnered with the complexity of the poem’s title. Did this change the meaning for you? Did it change your emotions as you read it, now knowing who the poem was for? Would you agree that this title has a significant impact on the context?

Another example of a complex or multi-meaning title is Lucille Clifton’s “Climbing.”

Process

Today I invite you to write a poem where the title helps identify its content, theme, or purpose. The topic and form are up to you–the focus today is on the title. You might consider one of the following to guide you today: 

1. Return to a poem you’ve written during #Verselove23 and create a title change that might alter the context.
2. Use an AI tool to title one of the poems you have written during #Verselove23.
3. Write a poem with a twist, then invite all of us to title it for you. Later tonight, return to the comments and share what your original title was.
4. Use a witty double entendre as your title and inspiration for writing today. 

Stefani’s Poem

For my writing, I decided to play around with the title and words in this nonet poem:

“Press Eject”

Inhale, only the positive, breathe
In, exhale internal stressors
Inquisitive flow of air
In pivoting reply
Into life’s unknown
Increase mind-set
In upgrade
Incline
Out

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.