Two Prompts, Two Poems

Like a parlor trick, I can produce poetry on demand. Not good poetry, mind you -- but something approaching poetic structure.

This weekend, I attended a workshop by a real poet, Dante Di Stefano, sponsored by the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College (that's a lot of Ps and Cs!).

The first prompt: write a "cover version" of a well-known song, movie, TV show, poem... etc. Something that imitates, references or pays homage to the original. I thought of the times I read my daughters to sleep reciting poetry, and wrote this:

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,

When I used to read you to sleep

You never understood

The meaning of the words

But the words had meaning to me

The words had meaning to me

As I watched you drift into sleep

And I dreamed of your dreams

And our time seemed to flee,

Seemed to flee

As I read you to sleep

Now years seem to flee

As I think of you here,

Near this empty bed,

Where you no longer sleep

So far from me now,

So far from our dreams,

Entombed by the memories I keep.

---------

The second prompt: Write something titled "Self Portrait As a XXX"

I considered my trusty "Starry Night" notebook and lucky St. Patrick's Cathedral pen, and decided to write something inspired by Van Gogh's famous self-portrait, with his left ear bandaged. I symbolically cut off the left portion of my keyboard and wrote something that didn't use the letters q, w, a, s, z, x or the number s 1 or 2:

Self Portrait as a Poet

Help me!

Help my poem!

Help it live!

Yet…

I found your letter.

I found hope in my reply.

Think of me.

I think of you too.

I love your poetry.

You found me differently.