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Adventure, Art, Artist Date, Challenge, Inspiration, Melbourne, Motivation, Poetry, poetry groups, Writing, Writing Group
Today, my writing group held their all day writing seminar. The second session, on poetry, was a panel moderated by me. It went really very well, the participants were enthusiastic and willing to learn and discuss, the panel members were knowledgeable and the whole thing ran very well.
As part of the panel, I asked everyone to write a poem. I had spend some time talking about pantoums,and read them this one, Pleasure in Elysium, from my friend Louise Carter at Alone with Beauty, which they all really loved, and I was inspired to write one of my own.
Allusions
The past is a foreign country
Who is in need of a wife
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Don’t go gentle into that good night
Who is in need of a wife
When he awoke from unsettling dreams
Don’t go gentle into that good night
Or call a rose by any other name
When he awoke from unsettling dreams
Staring at hills like white elephants
Or call a rose by any other name
Fog everywhere. Fog up the river
Staring at hills like white elephants
Two star cross’d lovers take their life
Fog everywhere. Fog up river
Sailing the waters back to Grey Havens
Two star cross’d lovers take their life
The past is a foreign country
Sailing the waters back to Grey Havens
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
Fleur Blüm 
Hey, cheers bro! ‘Pleasure’ was a poem that came to me while I was falling asleep one night – it was floating away from me like a sunset but I managed to get the first two lines down in my phone before I passed out. ‘I will not encourage others to fly’ is a line that Bart Simpson has written on the blackboard (I was planning to write an entire pantoum out of Bart Simpson blackboard lines but it never quite came together). Pantoums rock. I see you’ve also referenced (the great) Dylan Thomas – you should try your hand at a Villanelle, they are frustrating but fun. 🙂
-Lou
You’re welcome, you’re one of my favourite poets. I think I tried a villanelle while I was doing a poetry challenge thing in April, but uh, I don’t think I ever finished it. Maybe I’ll give that another go.
Well worth the effort, those Villanelles. Pesky but interesting. 🙂