This might be of interest to some who are curious how I write poems...

7 Jun 2012

There was a discussion in another forum about the process of writing and editing poems, and this is a perfect example, me thinks...for one thing it's probably my most well-known poem...see this thread...

My 9-11 Tribute poem has been "in print" at least fourteen times in 2011...
http://www.storiesspace.com/forum/yaf_postst538_muPGphPy7YAcmkDW

And btw...it's already showing up on the internet this year, and I think it's a bit early...but...

Anyway, there were several poems written out on paper around this time, since my computer got stolen September 13, 2010...so, they sort of serve as good examples...

I had thought about writing a 9-11 poem after reading a forum thread on a famous red site I won't mention, but didn't come up with anything for a couple of weeks...

I was going from the Raritan, NJ Library to the Somerville Library regularly to get more computer time...I got the idea for this while walking from Raritan back to Somerville...only about a 10 minute walk, btw...and sat down in the library and wrote this out...

This is the original first draft written in the Somerville Library the afternoon of Sept. 29...

Note that I use parentheses () around words I'm not sure I want to include...and underscore words I might want to change...

Note also the line "Who walked among us standing tall" never got used...probably a good thing that...

Here's the other side...it was written on the back of a library flyer...

Here's the second draft...I think I missed a verse, and I have no idea why...don't think there's a bar in the library...at least I don't remember one...

Actually, looking at it...I think I may not have really come up with that verse until the third draft, or just not noticed it since the opening lines are written on the side in the first draft...I do remember spending the most amount of time the second day coming up with the word "embodiment"...took a number of times going from the dictionary to the thesaurus to come up with that, note the notation in the upper right corner of the first draft, as the original line was written "A source of goodness on that day" and I was most definitely not happy with that one...

And here's the final draft I wrote up before entering it in the library computer...and it got a title now...both second and third drafts were done the next day...September 30, 2010...

I once knew a drinker who had a moderating problem...

20 Jul 2013

Oh, thank you for posting this. I'm always curious about process.

I can also relate to changing horses mid-stream, as I tend to go back and forth between computer and paper (whatever is at hand, and then write on it in the other direction, and then perhaps crossways again, in indelible and darker ink smile

. And sometimes, even, on the hand itself. Of late, am feeling somewhat hamstrung without my trusty printer, though, having often printed others' work that I found inspiring, making notes on "lightning-struck" responses for later follow up. And relate to tromping to library computers...my library, however, doesn't have a bar, and the librarians give me long, meaningful looks when, not so infrequently, something startles me into a loud brassy laugh.