Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Verse First ~ Lost Art

Verse First ~ Lost Art


Welcome to VERSE FIRST, where simple notions prompt amazing poems.
Today's notion?

LOST ART

The phrase "Lost Art" usually refers to something people used to do, but has fallen out of practice. Poet Elizabeth Bishop offers a completely unique perspective on those two words in her poem One Art. 



One Art

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.





Today's assignment:

Consider loss, losing, art, and their meanings for you. Then write a 6- stanza poem that contains at least two rhyme schemes. Lost? Read the poem again, identify the rhymes and give it a try. 
~
Post your poem on your site, then link it here. PLEASE! Only share original work and honor our spirit of community by visiting and commenting on other writer's contributions.



7 comments:

  1. Hey Kim! Thank you for this heady challenge. I let it go and let it swirl until I traveled down its spirals to my sort of truth. Oh, wait. Am I saying truth is relative? I don't think it is, though local action on the truth must vary. My self is still divided today between here and South Africa.

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  2. Kim, this was a perfect prompt for where I am at this moment. I took the words literally as for so many years I walked away from the discipline of art and lost art. Before I couldn't go a day without writing but these days my drawing keeps me quite occupied.
    thanks again for the effort you put into keeping us inspired :)

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  3. Thought-provoking prompt, Kim.

    http://purplepeninportland.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/lost-arts/

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  4. I am back after being away for 2 months, there were some family challenges and a death in the family.

    No need to visit my blog as I have nothing of note to share, I am only linking to show that I am here again and part of the community still. I came back to comment on everyone's poetry.

    Btw this prompt by Kim is awesome, maybe I'll share something next week. Peace and blessings.
    Anne


    http://acollectionofsagaseeds.blogspot.com/2013/12/walking-line-song-of-hope.html

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  5. Ah yes, that which is lost and that which is art. Interesting prompt.

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  6. you have tell me...whether I am really in or lost in expressing.

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