Week Eleven
Monday, November 20th – Sunday, November 26th
Week Ten was a wash. Can’t really say why. The weekend just didn’t work.
However, this week I produced a poem, and I have some others on the way.
So, without further ado, here it is!
AUTUMN AFTERNOON
Late autumn afternoon—
late, like so many autumns past
is a sinuous, trodden road,
between redemption and regret.
Neither the onlooker knows,
nor the hoary, hobbled tramp
what is home and chartless country.
Not friendless this tramp but flanked
by elder trees that rise like skeletons
from the cold clay to share their black arts
and dark secrets.
It’s a kind of incantation,
how they stir the cauldron of breezes
with outstretched arms
that reach past our mortal years.
He turns to hear
his footfalls in the dust,
but bony, twig-like fingers
prod and point the way ahead—
divining rods that teach and portend
in signs drawn in wind and shadows.
The 100 Day Project is a creativity excavation. It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days.
Creativity is a skill. The more we practice, the more skilled we become. Practice takes time. Practice takes commitment. Practice is a radical act in this speeded up world. Through practice, we develop a creative habit. Through habit, we reconnect with and know ourselves again as a creative being.
I started this 100 Day Project (my second one) on September 11th. Each week, I will write at least five hundred words of my novel. These words don’t necessarily have to be a polished product, but should, at least, be coherent and grammatically sound. I’ll also post two poems a week. These poems will be a bit more polished than first drafts. Most of the material will come from poetry that I wrote in my first 100 day project. In addition to writing the poems, I’m also going to read them, so that you may hear how they sound in my head. I’ve been told I have a pleasant voice, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Lastly, I’ll create one blog post where I read a famous poem written by a real poet! I will also include a little history and fun facts about the poet.