Writing Conference
POETRY OF PLACE AND MEMORY
During the one day Writing
Conference given by
Participants learned the techniques of List Poems, and
how to find inspiration from everyday life.
The class chose a topic, then wrote one poem
together.
Class Poem
Bedroom of Solitude
Burning candle
Whispering winds
An escape from stress
End of the day
Unparted sheets
Dreaming peaceful realities
No ringing phones
A parrot
No alarm clock
Lying down calmly
Fuzzy slippers
Sleeping cat
Pile of blankets
No judgment
After writing together, each
poet wrote for fifteen minutes to self-created topics. Here are the winning poems from the session.
Head of Illusions
A home of tension is no home
anymore
A room of freedom, I don’t
have anymore
A car I used to own
My computer was my screen to
freedom
My office of anxiety, speech and
honor
All behind
Did I pass through that
Did I cross the bridge
I did, but HOW?
Illusions still snatch me
back
Struggle. Anxiety. Tension.
Reality, no, I did pass
Calmness swipes my head
But this head is never
settled
STOP it
You head of illusion
SECOND PLACE – Brady Riddle
Isolation
Lone man dangles a
half-smoked cigarette from idle fingers
On a shadowed stoop
Just returned from an empty
corner bar
Where one watered-down drink
pushed him away
He stands as a tree
In the thick forest of field grass
on a flat plain
He wants to soak in a
claw-footed bathtub in solitude
But is afraid it may engulf
him
Like the deep end of a
swimming pool
He can’t swim
He meanders down a gloomily
lit sidewalk
Five blocks to the silhouetted beach
And lets peaceful ocean waves
kiss his foot
Bedroom Blue
At dusk in my bedroom
It is peaceful and blue
I imagine my world without
frustrations in total solitude
The light that shines through
my curtains
Is melancholy blue
It’s how I like it
No offence to you.
No stone enters water without ripples
Like wrinkles crossing your
forehead
Behind your eyes a lake
shimmers
Waves of anxious thoughts
Beat against your lids, begin
to leak
HONORABLE MENTION – Heidi Gerke
House of Joy
Every turn a memory
Echo of lost sounds
Toys lie under feet
Mounds of photo albums
Timeless laughter of days
long past
Faces of all you love
Coming & going
Animals to fill the void
Children at play
Spaces, rooms decorated in
care
A lifetime of happiness &
sorrow
A place to always to return
to
HONORABLE MENTION – Julee Ann Koshy
I like to be lonely on a
beach
Thinking of nothing
Let the wind bring in joy
And wipe away all the sorrows
The raindrops fall into the
sea
Make little circles of
desires
My heart beats so fast
As if it tries to jump out of
me
I wish I could have this
sight
Every day of my life like a
light
I wish to end my life
On a beach of solitude
HONORABLE MENTION – Laura Moran
Barking dogs rock me into a
restless doze
Projects due, exams and an
endless workload
Have led me to this afternoon
respite
I am a study of anguish and
hope, fear and excitement
Climbing from the depths of
slumber
The furry face of my cat
greets me, reassures
From the sanctuary of my room
I emerge, ready to create my
life
Others: Chris Ballenintine,
Nathaniel Davis, Samantha Davis, Jen Dulisse, Sandy Dulisse, Anuruddha Ellakkala, Mary K. Jennings, Tyson Judd, Casey Lazanne, Scot Lawden, Brooke
McCormick, Ellen Moran, Evelyn Nwokorie, Taylor
Palmer, Julie Pitzel, Rebecca Quinn, Johnny Sanders
For more information about
LIST POEMS, visit Sol Magazine’s POETRY FORMS feature:
http://www.sol-magazine.org
Contact Mary Margaret
Carlisle for more information about Poetry Workshops: Sol.Editor@prodigy.net