I
Five feathers at dawn
in company with
two coins in the paper cup
gently squeezed
between a beggar’s knees.
II.
Your shadow is more the apparition of a thought
nearly spelled
than the feather left behind by hawks.
III.
O, woman of stiletto heels,
shawled you walk
syncopating V8 engines and a kiss,
moist with white feathers.
IV.
Not much was said while
waiting for the tea to cool
and feathers falling in the pond.
V.
The caged bird doesn’t need its
feathers clipped,
but still sings in broken tongue.
VI.
Lending to the feathers,
hues of sunlight
refracted on a peacock rainbow,
as a cockerel subdued.
VII
The blackbird’s feather is
a tongue, a woman clad in lace
and this poem spilled from rain.
VIII.
The window panes as brushed
by fingertips divide your
shore from winter’s sleet and
a feather stained with blood.
© Emily Blincoe
Today I host MTB at dVerse, where I try to link the ideas behind Wallace Steven’s poem, Thirteen ways of looking at the blackbird, to the Picasso’s and Bracque’s postulates for cubism. If this sounds complicated just follow this simple recipe:
1. Select an object to write about.
2. Write separate poem about it and vary the perspective.
3. Arrange the separate poems to create a new coherence by using contrasts.
Please join us in writing your own cubist poem. The bar opens at 3PM EST. I have used an image from Emily Blincoe that come from Grace’s prompt on arrangements.
September 28, 2016
Interesting challenge again. All your poems here are amazing, I say that a lot but your depth of word play is extraordinary.
Actually I found that focusing on an object and then looking at it from many directions helps a lot.
A terrific challenge Bjorn ~ Each one a feathery delight and my favorites are 7 and 8 (I think this should be VIII). The approach leaves a lot to the reader’s imagination ~
Eight it is 🙂 I hope to see wonderful poetry tonight.
Thanks so much for introducing Wallace Stevens Bjorn. Absolutely loved it..esp V. Was so inspired to write, though am not so sure how I’ve done. Thanks a ton!!
I look forward to your contribution… this will generate exquisite poetry.
https://thotpurge.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall/
will link up tomorrow my time.
What a cool idea!
I hope to see you joining this one.
I love the thoughts behind the feathers and the format of this poem! Splendid work. The feathers called to me too. The symbolism of feathers speaks to me.
Ah… yes I think they do… and it was a prompt the other day as well.
Somehow I saw this poem before I saw your prompt on dVerse. Strange. I just can’t say enough about the cubism prompt…so challenging (rather intimidating) and so interesting! I really love the concept. Fantastic work combining two prompts.
Fantastic stuff, Bjorn, I am a huge fan, and I loved the poem number 5 the most. Arranged like this, and in this manner of speaking, they really just push me to want to imagine this, and more so, reproduce it (via photography or a drawing, a painting or a composition.). I feel vibrance.
I would love to try out this prompt by myself, but I am totally lost with time zones. If you find a moment, could you drop me a line here as to when we can post the poem and how much time do we have?
Prompt opens at 9PM Central European time.. and remains open 48 hours- plenty of time
So we can submit from tomorrow 9PM?
Thank you very much for taking the time to tell me, I am really looking forward to participating!
Thank you for the inspiration as well (for this the most!)
From today 9pm
Wow, sometimes I forget how international & cosmic our fellowship is; cool. Love your 8 mini-poems. I wrote 7, & kind of had a “feeling” about fracture & absurd perspective–at first wanting to go with e.e. cummings double speak, but later just jumping in with more normal verve & POV. I liked your #3 stanza; for it could easily be a stand alone.
I think the way you style them and work with them back and forth pays off… but I did revisit them several times going back and forth.
I love what you’ve done with the title and the way it’s linked to the structure of the poem, Björn. I spotted stilettos in there – great! That final stanza’s a beauty!
Yes .. I started to write it in parallel to reading poetry the other day… and i do remember stilettos crushing eggs.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful work. I am in awe! What a great challenge you have set us, Bjorn. Thank you!
Ha.. yes this one was a fun one to give
You have eight nature poems. I may only get three poems.
Three is a great number… I only had 8, Wallace Stevens had 13…
It’s hard to pick a favorite from your remarkable listing…I can’t do it! I love every POV…your expansion on eight feathers is a good lesson for me to learn from…thank you! I’d like to play with this form again, Bjorn.
I have found that the wider you span from your subject the better the contrasts…. the more dimensions you can show.
really like part V – reference to the clipped tongue of a bird…to give it the ability to make more “human” sounds…or perhaps a reference to one who struggles with a new language…”caged” in a new culture/environment
I have to admit that one was a bit inspired by Maya Angelou… more the idea the general idea than the actual words…
a great poet to gain inspiration from!
Oh these are absolutely exquisite! Loved the challenge Bjorn 😀
Thank you, glad you wanted to expand with us…
This is lovely. Each stanza so lovely in its own right, and all of them coming together to make something greater.
Exactly what I wanted… thank you so much…
OH, I so love this bit of silence at center:
“Not much was said while
waiting for the tea to cool
and feathers falling in the pond.”
And I love that you have deconstructed Wallace even further, going from birds to feathers. Wonderful.
You need to have something more silent in the middle.. like the eye of a hurricane.
If I just found this somewhere, I would have guessed it to be the work of Wallace Stevens. Very much along the line of imagism, deep looking at, seeing what is there. I looked back trying to pick a favorite. Impossible.
High praise… but this time I went through the poem quite a few times to make it work together…
Oh my, the final one left me with a chill.
I think we need those dividing window panes sometimes.
This is very fine work indeed, Bjorn. Each part offers a view, an emotion, a thought. They harmonize very well, but VII just took my breath away.. Those lines i want for myself.
I find thirteen ways of looking at blackbirds a wonderful inspiration once you have dug behind the principles of it…
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awkkkk. This challenge was about as difficult as I have ever seen. However, Bjorn, I love all the verses of yours….they ‘fit’ into a whole quite nicely…after flying around my head in a circle. LOL! You have deconstructed Stevens in a way that I finally understand him…at least in this poem. Bravo, my poet friend. You certainly have raised the bar.
I have done it a few times before as poetic exercise… as a matter of fact it was your article on Issa that renewed my interest of his technique…
LOL! Poor Issa! Well, it was a difficult prompt, but it certainly shook my head up. But I can see what you mean about Issa’s technique. I would have thought that was a stretch, but I see what you mean. Issa is so …all over the page….LOL! I love his abstraction, or perhaps that’s not the right word. To me, Issa is a imagist, I would guess if I had to put a label on him, but I’m treading ice here. I’ve been stuck in medieval Japanese poetry so long that I forget there is more poetry after. LOL! This will drive me back to Wallace Stevens for sure.
We further our fascination with feathers! Very cool! Well done, Bjorn. Love the varied perspectives!
Yes I thought feathers would be a great way to do it…
Björn, 1st of all, this prompt is amazing. Thank you for sharing it and shaking me out of my navel-gazing funk.
Now to your poem. I love the contrasting language in your words and the unique perspectives taken in viewing the feathers. Really great work!
I think this prompt brought forth a few of the best poems I have ever seen at dVerse… thank you so much.
Lending to the feathers,
hues of sunlight
refracted on a peacock rainbow,
as a cockerel subdued.
Like the way you carried on the connection between each of them and at the same time the contrast is maintained as the one above. Not sure Hank did it ok or not! Thanks Bjorn! This is something new!
Hank
It’s a way to think around poetry that can be done in many ways… I do love to provide inspirations in whatever direction it may take you.
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I don’t think that I would be up to the challenge, but your poems are fascinating!
I’m sure you would do very well on the challenge… it’s a fascinating technique to look at an object in different perspective.
A difficult challenge Björn yet your flights of fancy have the easiest and lightest of touches – every cube a facet of feather rewoven in intricacy. I must revisit this genre til I get the hang of it!
I think we often do a shift of perspective unconsciously… to shatter the pieces and glue them back together is another thing…
wow. you surely nail this tough form Bjorn. each line is a special piece of puzzle that makes this poem a whole.
I think something broken and whole at the same time is really the core of the challenge.
i agree.
Wonderful prompt!! Have been in NC with grandchildren since TH – we return home tonight. Empty house now as all in school and at work so finally time to read. I especially like stanza’s 1 (the simplicity of this one and especially the detail of the two coins), 3 and 7 because of the vivid description of individuals with so few words. Well done!
The way your mind functions is a work of art.