On the edge of winter, once again lonely —

· by · in dVerse, poetry. ·

We bonded over walking, wide and far
as the wild, wild wind tore me gently
I, startled shuddered, worms, and worries;
a hand raised skywards, the cairn adorned the summit
and mirrored me from moonless twilight
with neither stars nor the sickle moon waxing.

Thus, the forest is also a library.
and the library is eternal
dust settles in my hair
my life’s a/maze
so let books be bulwark, words preserved

Drawn with Bing AI

Today Laura hosts a prompt at dVerse, looking back to our last year of poetry on the 11th day to look back and find something new from all those written words.

The rules are as follows:

Poem Style:

  • write a ‘Found’ poem from your own Jan-November 2023 poems
  • write it as an 11 line list/catalog poem
    OR
    an 11 line verse poem (with or without stanzas)

Poem Structure:

  • choose from one poem per month
  • select ONLY the first line of the very first verse of your chosen poems
  • select your title from the 12th month or any of the previous months’ first lines
  • if you’ve posted less than one poem per month for Jan-Nov 2023 then choose a month where there is more than one to make up the 11

Poem Rules:

  • your 11 lines can be written in any date order
  • you must keep the original word order
  • you may only change the tense or personal pronouns
  • you may add a conjunction or a preposition for continuity
  • minor erasure at start or end of the original line is allowed
  • enjambment can be helpful

My poem turned out to be almost two separate parts in the two stanzas, but I think it almost makes sense.

January 11, 2023

33 responses to “On the edge of winter, once again lonely —”

  1. For unrelated lines from unrelated poems, this reads quite smoothly,
    Björn. I like the alliteration in:
    ‘We bonded over walking, wide and far
    as the wild, wild wind tore me gently.
    creating a wuthering, windy sound, including the worm and worries.
    So happy the library is back, but where did you leave the librarian?

  3. Gorgeous work done, Bjorn! I especially love; “a hand raised skywards, the cairn adorned the summit and mirrored me from moonless twilight with neither stars nor the sickle moon waxing.” 💙💙

  10. This works brilliantly well Björn. I love how the scene moves from the hills to the library in such a stark, but smooth shift, alongside the change in tense it makes me wonder if the first stanza looks back on other times, and the second looks around (quite fittingly as I get ready to catalogue my personal library)

  12. I love this. I am always amazed how a theme emerges in this exercise, and the poem sounds exactly like the poet, no matter what lines are chosen.

  14. Sounds like the librarian speaking here Björn, it’s interesting. I see you digging the AI art.

  15. Actually, this came together really nicely. Especially your last five lines, it’s as though they are meant for each other!! This is a challenging prompt and I started trying to find my 11 lines but never found the time to finish it. Kudos to you.

  16. A terrific found poem! I like how you’ve split them into two stanzas. The first with the use of “we” and “I”. And then in the second, you find out the person in the first stanza is indeed the librarian. At least that’s how I read it. LOVE especially that last stanza.
    PS: I’ve always thought of you as the librarian! 🙂

  18. Your collage of verses from various poems paints a vivid picture, showcasing the eloquence of your words. The integration of these lines forms a whole that captures the essence of a literary journey!

    ~David

  21. I love that the forest is a library 📚 🌳 That’s where books come from after all!
    Thank you for hosting the Teams event on Saturday, Bjőrn. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and listening to their poems. ❤️

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