I’m taking a six week poetry workshop and I’m only in week two but I’m already excited about the poems I’ve written.

The first week we talked about identity and I took a slightly different approach to the writing prompts and didn’t write solely about myself, instead I wrote about my relationship with my sister. My sister, Kirsten, is my best friend and we’re collaborating on something really exciting – a joint poetry/art show! It’s still a bit in the future so I’ll share more details when I have them. I’ve begun working on the poems for our show and week one of my poetry workshop proved just what I needed to get the poem that’s been swirling in my head onto paper. After posting the first draft to the group I got feedback and then set about editing it based on their feedback.

Editing!

Editing!

 

The result was a really strong poem that I’m excited about.

Week two’s theme was history. Again I read the writing prompts and then spun off my own version. For this poem I dug out my old travel scrapbook and flipped to the pages that comprised my trip to Paris eight years ago. I sat staring at these pages and so many emotions came rushing back at me that soon I was picking up my pen and writing as fast as I could. The result – the first draft of the first poem I wrote this week.

Paris Memories

Paris Memories

 

More Paris Memories

More Paris Memories

 

Every workshop I’ve taken stresses one very specific thing: write every day. Every. Single. Day. This is harder than it seems but I’m focusing on doing it. Because I know I write more and I write better when I make it a regular practice. And I’ve got more memories and experiences to pour through so I’m certain I’ve got quite a few more poems in me.