SOL24: Poetry Workshop

            This afternoon I went to a Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon, a workshop led by Peggy Robles-Alvarado. Over a little more than two hours, we read eight poems and had five- and ten-minute writing exercises after each one. After “From the Book Titled Nejma” by Nayyirah Waheed, we had the prompt, “who does your body make a home for?”; here’s my draft for that one:

My body

makes

a home for

the lost ones.

My body halts

the oncoming winds.

It cries out

for

soft kisses.

It brings home

the birds at sunset

My body lies

on the ground of

sand, shifting

with

the water edging

along the shore.

My body craves

tea leaves,

orange blossoms to

feed

your insecurities,

to heal

my insecurities.

My body lifts up

to the universe,

stars speckling

the dark sky.

My body makes

a home for memories

it can’t escape,

for memories it

feeds on,

for memories that

nourish and

memories that starve,

memories that have

no end,

memories that ride on

dirt tracks to

nowhere,

memories that can’t

be completed,

that stop at the

edge

of a canyon rim.

My body wants a home

that no longer exists.

My body builds a new

home from

nails, wine books,

words, words, words,

letters, numbers. 

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I’m participating in the 12th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 1 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!