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Friday, June 16, 2006

Exercise is Good For You!

I picked up 2 books last weekend. Barnes & Noble is a dangerous place for me. Thankfully the “bargain shopper within” always trumps the desire for some heavily marketed and UP-marked tome. Translastion: I bought only SALE books. Yes they may be 6 months past their printing date or worse yet a year, but they are NEW TO ME!

I pretty much avoid the “last chance” section as those are books printed in the 80’s and early 90’s and I only shop these for my non-reading friends. Well! They haven’t even picked up a book (with only words) in years, have not been in a public library since high school, and the “picture books” are fairly reasonable in this section.

All that to say…the second book I purchased (which I don’t have in front of me so I don’t know the title) is exercises in writing. There are many exercises and I can’t wait to try each and every one of them. It may just be the first book of ‘exercises’ that I don’t fling across a room in frustration…though it’s a bit early to determine yet.

The exercise we will be performing today is to open the dictionary (with your eyes closed) and point your finger to a word on a page. Now open your eyes….wait, let me go get the BIG dictionary...(one moment please)…You’re supposed to use the very 1st word you come to…Hey, no fair, I want a redraw I got:

Hermitage: 1. the habitation of a hermit. 2. any secluded place of residence or habitation; retreat. 3. a palace in Leningrad: built by Catherine II; now used as an art museum.

Oh OKAY, let’s try…now we write a poem using this word in some form.

Because
She stands at the window and watches
She sees a new day dawn
She worries with forboding
She fears the day has come

She knows her retreat is over
She knows she must face this day
She knows she can no longer slumber
She has had her hermitage and now must pay

She dresses without hurry
She ambles to the door
She turns the knob so methodically
She is shaken to the core

She hears the door move slowly
She sees the sky so blue
She smells the flowers blooming
She feels the cost accrue

She walks in all uncertainty
She knows nothing of her end
She only feels this moment
She cannot a future moment lend

She travels slowly onward
She beats a brand new trail
She is headed on a journey
She is searching for Holy grail

She reflects on what she used to be
She remembers the ‘her’ she was
She sees her clear and present future
She knows the answer is…because


If this is any indication of future writing…I may be doomed before beginning! We’ll see. Have an awesome Friday and weekend and remember who your Daddy is!

13 comments:

Aunt Murry said...

I liked it. I had so many inages of women standing at the door waiting to go out. It was cool. I thought it was well written.

someone else said...

Very clever! What a fun way to start my day.

great2beme said...

I think you wrote that about me! That's not nice. HA! Have a good day.

Kristen said...

What?! I think that was a pretty good poem off the cuff like that. And using the word hermitage? Pretty creative, I say! :-)

Sandra said...

I think that is really good, I only wish I could write as well. :) I would try the exercise myself but I fear I will get a word like *logorrhea - log-uh-RI-uh, n an excessive flow of words, prolixity [Gr logos word + roia flow, stream]*, yeah can you see me trying to use THAT in a poem LOL

Kari said...

I love it! Oh... you have so inspired me to actually try it... the writer is trying to break out... I can feel her... ah... here she comes... oh, Dear Lord, what if I am like Sandra and get that word... log...logorr... yeah, what she said!!!!

Thanks for the challenge. I'll have to work on that today and see what post I come up with tonight!

Very, very fun! By the way... just what was the name of that book? Sounds like a keeper!!

kpjara said...

Aunt Murry: We'll be SUCH lifelong friends...with compliments like that!

Morning Glory & Kristen: thank you, thank you very much (she said with the Elvis voice!)

Sister: So you think it's about you? hmmm...could be...don't know?

Sandra: I think you should "go for it" with one of those words...you clearly have a strong vocabulary...and let me know when it's completed!

MommaB I can't WAIT til your done and it's up! I'll look that book up when I get home and put the title in here...It was only like $5.98??? and seems as though it was money well spent, if for nothing else than to check out my big dictionary a time or two!

Grafted Branch said...

Wow! That was incredible! Just out of your head in a morning? One morning? You were on your game this morning then.

I'm not real big on poetry, but that one kept me. Beautiful. Just the right "number of notes," to paint the picture and then get out of the way.

More! Encore!

Diane Viere said...

Not only are you creative--you are a delight! You've got me smiling here!~

You may be on to a weekly blog adventure!!!!!!

Diane

I'll participate if a poem constitutes two phrases! :)

Kari said...

I concede... you ARE the best! Hah! It was fun though... only took me hours upon hours. And did you SEE that word! Hah!!

Thanks for the challenge (oh, okay, and the fun)!

Joy M. said...

So cool! Funny that the dictionary didn't mention that the Hermitage was the name of Andrew Jackson's home. It's about 10 minutes from here. I grew up here, have been back here for 8 years and have NEVER been to the Hermitage! God figure. Anyway, they say it's haunted and the ghost if supposedly and woman. So I was kinda thinking about "her" when I read the poem. Hey, read it again with that thought. It works. It actually kinda gives the ghost a chilling personification to read it that way. Too cool!

Anonymous said...

That was very interesting! :)

Jessica
http://jessicaslilcorner.tz4.com

tam said...

you got talent baby!

If you came up with THAT while posting at work with your speedy fingers...

You Got Talent!!!