Poetry Now!

Every once in a while, I come across a poem that I want to share. Read this one and see if you like it, too. Then, for a writing challenge, look at the "Poetry Idea." I'll change this poem every few months. If you want more writing challenges, go to the Poem Starters page.

Poetry Now! Archives

Joyce Sidman

Things That Go Away & Come Back Again

thoughts

airplanes

boats

trains

people

dreams

animals

songs

husbands

boomerangs

lightning

the sun, the moon, the stars

bad weather

the seasons

soldiers

good luck

health

depression

joy

laundry

by Anne Waldman

Anne Waldman (1945 -), author of over 40 volumes of poetry, is famous for her exuberant poetry performances. She is the co-founder (with beat poet Allen Ginsberg) of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute of Boulder, CO, where she currently lives.

Poetry Idea

This poem is called a “list” poem. What makes it a poem, when it’s just a list of words? Good question. I think it is the idea behind the poem (hint: look at the title), which links things as different as “joy” and “laundry”.

1. Think of an interesting category of things, for instance, “Things That Grow.”

2. Brainstorm all the things that might fit into this: toenails, grass, love, poems, dust bunnies, etc. Try to think of both concrete things (grass) and abstract things (love).

3. Choose what you think are the most striking things/words for your list poem (or use all of them). List them in what you think is the most interesting arrangement. For your last two things, try (as Anne Waldman did) to choose words that don’t seem to fit together, but do—in your poem (“joy / laundry”).