Thursday, February 15, 2007

Poetry Thursday #7




Truthfully, I have no idea what a prose poem is--today’s assignment for Poetry Thursday. Poetry Previews describes it: "Although the prose poem resembles a short piece of prose, its allegiance to poetry can be seen in the use of rhythms, figures of speech, rhyme, internal rhyme, assonance (repetition of similar vowel sounds), consonance (repetition of similar consonant sounds), and images."

I’ve read a lot of poems that I would rewrite as prose and think them a better use of words and sound, or prose so lovely when read aloud I’d swear there was a poet in there somewhere. So here’s the background for today's poem:

We had a mini-blizzard (really hit northwest and south of Columbus) with snow, then hours of sleet, and then more snow overnight. Most schools and many businesses closed. So going to the coffee shop Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. was a challenge just to back out of my drive-way; it was dark and cold and I had the streets to myself. I drafted this there, and rewrote and revised at home. The more I revised, the less prose-like it became. If you’re not a regular reader here, it’s just about a coffee shop on a snowy day. Now here’s the poem:

Come sit by the fire with me. Sit by the gas flames rising from fake logs. Warm us bright blaze in the dark by the pseudo-bricks as we tip Styrofoam cups with plastic lids, sip black brew browned with cream factory made. Animate brain cells, stir up stiff tongues tropical beans, red and bright when picked by dark hands, traveling on tankers guided by pale hands to bring us warmth and happy thoughts, brown after roasting in mills and bursting to dark beans, trucked by many hands along concrete interstates and asphalt by-ways to loading docks at dark coffee shops. Come sit by the fire with me in the dark, tasting warmth, watching the snow fall on icy lines--pity the bird toes--sending power to heat water piped and purified, dripping hot in the pot held by ethnic hands that fill my cup which warms my nose by the fire where we sit.

And Happy First Birthday, Poetry Thursday.

16 comments:

madd said...

Norma..I really enjoyed reading this as I sit here and drink my black brew browned..waking my brain cells to get ready for work...I loved "bird toes"..thanks for the stop by..m

Mimey said...

It's alive with imagery and a wonderfully conversational tone.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Norma, that works on two levels, a nice conversational description of sitting down to drink coffee but also a social commentary on the artificialness of much of life today (The pseudo bricks, the styrofoam) and globalisation(the description of how the coffee beans reached you).

Regina said...

Mmm... makes me feel all warm and toasty inside!

strauss said...

Interesting. Very thought provoking. I really enjoyed this Norma - really enjoyed it.

Jim Brock said...

All that Crafty Green said and more. It's all about that way we can choose to rest in all that warm comfort (uh, I am writing this on my South Florida lanai, barefooted, but also enjoying my pc shade-grown, organic, fair-trade coffee), all that that comfort is built on.

Unknown said...

Norma: totally awesome! I think you've simply got it: whatever you read, whatever you found out about what a prose poem is: you managed to completely grasp it here. Some of the things I love that you are doing: repetition, rhythm, consonance, meandering, starting big and ending very, very small. And finally, the execution of the topic is spot on.

Charles Simic's "The World Doesn't End" is one of my favorite books of prose poetry. He's the master, as far as I am concerned!

Dennis said...

Look, if Caffeine didn’t give us such a jolt, would it really be worth all that effort?! Huh? Norma – this was fun and so thought provoking. It reminds me of books I read as a kid that explained how products, goods and wares got from where they originated, and to my table. Enjoyed the reminiscing!

Pauline said...

Journeys and careers in a cup! Well done.

Tammy Brierly said...

That was delightful and cozy! Great job!

Emily said...

I like this. I was just reading an article about how a coffee bean travels to the cup. I like how global this poem is.

Anonymous said...

I like how you say "it’s just about a coffee shop on a snowy day," then you share this great prose poem that is about so, so much more.

gautami tripathy said...

It was very lovely. I enjoyed reading it. Can I have some coffee too?

:D

You too can chk my post, Ambrosial.I would welcome critical comments for this prompt.

Anonymous said...

Lovely prose poetry Norma. It has a rhythm and pace the matches the thoughts to the time spent drinking.

Rose

xo

Anonymous said...

Very nice--I like the emphasis on the different hands working together to bring the coffee to its destination, just as the narrator invites someone to sit with her, and the poem seems to invite the reader to watch all this with it.

Rethabile said...

I like the way you invite this person: "Come sit by the fire with me." Very nice.