We are writing a collaborative poem entitled “Lucky You” and this week, to coincide with the Fourth of July, our imperative was to write a first line containing the word “Independence” (or “independence”) as well as the name of a color, the name of a flower, and a verb pulling it together into a coherent statement.
A tall order, yet we received some marvelous suggestions, and I feel that for next week, you, dear player poets, should choose among these first lines before adding your own candidate for line two. I offer you these four finalists.
From MD:
“Independence without Freedom, a vase without violets, is what you gave me.”
From Christine Rhein:
“For starters, take Independence Day, your hollyhocks—red, white, and blue.”
From Peter O’Connell:
“Independence . . . a bloom mostly blue.”
And from Paul Michelsen, who remains as inventive and offbeat as he is indefatigable:
“Lucky you, watching [The] Purple Rose of Cairo on the Independent Film Channel”
Notes:
MD’s assertive line separating “Independence” from “Freedom” promises a poem of intellectual complexity. Writers may feel free to shorten the line to its first eight words (“Independence without Freedom, a vase without violets, is”).
Given Christine Rhein’s use of our national colors, her use of a personal pronoun, and her self-reflexive opening words, her line offers many different directions to explore, all potentially fruitful.
If the ellipsis is seen as the equivalent of “is,” and a metonymy of a flower can substitute for the name of the species, then Peter O’Connell’s “Independence . . . a bloom mostly blue” seems an open door to a wonderfully laconic poem in the manner of Emily Dickinson.
Finally, Paul Michelsen’s “Lucky you, watching [The] Purple Rose of Cairo on the Independent Film Channel” lowers the temperature and the poetic diction to embrace a quotidian reality.
Which would I vote for? Not sure; perhaps I will try each of the four. Feel free to do the same. Shall we add specific requirements for line two? Well, how about this option: try writing a second line that rhymes with the line one of your choice.
Deadline: Sunday, July 11, Midnight in any time zone.
