It’s been awhile since we’ve done some flash poetry, so get a piece of paper or open a text program on your computer and write at the top: I AM
Then fill in the blanks (write the first thing/s that come to mind):
I Am [write your hometown(s)]
I Am [write your favorite color, scent, feeling, and food]
I Am [your hobbies, sports or leisure activities]
I Am [write what you want to become someday, your profession or roles]
I Am [write the names of the people you care about the most]
I Am [write your name]
TA DA!!!! You have a poem.
Mine:
I Am Tulsa, Bakersfield, & Irvine
I Am red, vanilla, catfur, and soft cookies
I Am blogging, drinking tea, partying with friends, sitting in silence, getting dirty in my garden
I Am a writer
I Am John, CatGirl, GameBoy, and my Mom
I Am Jana
We did this exercise in the class today. We were talking about labels that teachers use with students and had just finished an exercise where we each walked around with labels on our foreheads and had to figure out ‘what we were’ (I was the class Dunce thanks to one of my silly students). After that, having the students read their ‘I Am’ poems there was a kind of reverence in the room. It was just beautiful. So simple and yet so profound.
What surprised me about my own response….I realized that for me being a professor is really just my current path towards being a writer. That that’s ultimately what I most desire as my profession. That was just so profound and clear. I’ve been carrying with me ever since this morning. A Writer. Yes.
So people, your poems, they belong in the Comments…
(note: Oh, and those of you who want to do an ‘in-bed’ version of their I AM, you can share those after we pull out ‘Apples to Apples’ at the next chez pilgrim par-tay)
:)