Poetry Friday : February 17, 2017.
With the flourish
of a pen, they
rewrite the
narrative,
leaving us
an empty echo,
an artifact
of memory,
more porcelain
than human,
forever
a plug in the
cylinder of truth —
those pseudo skeptics.
© 2017 Alice Nine
Question: Who are the pseudo skeptics?
Back story of the poem.
I’ve noticed postings about the 5th Annual February Daily Poem Project. In this writing challenge (#w10FoundWords), ten words are randomly selected from a news article. Using these ten words, participants write a poem.
I was intrigued, especially when I read some of the poems. So on Wednesday, I thought I’d give it a try. I applied to join the closed Facebook group; within minutes, I received my acceptance notice.
The post for the day referenced the Smithsonian article “When Some 1920s Garbage Was Mistaken for an Ancient Artifact.” Thanks to Linda Baie who selected the article and the words:
artifact
rewrite
narrative
cylinder
porcelain
human
pseudo
skeptic
echo
plug
bonus – flourish
Writing about my writing.
I listed the words.
I sorted them — nouns and verbs.
I paired a few.
I pondered them.
I decided to pair pseudo with skeptic and then combine it with the verb rewrite. Loosely, I had my subject.
I decided to keep the lines short, giving it a bit of terseness. I also chose to use enjambed* lines to cause the reader to read some lines in a continuous flow, not stopping where a line breaks.
I tried the subject (pseudo skeptics) at the beginning of the poem, then at the end of the poem, testing the best place, the overall effect. I decided to place it at the end so the reader would be compelled to complete the poem to find the antecedent of “they” (second line). Doing so ties the end of the poem to the beginning. I also decided against using skeptics in the poem title, lest it spoil the ending.
When I finished the poem, I chose “Empty Echoes” as the title (from line 6). Why did I choose it? I like the sound of these two words; I like the alliteration. I like the juxtaposition these two words created. I liked how the phrase made me wonder. I liked the concealed meaning of the title, empty echo means there is really nothing, and that suited the whole poem.
About ten revisions later, I found the poem. Here it is with the ten words plus the bonus word highlighted in bold.
With the flourish
of a pen, they
rewrite the
narrative,
leaving us
an empty echo,
an artifact
of memory,
more porcelain
than human,
forever
a plug in the
cylinder of truth—
those pseudo skeptics.
© 2017 Alice Nine
*An enjambed line ends partway through a sentence or clause which continues in the next line. Notice the way line 2 (they) goes to 3 (rewrite), and 3 (the) goes to 4 (narrative). Do you notice any others?
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Alice, the backstory always provides the reader with an understanding of the author’s inner workings. I am so glad that you joined the #10FoundWords Project and are part of the #celebratelu community.
Thank you, Carol. 🙂 Have a lovely Sunday tomorrow.
So wonderful to read the poem responses of those participating. Echoing appreciation for the way you simply presented the poem on its own, then pulled back the curtain to let us explore your process. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the feedback, Robyn. You made me smile with your “echoing.”
I love process posts, and I am so glad you joined the group. Life has prevented me from writing for the past week, but I’ll be back!
Thank you! I hear you; I can’t keep the pace of every day either. But I do like the creative challenge.
So cool to read your process – and a great poem, as well!
Thank you, Tara.
Alice, what a wonderful post. I love your poem, and that term ‘pseudo skeptics’ , but i euqually love the way you give us first the poem, then the peek at your writing process, and an explanation of a poetic term too.
Thanks, Sally. I love this kind of learning.
I like seeing the process. Great poem, too.
Thanks, Brenda! 🙂
When I visit here, I am not only blessed with your words, I also learn something. I love the peek into your writing process. This week my poem ended up with something far from where I began. But I don’t think about writing down my process. Something to think about. Your words are beautiful…as always.
Thank you, Leigh Anne! I am blessed by you saying so. I enjoyed your poem this week too.
I so enjoyed reading your poem and learning about your writing process. I find it fascinating to get a peek into a writer’s mind and understand more about the choices that were made and the reasoning behind them. It’s especially interesting when I’ve been working with the same word list! Unfortunately, I haven’t yet “found” the poem for this one yet.
Oh, thank you, Molly. When you find it be sure to let me know.
Alice, I forgot to tell you that you won a copy of YOU JUST WAIT. Email me your postal address, and I’ll get it out to you. : )
ldkulp@gmail.com
Thank you! I will send it right over to you, Linda. You just made my day!
I also liked your comments about your process. I think “empty echoes” is a good choice for the title. I love the alliteration. : )
Thanks so much.
I love this insight into your writing process – so many people don’t realize how much work goes into poetry. Writing is about both inspiration and perspiration!
Thank you, Jane. Yes, most definitely both!
Love the title and the questions you pose, Alice!
Thanks for sharing how you arrived at the final version of your poem, Alice! “a plug in the cylinder of truth” – so true! =)
I so appreciate your comment, Bridget.
Nice job!
🙂
I like those “empty echoes” too, Alice. Sad for us, but true.
Thanks, Linda.
Fabulous poem, Alice, and I loved reading about your process from start to finish.
Thank you, Michelle. I try to make notes as I’m going along. It’s a consciousness I try to practice to hone my modeling skills.