This poem follows Read Write Poem Prompt #86 from poet Dorianne Laux. The challenge was to write a 23 line autobiographical poem using the format of “Pokeberries” by Ruth Stone. I don’t think this one is finished, but it is Thursday, so here we go.
Footloose
Even back then I was wont to escape,
to climb the elm tree, toes gripping the bark,
and settle into the branches with a book;
or to swim laps at the town pool
until a trail of bubble and spray
foamed up behind my flutter kick;
or pedal through the flat fields
of corn and beans and hogs.
That prairie stretched for miles,
and everything depended on my feet.
Then, like fledglings, we all left.
Dad died, and Mom moved to the city.
My brother went to work,
and I went to the desert.
But I cannot settle down.
I have one house here, another there,
lives in two countries, and worse,
one of my cities straddles
two continents as if to drive home
the point of this footloose life:
When I wander the world, I wish for roots.
When I put up my feet and rest,
I wish for fins and wings.
Tags: 13 Comments
You know it must be a poet thing wishing for roots and then
wishing for wings.II’ve been doing it for twenty years and I don’t think I will ever stop I enjoyed the simplicity of this poem
and the imagery.Well done.
Wow! I just loved this. It was one of those straightforward, wonderful-images, has-a-point kind of poems that I love. Just wow, and thank you for sharing!
roots and wings..
I wish for those too!
chemical analysis of a poet
You are all trying to kill me. RWP members are trying to kill me with TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF. I can’t take it. I need smelling salts.
You make such a strong connection between your abstract title and the specificity in your poem to illustrate and give a material quality to that abstraction.
OK, I need to lie down now. In a poetry-free space. I’ll read the dictionary or something safe like that.
Your poem expresses a universal urge to fly and then to find our roots. Our constant restlessness.
so much packed in these four brief lines:
” … we all left.
Dad died, and Mom moved to the city.
My brother went to work,
and I went to the desert.”
how wonderful that you got so much story in so concisely!!!
Hello Tamra,
Very direct, very vivid, very clear!
I love the loose, conversational tone you get here. And the connection between the end of the second stanza and the end of the third is wonderful.
nicely done
oh, I always want the water, too.
this is lovely.
Just wonderful. I love the snapshots of your childhood followed by a turn to the present. The last stanza ends it perfectly.
I sense a longing for home, roots through this beautifully written poem. Your imagery is so rich. May you find happiness in the new roots you plant. Have a great night.
loved your poem…everything…especially so the wandering for roots and wings…