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Monday, April 13, 2015

2015 Progressive Poem

2015ProgressivePoem (1) copy

Welcome to my favorite National Poetry Month activity, dreamed up and monitored by the lovely Irene Latham

I love the progressive poem, the way each day a new poet wrestles a line from his or her interior journey, fixes a string of words onto the last, and waits to see how thoughts so simple, so individual, transform the whole, while at the same time are transformed themselves by this living, breathing poem.

This little mermaid slipping through bayou is just too safe and tranquil for me, so let's infuse a little intrigue! Maybe she'll wish for a net. I'm handing this off to Renée at No Water River to see what happens next. 



She lives without a net, walking along the alluvium of the delta.
Shoes swing over her shoulder, on her bare feet stick jeweled flecks of dark mica.

Hands faster than fish swing at the ends of bare brown arms. Her hair flows,
snows in wild wind as she digs in the indigo varnished handbag,

pulls out her grandmother’s oval cuffed bracelet,
strokes the turquoise stones, and steps through the curved doorway.

Tripping on her tail she slips hair first down the slide… splash!
She glides past glossy water hyacinth to shimmer with a school of shad,

listens to the ibises roosting in the trees of the cypress swamp–
an echo of Grandmother’s words, still fresh in her windswept memory.

Born from the oyster, expect the pearl.
Reach for the rainbow reflection on the smallest dewdrop.

The surface glistens, a shadow slips above her head, a paddle dips


Follow the progress below:


1 Jone at Check it Out

2 Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy

3 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe

4 Laura at Writing the World for Kids

5 Charles at Poetry Time Blog

6 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page

7 Catherine at Catherine Johnson

8 Irene at Live Your Poem

9 Mary Lee at Poetrepository

10 Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty

11 Kim at Flukeprints

12 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche

13 Doraine at DoriReads

14 Renee at No Water River

15 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge

16 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town

17 Buffy at Buffy’s Blog

18 Sheila at Sheila Renfro

19 Linda at Teacher Dance

20 Penny at A Penny and her Jots

21 Tara at A Teaching Life

22 Pat at Writer on a Horse

23 Tamera at The Writer’s Whimsy

24 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect

25 Tabatha at The Opposite of indifference

26 Brian at Walk the Walk

27 Jan at Bookseedstudio

28 Amy at The Poem Farm

29 Donna at Mainely Write

30 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

12 comments:

  1. Oh my, Dori, love each verb, "glistens, slips, dips" & that little rhyme. Here she faces, what? Thanks for moving the story on.

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  2. Oooh, danger danger, mermaid-girl! Thank you Doraine for this lovely line... I am definitely intrigued! xo

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  3. Ooh how exciting! And so tenderly written too. I love the paddle dips. Great job, Dori!

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  4. A beautiful line, Doraine! But .... yikes! What happens now? I am frightened for tomorrow and for what might lay under the water...

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  5. -- "shadow slips/paddle dips" - our intruder is a sly one, and you are a sly (and wonderful) writer, Doraine! OK - I'm kinda hoping Renee makes it all okay before she tosses the next line to me, but I'm having my doubts... :0!

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  6. Doraine, you certainly have introduced a bit of mystery and intrigue to the mermaid's tale. I like the addition of the word glistens that is juxtaposed with a shadow above her head.

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  7. Starting to get really nervous about my upcoming line! I love your line, though...

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  8. Love the surprise of the paddle dipping. Something is going to happen nooow... Can't wait to see.

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  9. Doraine! I never took you for a queen of intrigue, but perhaps I was wrong. ;) Thanks for rocking the boat, so to speak. I'm on the edge of my seat....

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  10. I giggled at your net line! Excited to have another soul in the poem. Yay intrigue!

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  11. I giggled at your net line! Excited to have another soul in the poem. Yay intrigue!

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  12. Ah some action! What a fun line. It adds intrigue for sure. I'm off to see where Renée go!

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