Writing Group Results

So the results are in: my writing group loved one and the other one they didn't know what to make of it.  Hehehe.  I will be fair and say that out of a 27 line poem, they were unanimous in the love-fest for the last five lines.  Interesting.  So now comes the fine balancing act between taking feedback and making decisions on this piece called Circle, Holding Pattern.  Hmmmm.  Not sure yet how I'm going to move forward on it.  I think I need to sit quietly with it and see where it goes.  I am attaching below the first draft of this poem below.  I'm also making a mental note that when I've revised the piece to show what came of it on this blog.

Circle, Holding Pattern

Five points away from each other

thin rain mists stranger faces

We are three walking the dark

travel logs in back pockets

youth with an order of fries

everywhere kissing bodies

collapse upon each others

reminds me of the mess we’re in

fractured lyrics play over again

the bridge, swan dive at dawn,

straight high walker

misses footing, we’re calm

until you pick up a human tooth

slip into a pocket for safekeeping,

remember when you OD’d

you reminded me to breathe,

strum suspension wires, rhythm

promise to throw out the next poem

about rain no matter where we wind up

black ashes and oil, across your forehead

ten lives out of my mind, good fortune

too fancy in copper bowls, metal growls

echo, collect as voicemail messages

all our lives are hidden in pieces

on hand-held devices, our deities sleep

in white shrouds, compacted beneath

our bare feet, seclusion without faith. 

******
Enjoy,

Lily~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

When is the caffeine suppose to kick in?

Another rainy day in Noo Yawk Sitty and I am trying to pry my eyes open. I am drinking coffee this morning…things must be dire if I’ve chosen coffee over tea. I’m hoping the caffeine will kick in at any moment. I can’t believe I’ve been in the office for almost two hours. What have I done exactly? I sincerely think I’ve been sleeping with my eyes open (slightly).

Moving on, yesterday I spent the better part of the day writing. I came up with two poems and one blog entry. Five hours, two poems…yes that’s how long those two pieces took me. I’m hoping that I didn’t overwork them. I’ll find out tonight when I present them to my writing group for feedback. Argh, I always get a bit nervous bringing in new work. I know they will be respectful and encouraging…but like most writers I sometimes think my peers will take one read and look at me with disgust and say something like, “what the hell did you just write?” I know that is as far from reality but there is a small part of me that can’t help feel insecure about new work. But I AM excited at what I’m about to present tonight. It feels new and fresh to me and I want to include it in this application packet. We shall see.

Peace,

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Let it Pour!!

It’s a dark overcast Thursday morning. It’s supposed to rain all day today. uhm, yea.

Yesterday was a bit of a wash for me. I couldn’t motivate myself to do more than make myself tea. I did manage to go to dinner with a friend which helped turn my mood around quite a bit. Yay for that and thank goodness.

But work was work and I didn’t have enough to do, which meant that I had an open day to write. But words wouldn’t formulate, at least not in a creative sort of way. Instead I wrote a 2,000 word journal entry to work through a myriad of emotional crap that’s been coming up for me. I just wrote in 500-word increments in between my manager asking me to do a little task here and a little task there. The tasks would take me 10-15 minutes to do. The writing would take a good 30 minutes. It is what it is. I’m not complaining….much.

When I get stuck creatively, I can usually get started on a piece by using a really good line from someone else’s work and just riff and play off of it. Then just delete that first line and revise the piece accordingly. That didn’t quite work yesterday because I was too angry. Anger can blind me and stop me in my tracks. I’m sure there are much better writers out there who use the anger to write but I can’t quite make that shift. In fact, the anger engulfed me and kept me in a strangle hold for most of the day. I reached out to my sister, just to vocalize that emotion. “I was so angry I could taste my liver in my mouth.” Ick but true.

My vexation sat down in the middle of the day and refused to move. Arms folded, legs criss-crossed refusing to budge. I have remnants of it left today but last night’s talk loosened it up. Enough to appreciate the warm wind on my way to work. My goal today is to write 4 more poems for tomorrow’s writing group. I plan on finishing up my artist statement today. Organize my receipts for my accountant. And finish reading Ann Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. Those are my priorities. Let’s see how it goes today.

Peace~


Lily

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.