Happy Poetry Friday!
One morning this week I opened Almost an Elegy by Linda Pastan hoping to find some inspiration for a poem. And boy, did she deliver. I read four poems and instantly had at least three ideas. My poem for today was inspired by Pastan’s poem “Squint,.” I was drawn to how she used the title followed by a comma to begin the poem. I couldn’t find a link to it online, but this is how it begins:
SQUINT,
and that low line
of blue cloud
hovering
over the treetops
could be an ocean—the roar
of the highway
the clamorous waves
breaking.
Although I chose to repeat the structure to begin each stanza, my poem was definitely inspired by and written in the style of Linda Pastan.
Pause,
and you might notice
the daffodil reaching through
the too-soon-soft soil
on a warm winter afternoon.
Pause,
and you might hear
the distant drumming
of a woodpecker
messaging a mate.
Pause,
and you might feel
the quiet
in a cup of tea
sipped from a china cup.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli
Photo from NDTV Food
Molly has the Round Up today at Nix the Comfort Zone where you’ll find her beautiful tribute to winter trees and lots more poetry fun.
Imagine the Possibilities 
Pause,
and you might read a poem
from a friend
and be inspired
too.
Thanks,
Margaret
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Thank you Margaret. You just made my day.
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Reading 4 poems and getting 3 ideas is a pretty great book review. Thank you for pausing with us! xo
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Thank you, Irene.
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Very nice!! That’s quite a unique opening with that comma after the title. Enjoyed this pause in my morning; thanks for the cup of tea. 🙂
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I like that comma in the title. I love how in your version the pause connects the second person to the world through three different senses.
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I love the message in Pause, and what a lovely poem it is!
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Thanks for the introduction to Linda Pastan and your perfectly paused poem. I am inspired…
Pause, and you might hear paws patter over for a pat.
(Smidgey is tired of me being on my computer. 😉 )
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I love poems where the title is also the beginning of the poem! Sometimes when I squint at clouds here in flat Ohio, I see mountains! And I love all of your pauses!
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Absolutely wonderful! I loved visiting you and your inspiration here.
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Wow, Rose, I imagine Linda Pastan would love your poem, too. It is wonderful!
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Such a lovely invitation to pause and enjoy the moment in front of us.
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It’s lovely when you take inspiration and then make something new of it. ❤
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Pause-with-a-comma is a powerful start to each stanza. I’ve been thinking all week about “pay attention” – and here you’ve brought that admonition to life in words. Thank you!
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The difference a tiny punctuation mark can make! What awesome inspiration Pastan offered. You took it and ran with it. Or, rather, paused and sat with it. 🙂 Lovely!
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So much to love in your post! Your turn to Linda Pastan, her inspiration, and your running with it to create your own original, wonderful poem. Pause was my OLW several years ago and your poem reminds me of its power. Love this post!
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Oh, Rose, so lovely!
I like so much this line: “the too-soon-soft soil” and pausing to feel “the quiet /
in a cup of tea / sipped from a china cup” is wonderful.
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