I just spent four glorious days at the Highlights Foundation soaking in the goodness of poetry from Irene Latham and Charles Waters in their workshop Poetry for Kids: A World of Publishing Possibilities. One of the activities we did was to perform an original poem. Talk about taking me out of my comfort zone!
I searched through my files and found one that I originally wrote as part of an April poetry project back in 2020. At that time I was writing along with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater whose project she called “Poems Can.” Each day Amy chose a theme – like Poems Can Tell a Story, or Poems Can Go Down the Page. Then she’d roll three word dice. The words could inspire the poem or be used in the poem. On this particular day the theme was “Poems Can Rhyme” and the words were dilemma, there, and a blank (wild card). All the poems I was writing that month were about the trail where I walk, so I thought about “dilemma” and came up with “At the Crossroads.” I’ll spare you the video of my performance, and just share the poem:
At the Crossroads
Should I turn to the right
where the daffodils bloom
where the pear trees are bursting
with buds and perfume?
Or should I choose to go left
where a snake could be hiding
where I might meet a muskrat
or spot a hawk gliding?
Today I’m adventurous
curious
bold—
I’ll walk straight ahead
where I just might find gold.
Draft, 2023RoseCappelli
Photo by Einar Storsul on Unsplash
Karen has the roundup today here. Be sure to stop by for thoughts from Ted Kooser and lots more poetry goodness.
Imagine the Possibilities 
What a lovely poem, Rose!!! Glad you had fun at Irene and Charles’s workshop!
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Love the poem–and now I want to see the video performance!
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Lovely poem, Rose. We make choices and are never sure what we’ll find, we only have ideas. No answers in this poem.
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This is beautiful, Rose! I’m hearing echoes of “Nature’s first green is gold” in your last line!
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Rose, super! This poem is lovely and fun to read. I can picture it as a children’s book, and like Laura mentions, I imagine the gold the child could discover at the end would be the tiny golden baby first leaves on a spring tree.
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I love that she’s walking forward, without the knowledge of gold or what else she might find. So bold!
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How wonderful! Your poem, that you were at Highlights and you are now super-charged to write more, more, more! I didn’t recognize you in Irene’s photo only because I haven’t met you. I’m so glad that you got to spend time with Irene and Marcie! What a wonderful and enriching writing time. Bravo!
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What a great choice, to walk straight ahead into whatever gold you might find!
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Wonderful that you were with Irene & Charles at Highlights, Rose. What fun! We have had snow today, still flurries, so your poem gives me a special picture of what can be, later! Lovely rhyming, too!
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Love it! And I also love that daffodils were still in bloom at Highlights (mine at home are long-gone). So great to spend the week with you and Patricia (and Charles and Irene).
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Wonderful, Rose! And so glad you got to go to the Highlights workshop. I’ve been to a few but it’s been a while…. And, I’m sure your video was terrific, too. ;0) Anyway, sounds like you found some gold going straight on to Honesdale.
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Any way you look at it, your poem shines, Rose. So cool you were able to spend the week with Irene, Charles and many Poetry Friday friends. Wish we could see you preform your poem. 🙂
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You did indeed find gold with that poem, Rose. Love it! And I’m a wee bit (okay, a lot) envious that you got to spend those four days at the Highlights workshop with Irene and Charles. Heavenly! 🙂
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I’m so glad you performed this poem for us, Rose. And I’m giggling thinking you might add one more stanza: “…Or could we maybe just retrace our steps? It might be a long walk back!” – wink wink
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