Revising a Poem in Real Time: Part 1

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

A very smart person in a recent workshop recently talked about process. She talked about making process part of what you put out into the world as a creative person, about letting people see things as they are coming together. I like the idea, so this weekend I’m going to revise a poem in this blog and let you see my thought process as I do it.

First draft

Be woman.
Woman, be.
Lead with your thick belly through the air.
Let it part and bow to make way for you.
Plant your hips solid in your seat.
Let your warmth linger where you have been.
Let the mark of your hands appear in the dirt
as you carry that same dirt underneath your fingernails.
Fertilize the earth with your footsteps.
Leave footprints, dammit, walk heavy.
The time for daintiness is past.
Let your muscles unfurl and move you
with the righteous awakeness of your own flesh.

Initial Thoughts

This is not bad. Upon reading it again, I feel like I have managed to surround the idea I wanted to capture. I haven’t quite pounced on it…