As promised, here’s another poem from The Poetry of US, J. Patrick Lewis’ newest anthology with National Geographic. I was looking back to see a bit of my writing process. I knew right away I wanted to right about the salt flats in Utah, but I had forgotten that in addition to this poem, I wrote two acrostics and a quatrain that followed a year on the salt flats, one line per season. I often explore one topic through a number of different forms and styles. It’s like trying on clothes for a special occasion:>)
This poem is about how human activity on the flats is destroying them, making them sometimes unusable for the car races traditionally held there. The research was fascinating!
Kay at A Journey Through the Pages has the Poetry Friday Roundup today, so you’ll find lots more poetry there!
10 Responses
You brought the drama! Great fast rolling rhythm. This reminds me of Michelle’s anthropomorphism challenge.
Hi, Laura! The voice and sentiment in your poem seem as fittingly blunt as those white sands warrant. And how wonderful that you have a poem in this book! I love the partnership between the photos and poems in J. Patrick Lewis’s anthologies. Yours and this photo are a great, stark pair.
Those final words, “I capture you.” are a powerful rejoinder, Laura. I’ve never seen the salt flats & they are fascinating. I didn’t realize there was an environmental impact occurring there.
Fascinating. I read the poem before your brief explanation of car races and I was imagining someone tearing over that flat space. I like the word assaults and vaults. This poem has a voice that tough and commanding and strong.
Love the voice of the salt flats–I didn’t know about the car racing when I originally read this poem and still enjoyed it. But knowing that gives the Revenge even more power.
Laura your poem has bite, its salty tang shines through. The poem and the photograph are at one in conveying a sense of place and tone.
I love how your poem races right through to a surprising finish–I capture you! Love it!
What a wonderful poem and I like your statement: ” It’s like trying on clothes for a special occasion.” Perspective is so important.
I love the revengeful voice of the salt flats, and how it “capture(s) you” at the end–so much packed into this short poem!
Great voice!