Hi, and welcome! During National Poetry Month, I’m posting a magnipoem each day that I can. That’s a poem inspired by my simply looking at an object under a magnifying glass for 1 minute each day, and then jotting a poem. Feel free to try this with students (you can have them just get up close and personal to something and study it closely for a minute). If you want to share online, tag me (@LauraPSalas) or share here in the comments! You can see all my magnipoems here.
Well, the month is winding down, and I’m thinking about what I’ve learned from this month’s practice. I think the main thing is that I’m terrible at just looking at an object and describing it. Unless it’s something I think is dazzling, at least. But mostly, my mind goes straight to metaphors. Which is how I looked at a dirty windowsill and ended up thinking about about the sadness and emptiness of borders.
And here’s a pic of my process. Our house tends to be neat and tidy and relatively clean. Not deeply clean, obviously. Embarrassing to show this pic! Sometimes it’s better not to look too closely–hehe.
And if you’re looking for something different, check out the resources on my Poetry Page for some more ideas.