Try This! - Say a Lot with a Few Words

From Charles Waters:

What has helped me quell the storms in my life, besides friends, is reading poems.  Poems make you look at the world with an understanding that you're not in it alone. Besides the funny, wacky poems that are out there, which I love, I'm finding myself gravitating to more serious, gut punch kinds of children's poetry.  

Even a short poem can pack a lot of punch.  My poem here is kind of in honor of the late David McCord, who once wrote a poem - "Cocoon" - that in twenty-nine words told the line span of a butterfly.  Paul B. Janeczko,  wrote "August Ice Cream Cone" - a poem about ice cream - in only two words.  The title is actually longer than the poem!  And poet Charles Ghigna has written a poem of just one word, titled "I." 

Writing about something in just a few words is a great exercise for a writer.  Try this yourself.  Think about something you find fascinating, perhaps even a topic from a different entry in your notebook.  Then, see how completely you can write about this topic in just very few words. You might try the form of a poem too. 

By the way, forgive my illustration.  I'm a children's poet, actor and educator, and the skill set of drawing is not in my bone marrow, as you can tell.  What is in my bone marrow, however, is having a friend to talk to when the mental and physical storms at sea threaten to overtake my spirits.  

So here's a poem of three words, four if you include the title:      

Click to Enlarge these Notebook Pages

THERAPY 

Revealing,
dealing,
healing.

© Charles Waters 2015 


Charles Waters is a children's poet, actor and educator who has performed in schools and universities across the country. His work has appeared in various textbooks and anthologies including: ONE MINUTE TO BEDTIME (2016) edited by Kenn Nesbitt,  AMAZING PLACES(2015) edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BOOK OF ANIMAL POETRY and THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC OF NATURE POETRY both edited by J. Patrick Lewis.

Website: www.charleswaterspoetry.com
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