Poetry Sisters Write "Box"-Inspired Poems

For our last challenge of 2022, we let the word box inspire our poems. I made a long list of phrases that included the word box and hoped I would find some inspiration there. Two items on that list really stood out for me. One was "tackle box." I have fond memories of poking around in my father's tackle box while we were fishing. The other was a button box, which immediately reminded me of this.

This old candy tin was my grandmother's button "box." It was the one I spent hours playing with when I was young because "children were meant to be seen and not heard." 

I also thought a lot about the shape of a box and wondered if I could write a poem in the shape of a box (or square). I did some searching and found that Lewis Carroll wrote in a poetic form where the number of words per line is equal to the total number of lines in the poem. What's challenging about this square poem is that each of the six lines was meant to be read horizontally OR vertically from top to bottom. Here is the poem Carroll wrote.

I Often Wondered

I often wondered when I cursed,
Often feared where I would be –
Wondered where she’d yield her love
When I yield, so will she.
I would her will be pitied!
Cursed be love! She pitied me…

It's a bit easier to see how this works in the image below.

I decided to give this form a go. I started with 6x6 and found it incredibly difficult to write a poem that made sense across all the lines. Frustrated, I tried a 5x5 and then a 4x4. Ultimately, I landed on a 3x3 and wrote two stanzas. This isn't what Carroll had in mind, but I'm a rule-breaker. I did use the word box in my poem, so I feel as though I met the challenge posed.

I created a grid to aid in writing my poem. It helped align the words and made reading the horizontal and vertical lines much easier.

Here's another way to read the poem. I've highlighted the words in various ways to make the vertical lines stand out. Even though the poem is actually 2 individual square poems linked by a theme, I quite like the way the 6 words across the stanzas work together to create 3 entirely new lines. I did cheat with the singular/plural form of button(s). I'm not sure "buttons box" works, but there you have it. 

Sorting Grandma’s buttons

Grandma’s buttons box

Buttons box bounty

Assorted beautiful buttons

Beautiful buttons speak

Buttons speak history

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2022. All rights reserved.

I am still working on a tackle box poem and hope to share that soon. In the meantime, if you are into nerdy mathematical poetry connections, I came across a conference paper while researching square poems that I am fascinated with. You may be too. It is entitled Graeco-Latin Square Poems.

You can read the pieces written by my Poetry Sisters at the links below. 

• Tanita Davis
• Mary Lee Hahn
• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Kelly Ramsdell
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Liz Garton Scanlon
• Andi Sibley

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Patricia Franz at Reverie. Happy poetry Friday, friends!

Poetry Friday - Poetry Swap Joy

It's been a while since I participated in a poetry swap, so I was determined to get involved this year. Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference has been generously coordinating summer and holiday swaps for years. It's a lovely way to "meet" someone new that you may only know through blogging. This year I was paired with Carmela Martino, author, poet, teacher, and blogger at Teaching Authors.

I got home late in the evening and found her package waiting for me. Because I have been mired in grading, I decided to wait to open it until my grades were submitted this morning. So, at 9:01 am, after closing the semester, I sat down with a pot of tea (cacao chai from In Pursuit of Tea) and my gift. 

One of the things I love about these swaps is that the participants write poems for one another. Imagine receiving a poem written just for you! There's something magical about it. When I learned Carmela had been a math major in college, I knew I wanted to write a Pi poem for her. For her part, Carmela took one of the recent Poetry Sisters' challenges to write a dansa and crafted this poem. (Click to enlarge.)

Isn't it lovely? 

Carmela also generously sent along the BEST calendar ever!

I adore both Frost and Dickinson, so this is a real treat. Perhaps just as wonderful is that Carmela has  introduced me to an Etsy shop that produces delightful creations. Just look at the card Carmela's note came in!

There was also a calendar card in the package.

That right there is one of my favorite poems. I have it memorized. It hangs on my wall. This is perfection. 

These items all came from Farmhouse Greetings. The shop is on a break right now, but I know I'll be stopping by frequently to see what they're sharing.

Thank you, Tabatha for organizing the holiday swap, and an even bigger thank you to Carmela for making this experience so special. 

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Karen Edmisten. Happy poetry Friday friends!