Ok just thought that I would post up an imagery excercise for anyone who is interested. Basically all you do is utilise the words in the provided list below and write a line to describe it, be as imaginative as possible and as abstract as possible. * a knife * a cirlce * a shadow * a sword * a window * a photograph * sunrise * a flower * a tree Ok well there you go, just a few words for you to have a play with. I just thought that it may help some people to get a better idea on imagery for their poetry. ~Torana
I'll give it a try. Is this the kind of thing you had in mind? * a knife gleaming steel tongue, thirsty for life's red wine * a circle chasing itself tirelessly with neither beginning nor end * a shadow His dark ghost huddled on the ground behind him, hiding from the moon's harsh gaze * a sword flashing death swept through the air, singing as it hewed flesh. * a window a filmy oblong sentinel, permitting light's entry but refusing the wind * a photograph His visage frozen in a flat paper prison, a moment convicted and sentenced with no parole. * sunrise fire spilled and flickered across the horizon, heralding the imminent arival of the Sun. * a flower Soft, red hands cupped the sunlight, trembling in the breeze, letting free their sweet perfume * a tree A gnarled grey old man, ancient yet hale, stretched leafy arms to embrace the refreshing rain
Cogito ... some advice on poetry ... It's good to be descriptive ... but don't get overwordy! You simply have too many adjectives. You do a great job of inflicting an image in our heads, it just takes too many literations to get the job done.
Thanks SnipSnap. I'm not at all strong in poetry, but this exercise was an irresistable challenge. I'm eagerly anticipating seeing what the real poets on the board do with Torana's trial.
a knife cold steel strikes when blood runs hot a cirlce essential wombdom, wellspring of life a shadow creeping penumbral image a sword man's favored appendage, negating life a window seeing without being a photograph life's lively tedium caught in a lifeless medium sunrise ...and she said, "Let there be light!" a flower mother nature's mutable beauty a tree staunch defender of an endless plain ...nice little exercise, torana... so, how come you didn't give it a go yourself?
As abstract as possible, eh? Hmm.... * a knife An outline Where air is thin A gleam Where life is cut * a circle Chalk lines are The devil's prison * a shadow I'm following myself Afraid of what I'll do. * a sword Honor in blood; Beauty in death; Rage in flesh. * a window Through Up Above God doesn't shut things, he makes them. * a photograph That was then. This is now. * sunrise Who painted the sky? I left my brushes here last night And now they're all above me. * a flower If you had taken My gift of flowers I would have stolen Yours. * a tree Some things aren't quite as real As others. Some things bend to wind. Others harness it.
As Abstract As Possible ... I Did My betsy: * a knife Rrrrrrrrrrrrruflles have Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrridges * a circle Erectile Dysfunction Gone Bad. * a shadow Mosh Pit's Reflection * a sword Loki, Heel! * a window Imp streaks; Van Gough has an Inspiration! * a photograph Olympian Margot, sparse dividend. * sunrise Narcoleptic Holiday * a flower What's in Maine? That which we call a growth by any other Mane would grope as sweet? * a tree Goblins dwell in the inverse.
* a knife trust between friends severed * a cirlce deceipt that never ends * a shadow lies are all that are displayed * a sword a silvery whisper through a mirky dream * a window illusional captivation in the mind * a photograph soul forever entombed * sunrise slow burning of the worlds aura * a flower perfume to elude all hate * a tree the centre of the universe There you have it my attempt at my own excersice....
Unabound abstract - though luckily in your poems you use this sort of thing sparingly so that it has effect, rather than impenatrability - you know I'm a fan of your work!
* a knife - a smiling extension of oneself * a circle - repetitive infinity * a shadow - the baggage and burden that we carry in our subconscious, projected at length and inextricably attached to ourselves * a sword - a teasing fallic ornament * a window - a pernicious hole through which the world can be distorted * a photograph - a stolen memory * sunrise - metaphor for inevitabilty * a flower - is but a loose host and lover * a tree - the goalposts of ages An tough exercise Torana - I feel I've been shown up by all of the above efforts!
Not At all Gannon, you have done a comendable job at this. I like the ones you came up with actually. Glad that you have all had a go at this, it is wonderful as even though some may not have joined in I think that if they read through things like this it may give them a bit of help with imagery. Well hope this has helped someone out and I will be posting up more in the near future so keep your eyes peeled. Although they will be very different. I was thinking about doing something with ryhming and things like that, I tend to do this all the time as I have writers block and find that it helps me out quite a bit. I love the way everyone's is so different, they were all so enjoyable to read through. Great work everyone ~Torana
* a knife Friend and foe. * a cirlce Nothing more than infinite straight lines. * a shadow The bare essentials of an object. Void of detail. Void of emotion. * a sword Life and death encompassed in one metal object. * a window Transperant walls. * a photograph Lights prison. * sunrise The kiss of a completed revolution. * a flower Colour and life riding the wind. * a tree Life giving angels; an everday miracle.
* a knife A flimsy balancing scale of life and death, trembling unsteadily in ignorant hands. * a circle Disgruntled Father Time; ramming midget spectacles up a semicorporeal nose strolling by limp and moodily glowering to the Past and Future hims that sidle by trying to concrete the position of their glasses. * a shadow Our mortality, binding us to breath and soil- till the sun set away and God collects our toil. * a sword Adolescent Death, raised by men * a window Passages that lead to other windows, which in turn lead to different passages * a photograph Flesh of the moment raped bloodless and mute by basilisk tongue. * sunrise His death and birth in one chime * a flower Aging swimsuit models * a tree Residences of the seasons
wow Frost those were awesome, so were yours myst. I like the imagery you have both displayed here. I will do another soon, hope you all decide to have a go at it for some fun. ~Tor
A Knife Sharp and glinting in the moonlight A Circle Never ending, going round for ever A Shadow Dark and foreboding,following you through the night A Sword A knight's tool from long ago A window A picture frame fopr the outside world A Photograph Pictures of loved one's past and present,imortalised forever Sunrise New beginnings A Flower symbols of love and death A tree power everlasting
ok, so not as good as everyone else's but here's my attempt. * a knife – utterly butterly covered * a circle – the line of love that never ends * a shadow – where dark things lie, or shy ones hide * a sword – the metallic margin between beauty and death * a window – the eyes on the world that you just can’t reach * a photograph – a reminder of a memory easily forgotten * sunrise – the fire of life that warms the earth * a flower – the symbol of regret when a man does wrong * a tree – the rings of life that tell the tale of nature
