This is my response to Day 28 at napowrimo.net, where we are asked to write a concrete poem. This may narrowly fit within the definition, as it was adapted from a poem written in verse to fit the shape of a drop of blood. (The original appears below.) I wrote it in 1998, when I was donating platelets at Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. Framed, it was still hanging on the wall of the donation center when I stopped donating platelets in 2006. It was published in the hospital newsletter at the time.
Since it was written in 1998, I’ll be sure to write a poem later today, to stay current in National./Global Poetry Writing Month.
faces filled with cheer expressing gratitude reflecting optimism necessary for survival shared by some down the halls forsaken by others beyond the walls
industry devoted to saving lives seeking to aid those in need replenishing vital components of a precious nature welcoming donations from a precious source
sometimes a jab and a mild twinge sometimes the sense of a feather passing over my arm either way any sense of intrusion is soon gone replaced by thoughts of those in need
departing with no need to return living with no of urgency thinking of those who know urgency returning to offer aid expecting to see faces filled with cheer expressing gratitude
Today is Day 9 of National/Global Poetry Writing Month,
and the prompt at napowrimo.net is to write a concrete poem,
one in which the lines and words are organized to take
a shape that reflects in some way the theme of the poem.
Unfortunately, I’m having difficulty formatting the text on the page
in the WordPress editor, but the lower half of the image shows how it appears on my screen. Click on the image for a larger view in a new tab.
Formatted differently, the poem might appear as below.
Immersion
More than a tool, in my hands
this paddle is an extension of myself,
the limits of my energy removed,
creating a connection with that which
already is the core of my essence,
in turn allowing me to become as one
with the very nature of all that surrounds me
and affects me so profoundly.
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