golden shovel

Songs

/ joethewaller / Leave a comment

A Golden Shovel poem, after “Prayer (I)” by George Herbert

In Tolkien, creation comes by a
Song sung by one strong and kind,
Kind in his sharing of
The song, strong in his control over the tune.
Even enemy melodies, which
Affect all things, all souls, all
Stories, cannot unmake things
More deep and more true. You can always hear
Hope, can still sing your part and
Join the song that shatters fear.

Photo by Isaac Ibbott on Unsplash

For more on the Golden Shovel form, click here.

To read Herbert’s poem, click here.

Form Friday: Golden Shovel

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Following “Don’t Worry” by Mary Oliver

Like Martha, many things
make me anxious, take
my mind down the
most unproductive roads, make time
my enemy. But those things, they
require perspective. Take
a breath, and don’t
forget peace conquers worry.

Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash

Every Friday in November’s poetry challenge was dedicated to a different poetic form, giving us an opportunity to stretch ourselves a bit. The first form was the “Golden Shovel,” from Terrance Hayes. For this form, you take a line from a poem you admire. You then use those words, in order, as the end words for each line of your own poem, crediting the author of the original lines in your own work. For more on this form, and to find links to Hayes’ golden shovel and to the poem that inspired his, see here.