PD30 Day 7: Embrace The Person You Are
September 7, 2008 by John Hewitt
I live about 60 miles from where I work. This is actually an improvement in my commute. During last year’s PD30, I lived 110 miles from where I worked, so I had to stay in hotels during the week. This year, at a mere 60 miles, I can make the drive. It takes about an hour on the freeway. That means I spend a lot of time (at least two hours a day) on the road, driving through the desert. Consequently, I have written several poems about driving through the desert. Driving through the desert is what I do, so it is what I write about. If, instead of driving for my job, I spent two hours in an airplane every day, I would write more poems about flying in an airplane. If I spent two hours on the bus every day, I would probably write about being on the bus. If I spent two hours a day walking to and from work, there’s a good chance that I would write about that. The things we do inspire our writing.
I write poems about life in the business world. You would think that business and poetry don’t mix, but for me they certainly do. I’ve already written one poem for this project that leaned heavily on credit card transactions. Not coincidentally, I document software for credit card transactions. I bought a new home last spring, so I wrote a poem about buying a new home. I live in the southwest United States, so I write about life in the southwest United States. If I lived in Los Angeles, I would write about Los Angeles. If I lived in New York City I would write about New York City. At this point in my life though, I live in a master planned community stuck out on the freeway between Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. You can bet that this little community influences my writing.
I write about my family and I write about my friends. If my family and friends were different, the poems about them would be different. I am a blogger, and I am deeply entrenched in technology. I am overweight, and pushing myself to both diet and exercise. My hair is graying, but not balding. I like baseball but not football. I have an extensive education. I make good money in the corporate world, but I haven’t been promoted since I moved from dishwasher to busboy at Marie Calendar’ in 1989. I’m married to a woman ten years younger than me who would really like to have kids. I have a nagging back injury that has bothered me ever since I flipped a car in 1987.
These are all things that influence my poetry. If at some point I manage to live a three minute walk from my job, I probably won’t write about the road as much. If I move to another part of the country or to another country, I’m sure that I will write about that. If I ever start to lose my hair, you can bet that some of that hair will fall into my poetry. That’s the way it goes. Your poetry is influenced by who you are, where you are, where you come from and what you do. Embrace that. Don’t worry that your life isn’t interesting enough. My list doesn’t exactly qualify me as an adventurer. It is my life though, and the more I embrace it, the better I feel about my poetry.
Today’s Poetry Prompt
Write about something in your life that you do every day. If you want an added challenge, make the first and the last lines the same or similar.
Related links
- 30 Poems in 30 Days set for September (1.000)
- All About 30 Poems in 30 Days (1.000)
- PD30 Day 1: I Believe in Poetry (1.000)
- PD30 Day 2: Generally Be Specific (1.000)
- PD30 Day 3: A Review of Meter (1.000)
Contact John Hewitt
Writing Content and Web Consulting
Email: hewitt@poewar.comPhone: (520) 261-6104
LinkedIn: poewar
Twitter: @poewar
Facebook: pwar2
Your commute is insane, dude.
I’m loving that you brought back the poetry series.
Amy Derbys last blog post..Confessions of a (Not-So-)Closet(ed) Freak
Thank you Amy. It is quite the drive. Luckily, there are only three stoplights.
82 More
I want to get back
To my old weight
The old weight I wasn’t satisfied with
The old weight that I thought was too much
I want to get back there
So I restrict my diet
Almost no sugar
No fruit
No bread
Just meat and vegetables and beans
Every meal in constant repetition
If I want carbs
Sweet sweet sweet carbs
I have to lift
I sit on various machines of torture
And I lift weights with my arms
My legs
My shoulders
My back
So that I can follow that up
With a sandwich and a banana
How much weight am I losing
How much muscle am I adding
Will it take six months
A year
Two years
More
I keep working
I keep eating
By
The
Rules
Because I want to get back
Hi Rosemary, didn’t think that you would remember me. Ive been great! These poetry assignments are wonderful, it is really helping me. I hope to post one soon. with school and everything it gets a little difficult. Im excited to get started on this one. Which is what I am doing now…. I hope that everyone will like it….
only 15 more hours
i think as i wake up
at exactly 6:30 am
is when i get up
the sun sets
as i get in my car
after i take care of the cats
a half hour isn’t too far.
school starts at 8am
a break follows
for ten minutes i breath
to break the sorrow
who knew
an untold story
bringing unto
in the walls of its core
where to go but too my other class
unfortunately
i’m blocked by this huge mass
finished and tired
i drive passed a field of flowers
repeating the morning tonight
i wake up
only 15 more hours
Tick tock tick
Tick tock tick tock
Hands to the button
Legs to the floor
Weary body to the shower
Tick tock tick tock
Hands to the cupboard
Legs into clothes
Slumbering body to breakfast
Tick tock tick tock
Hands to the door
Legs out of the house
Half awaken body to the car
Tick tock tick tock
Hands to the laptop
Legs crossed beneath
Body settling down for the requisite hours
Tick tock tick tock
Hands to research
Legs crossing and uncrossing
Body moving humming in thought
Tick tock tick tock
Hands ready to leave
Legs turning enthusiastically to the door
Spirited body sprinted to the elevator
Tick tock tick tock
Hands in his
Legs turned to him
Body leaning over
Tick tock tick tock
Hands to button
Legs to the floor
Weary body again in slumber
Tick tock tick tock
And so it goes
Tick tock tick.
Rianon darling, you’re unforgettable!
I love your poem here. I like it best of anything I’ve seen of yours. So you must have been developing as a poet in the last year; great!
Rosemary Nissen-Wade (aka SnakyPoet)s last blog post..The Quest
OMG! thank you so very much Rosemary, that means so much too me!!!
100 Things I Do
I rise I fall I sniff I stare I push
I blink I stretch I crack I snap I slip
I bathe I pour I drip I shave I swish
I write I type I tap I rush I hope
I read I smile I draw I hum I snort
I run I walk I ride I think I dream
I eat I snack I taste I drink I nap
I watch I see I glance I turn I flee
I dance I fight I fly I drive I sing
I yawn I sigh I slow I loll I sleep
i awoke at five
the everyday routine
i prepared for work
i fixed lunch, ate breakfast
and rushed for traffic
i drove at 35 miles per hour
a forty-five minute drive to work
i paced myself to my office
and cooned to morning coffee
i read my email, the news
and peddled to do work
i greeted my students with a smile
and at the end of day
i met evening traffic
pacing myself home
to study homework
to eat dinner and go to bed
my daily routine