Poetry Friday--Poetic License

I finally found my official "Poetic License." It had been used as a bookmark in my Roget's Super Thesaurus. Since it's so easy to use an online thesaurus, I've basically abandoned my thesaurus in book form and had lost track of the license.

Here's my license to, "poetize, versify, rhyme, alliterate, or jingle":

I would also add to that, "haiku-ize," and to tell a "truth" in as few words as possible. Thankfully, there's no expiration date!

I received the license when I entered a haiku competition the Christian Science Monitor held many, many years ago. There was a year or two when I wrote short pieces and quizzes for the CSM's "KidsSpace" page; to see one, click here. The CSM was the periodical that published my first article, and, my first haiku.

My first article, "Rhyme Time Let's Do Verse Terse" (I'm not responsible for that title!) appeared twenty years ago at the end of March! Where does the time go? If you click on the link, you will find some of the terse verse poems are missing due to the way they were formatted in the original newspaper article. Sadly, I'm about 5 computers beyond the original manuscript. (As a matter of fact, the ms. was typed on a small word processor. For those who don't know, the word processor was a precursor to the personal computer.) I lost a bunch of files along the way, and so, can't supply the missing poems.

My focus certainly changed over the years! I started with a poetry article, without being a poet. Then, for a while it was picture books all the time, then on to nonfiction, and here I am, back to poetry. But now, rather significantly, I might add, I'm not afraid to call myself a poet, or, to flash my poetic license when needed!

The photo on the license is one of my elementary school pictures. I think it looks rather poet-like, especially that black velvet collar! It put me in mind of the 1894 Emily Dickinson lithograph of Dickinson as a child, except our outfits are reversed--she has a white collar and a black shirtwaist.

Courtesy Library of Congress.

I may as well conclude this with another in the series of Ku-dos to Emily!

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved. Photo by Arnold Genthe, courtesy Library of Congress.

Laura Salas is hosting the Poetry Friday Round-Up, so be sure to stop by.

One more thing...I am in no way comparing myself to Emily D. We're as different as night and day. I would never write lines such as these,

For each ecstatic instant
We must an anguish pay
In keen and quivering ratio
To the ecstasy.

I have a much rosier outlook on life than she!