Writing Inspiration
Yesterday my art was based on this photo from my garden— the peony as it started to open. It’s relevant for Earth Day because the peony’s name came from the Greek: Physician of the Gods — a flower as doctor for our earth and its creatures. And when it blooms, I am renewed and feeling like the world is well.
“Peony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peony. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.
And so for Earth Day I choose this photo for a poem of healing, perhaps a plan, a mission of Mother Nature, Mother Earth.
Writing Process
I took notes from two sources: Merriam-Webster-dictionary and the Almanac. It’s earth day and these beauties sing the bounty of life on earth each spring, and that bounty is a healing feeling I wanted in my poem.
Take a look at my note, the thoughts and first ideas, and then the poem in this table I created and then annotated to share the progression of thinking through colors and arrows. I hope it makes sense to you.
The last thing I changed was the part about the mission. At first I had written some contrived rhyming lines, but, as I’ve said before, the rhyme is not the point, but the idea of earth day and a mission— but for me, I sense a mission in nature to keep itself going, and therefore, us. But I did not come up with the idea of mission until I — ironically —- searched Rhymezone for a rhyme for “physician” because I wanted a repetition of that sound to bring closure to the poem. If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll see how important to me is the sounds of the words— whether its alliteration, consonance, or assonance, I think the choices of word meaning and word sound are relevant to poetic writing, reading, and meaning. And, of course, physician / mission helped me delete previous lines and rewrite the ending—the peony, the physician of the gods— nature— its mission for spring is renewal and delight.
Poetry
Paeon Peony
Year after year from earth
Sheri Edwards
After winter’s bite
Elder perennial’s
Sweet nectar
Around the winter’s child
Springs
Full blooming
Sun loving
Bursts of edible petals
Physician of the gods
Surviving
Healing
Bursts of sweet cheer
After winter’s drear
Mission of earth’s delights
042222 113.365.22
Poetry/Photography
Your Turn
A thought today is to read over another of your pieces of writing and consider the choices you have made and perhaps my change today. Write a bit about your process. Share it with your family and friends. The thing about writing is— it’s all choices so we’re clear on our meaning and intentions, which means that what we read— anywhere— has an intention. When we consider our own writing, we learn to consider the choices and intentions of others. In today’s world, that ability to “read between the lines” to the author’s intent can help us discern disinformation and misinformation. Starting with our own choices builds that discernment.
For tips and tools for such analysis may be found at News Literacy Project.