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WriteOut BlackOut Poetry

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Bothell, WA Wetlands: still waters with geese
Bothell, WA wetlands; still water with geese

WRITEOUT* AND DAILY CREATE

Today’s WriteOut* includes this Daily Create prompt to write a Black Out Poem from Wendell Berry’s poem, The Peace of Wild Things. The prompt suggests this tool, Blackout Poetry Maker, for creating the poem by inputing the original poem and then selecting the words for one’s own poem, for which clicking the “RENDER” button makes the new poem from the “blacked out” words.

So I pasted in the Wendell Berry poem and selected the words for my poem:

Wendell Berry poem with black out words chosen: The Peace of Wild Things When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free

Next I selected “RENDER” for a copy of my blacked out poetry from the original poem:

How did I choose these words?

Since our world is a bit chaotic with wars seemingly erupting, I chose “wild despair grows” for my first words, but then moved on to what else is in the world, the hope in the world, “wake in, sound in life.” That would be “the wood, the water, the great heron” where we “come into peace” and “come into still water.” With that calm we will “feel light and free.”

Poetry / Photography

A while ago we were in Bothell, WA and by our hotel we found a trail along a wetlands right in the city. I wrote about that urban wetlands here. And this poem with the phrases “still water” and “great heron” reminded me of that wetlands and the photo I had taken of the still waters and geese. That photo became the backdrop of my black out poetry. I hope it finds some peace for you in our troubled world.

Wild Despair, Yet Peace

Wild despair grows;
Wake in
Sound in
life:
the wood,
the water,
the great heron;
Come into
peace
Come into
still water
and feel
light and free.


Sheri Edwards  
10.17.23   290.365.23
Poetry/Photography
Bothell, WA urban wetlands with black out poetry: Wild despair grows; Wake in Sound in life: the wood, the water, the great heron; Come into peace Come into still water and feel light and free. Sheri Edwards 10.17.23 290.365.23 Poetry/Photography
on Flickr

*JOIN IN!

This post is part of the October WRITEOUT adventure, October 8 through the 22nd, partnership of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service — a choice to enjoy the outdoors with poetry, prose, and parks for Write Out 2023. Organized as a public invitation to get out and create, supported by a series of free online activities, Write Out invites educators, students, and families to explore national parks and other public spaces. The goal is to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing.  Check out this infographic for the flow of the two weeks.

Learn more and sign up: https://writeout.nwp.org

This is my sixth year with WriteOut with all my WriteOut posts here.

#clmooc #smallpoems #poetry23 #writeout #blackoutpoetry #dailycreate #stillwaters