In On Poetry Glyn Maxwell gives a writing exercise where you draw from a deck of cards. Each suit prompts a social situation; each value prompts a setting. Draw a card. Write a stanza. Repeat. Or not.
I drew:
- Q♣: In bed, in a crowd.
- K♦: At table, with a loved one and it’s going well.
- 6♣: Dawn, in a crowd.
- 3♠: Very cold, all alone.
There are too many here,
No comfort found in company,
Too many competing minds
Laying here next to you.
I spent too much on wine
Meant for Beef Burgundy.
But it was good, impressing
Everyone—your sister, your parents.
The morning I had to leave
Your whole family came
To see me off—left
No space to say goodbye.
New fallen snow—
Crisp frozen silence—
I've nothing now but space
And time to remember you.