Reflections

Counting Words in a Morning Poem – Writing 101

28 Comments

Carol A. Hand

A
Peaceful morning
Gentle Autumn Light
A    cool    breeze    whispers
The blooming translucent clematis dances
Captures  sun creating moving shadows  below
Children      are      on      their      way     to     school
Passing   by   on   the   sidewalk   now
Lost in thoughts perhaps dreaming
Of   things   to   come
Let    them    find
Peaceful times
Ahead

Acknowledgments:

This poem was written in response to an assignment for Writing 101 – to count words in order to learn how to convey ideas as simply as possible. It turned out to be a fascinating challenge. After thinking about the myriad of ways it could be approached, I was at a loss. It wasn’t until I sat quietly on my front porch, drinking my morning coffee, that the ordinary beauty inspired me. When typing out the words that flowed, I decided to take the assignment literally. Each line increases by one word, and then decreases likewise. Like the sights of my brief morning reflection, brief memories of one unique experience are recorded in a bubble of time.

Copyright Notice: © Carol A. Hand and carolahand, 2013-2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Carol A. Hand and carolahand with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

28 thoughts on “Counting Words in a Morning Poem – Writing 101”

    1. Such lovely, poetic comments, Raj. Thank you! I was just rereading your powerful essay, “Welcome,” and the profound messages about our need to be aware of our interdependence with our environment, the flora that help us breathe, and all others who share this small planet.

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    1. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. I wanted to take this prompt seriously, while also creating something meaningful and playful. I counted the number of words in each phrase to convey my morning observations and reflections. 🙂

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    1. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Hildegard. I wanted to try something new in response to the assignment for Writing 101 – to “count words.” Each sentence adds a word until it reaches a total of seven, and then the number decreases by one. I was fortunate to greet a morning that provided just the right inspirations.

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    1. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Indira. It was my way of responding to the ‘word count” assignment for Writing 101 today. Each sentence adds a word until the total is seven, and the following lines each decrease by one word. Figuring out how to respond to today’s assignment was the hardest part for me because some of my posts are extraordinarily long and complex, and others are very short. As I sat on my front porch to greet the morning today, watching what was happening, the words started to flow. It was just a matter of seeing how to express things in a different type of structure. I like the symmetry of both the visual appearance and the beginning and ending thoughts, but the words and images just seemed to flow once the idea of the structure came to mind.

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