And now for today’s (optional) prompt! Kate Greenstreet’s poetry is spare, but gives a very palpable sense of being spoken aloud – it reads like spoken language sounds. In our interview with her, she underscores this, stating that “when you hear it, you write it down.” Today, we challenge you to honor this idea with a poem based in sound. The poem, for example, could incorporate overheard language. Perhaps it could incorporate a song lyric in some way, or language from something often heard spoken aloud (a prayer, a pledge, the Girl Scout motto). Or you could use a regional or local phrase from your hometown that you don’t hear elsewhere, e.g. “that boy won’t amount to a pinch.”
I decided to use a phrase “Wish I could change this moment, to another time and place” from one of my favourite songs titled “ Love will never lie”. You can check the lyrics here and listen to the song here.
Poem: Wish I could change this moment
Wish I could change this moment
To another time and place
The moment when I was a child
Oblivious of materialistic race
Wish I could change this moment
To another time and place
When all I could do was laugh
Without fear of judgment or disgrace
Wish I could change this moment
To another time and place
Where I was free of all restraints
And I dreamt of touching the space
Wish I could change this moment
To another time and place
Where friends and play was lifeline
Distress and woes were displaced
Wish I could change this moment
To another time and place
Where onus and faults were aliens
And innocence was the virtue embraced
©Vandana Bhasin
