Welcome to the new FWE - Using your 5 senses in poetry

First things first.

My shoes are pretty small.

 

 

And as for the previous FWE Editor  --  Guy W.   --  He has wings. And he soars.

No one will ever be able to do a Friday Writing Essential as beautifully as Guy did.

 

 

 

 

 

I want to continue the FWE by using our five senses in poetry.

As we mozy along on the highway of life, we take our senses for granted.

We listen to our iPod; we watch seasons pass before our eyes.

 

 

But. . .

. . . we rarely notice subtle environmental music around us or subtle changes in the seasons. Touch and scent, we notice more. Taste, of course.

I'd love it if y'all  noticed your environment each day, in terms of your five senses. Interact with your environment.

Scrape off a piece of bark. Touch it, sniff it.

Listen for the quietest sounds.

We forget how a cool, crisp cotton sheet feels next to our skin --- how a thick terry towel catches our dripping locks after a shower –- or how a plush velour robe feels when we curl up by the fireplace with a mug of mulled cider, a slice of pumpkin pie, or a juicy orange section.

The FWE

FWE - Using Your 5 Senses in Poetry

You can write poetry,  prosetry or a prose poem, blank  or free verse,  slam poetry, or a known poetic form. (Let me know what form you are using.)

I'm sticking to poetry rather than opening it up to prose (except for prose poems), because poetry teaches us something about writing that's applicable to all writing: We learn to write condensed imagery, metaphor and rhythm.

Prompt: For the first week, write about a 'scent memory.'

Scent is the most enduring sense we have.  It embeds itself in our brains deeper than other senses. Scent becomes associated with memory easily.

Scent memories such as holiday cooking, Mother's perfume, father's after shave,  the smell of a wet puppy or a freshly bathed baby, the scent and taste of a lover's kiss, the scent of the room after your lover left.

You might have scented soaps and lotions, body butter or scented room candles.

I have black cherry and orange body butters, various scented cremes, cologne, lotions and 10 scented room candles. I must have scent around me at all times. Taste and touch, around me at all times, too.

You can use the other senses, but make   'Scent Memory' the centerpiece.

Write agony into your poem.  Don't   'say you hurt';  'show your hurt.'

I want to add: you don't have to actually have AGONY; any intense feeling will do. Just don't be syrupy sweet if you are writing about something positive.

JustMe wrote a beautiful poem about a positive emotion, and used 'the smell of the sizzle before the thunderstorm'  - a vibrant, intense scent memory.

Sizzle FWE - Scent Memory

I just don't want things like "my puppy is so cute."

I'd much rather see a poem that describes a scent memory associated with some kind of conflict, disturbance, loss or sadness than one that only talks about happiness.

Why?

A  poem about  'how happy Mother was with her new rose-scented cologne'  -- doesn't say much.

But a poem about  'how happy Mother was with her new rose-scented perfume until she discovered Father had to sell his only watch to buy  it'   --   says more.

(Story line altered from O. Henri's The Gift of the Magi. If you haven't read this short story, read it. You can read about it  HERE.)

Here project Gutenberg Gift of the Magi

free download

Make it subtle, make it real. Make me ache. Memories associated with deep emotion are memories we remember forever.

Deadline: (GMT-5) Thursday midnight, ET.

A little tough for those on PT, I realize, or for those on Alaska time. Or for those on International Time.

Put FWE and Scent Memory in your title and tag.

It is important to use both the FWE and the 'Scent Memory' tag in your title and in the tags. I will use 'Scent Memory' as the search term.

FWE - Scent Memory and post it to the  Gather Writing Essentials.