Interview by Matt Forrest

BULLETIN: I’m pleased to appear today on Matt Forrest’s blog. Here’s the link. http://mattforrest.wordpress.com . Many thanks, Matt. It’s a pleasure.

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I promised an example of working a chain of words into a poem in verse. Here it is, beginning with the list:

drop
drip
rip
lip
slip
sip

Here’s the poem that doesn’t rhyme.

The drop hangs
from the kid’s nose
like the lip of a faucet,
glistening wet, unable
to slip off and fall.
I yearn to grab a rag
and rip it off! Instead
I sip my drink and stare,
wishing that drop would drip!

And here’s one that does.

I’m minding my business
Sipping ice tea
When I hear a loud sniff
From a kid about three.

A drop is just hanging
From the tip of his nose
Like the lip of a faucet,
Like dew on a rose.

Glistening wetly
High on his lip,
It’s wanting to fall
But unable to slip.

I look for a tissue
To rip it away,
It’s driving me crazy,
It’s ruining my day.

I reach for my beverage
And slurp a loud sip,
I can’t stand the pressure.
That drop just won’t drip!

Making a poem from a word chain

Hi everyone,

Here’s how I put Tim Rasinski’s approach to work. I chose a word and, by changing one letter at a time, created a short list. Like this.

fox
fog
dog
log
low
now

Tim would have kept changing until he wound up back at the original word but I didn’t go that far.

The poem uses each word in the ladder. I chose free verse but you might prefer to go with rhyme.

Something about a fox
makes a dog run,
howl like a spirit on the wind,
till dusk deepens
and the fox by now
has vanished into gray fog,
resting comfortably,
lying low behind a log.