My Love Poem to My Vermont Friends

Every Monday morning on my blog, I post a writing exercise for my writing community. One of my favorite prompts is to assign a "list poem," asking readers to describe a place, a person, a memory. I encourage them to use not just visual descriptions, but sounds and smells and tastes. Often, I try to give my own example to show how fun and easy it is, and to illustrate just what I mean by a "list".  I wrote the following after spending a special evening with a group of dear, loving friends in Hartland, Vermont. I think of it as a love poem to them, as well as a thank you, for embracing us and making us feel welcome in this community.

Photo courtesy of Katy Sawyer

Snapshot

a table spread with warm dishes
from 7 different homes
piles of boots and shoes by the door
6 guitars
2 ukeleles
song books scattered across the coffee table
a plate of pumpkin whoopie pies and cake balls
balanced on a copy of Rise Up Singing
there is a carefully-guarded glass of pomegranate cosmos under the chair
and someone is sipping whiskey from a coffee mug
a glass of wine keeps the cosmos company
and all over, there are scattered juice boxes left half full
by the herd of children that runs upstairs
downstairs
upstairs
downstairs
there is singing off key
on key
off key
the children stop to dance
and sometimes sing
then off they go back upstairs
downstairs
they sneak a cake ball from the table
upstairs
downstairs
and a hug from a parent
heads gather around an iPad screen
searching for songs on YouTube
or is that Angry Birds they're playing?
someone doesn't admit she still isn't sure what that is
we date ourselves with songs from the 80's
there might have been Guns N Roses
and Neil Diamond? No, not possible
but there is laughter
and the warmth from a wood stove
and from the arm of a friend slung tight around a shoulder
there is music loud
and music quiet
a boy gets brave and sings his favorite song to loving ears
there are hugs good-bye
and promises for another gathering
soon
there's an open door
and black sky
and spits of white
and jokes that it can't be what we know it is
there is a quiet drive home
and talks of how nice it is
to have such dear friends

~*~*~*~*~

I hope you'll try capturing your own moment with a list or two. This is a fun exercise to try in writing groups, and in the classroom. Enjoy!

Jo Knowles