Dragon breath
Alison Chisholm explores a poem that draws together a combination of ideas to create an original work
Alison Chisholm
POETRY WORKSHOP
Poets are always seeking out new ways to tune in to a genuinely original poem – a task that becomes ever more difficult with time, as countless additional pieces join the world’s stock of poetry. One device to help with this task is to link two or more separate strands of thought together. It is likely that a poem rooted in any single idea will have been written about many times before. A poem rooted in a combination of ideas has a far better chance of being unique. The linking elements may have a logical connection between them, or may seem unconnected. The more surprising the link, the less likely it is to have been duplicated.
Bringing ideas together worked well for reader Chloe Gilholy of Banbury, Oxfordshire, in her tea-based poem. Or should that be dragon-based?
Oolong Tea
I sit in a wooden chair
Fiddling with the corners
Of a turning book
The book is called
The eyes of a dragon
Complex characters