How Writing out Poems is Good for Your Brain

PoetScribe Week 2, a free download and an invitation

Welcome to PoetScribe Week 2

Two weeks ago I introduced an idea for an online community, a virtual writing space of sorts where we could gather around poetry with reading and scribing. I dubbed it “PoetScribe.” You can read that post here.

The whys behind this big/little idea

As a former teacher and a writer, I know the importance and power of copying down words and how doing so helps me remember, whether it’s a Scripture passage, poetry or something from my daily reading. My journals are full of just such reflections—I imagine yours are as well.

How PoetScribe Works

Writing to Remember is a thing, and there’s a wealth to be mined when we commit a poem to memory. Scribing or copying a poem is a way towards that goal. So this is your invitation.

In the weeks ahead I will feature poems (12 in all) I have either permission to share or that are found in the public domain. And, because rhythm and cadence are the best ways a brain remembers, I will only offer poems written in rhyme or meter. Free verse is a challenge all its own when it comes to memorization, but if you’re enamored with a poem you want to copy and add to your Poetry Notebook, go for it.

Last week’s poems for scribing were my sonnet, Grammar from my book, “Mining the Bright Birds-Poems of Longing for Home” and K.C. Ireton’s sonnet, October from her book “A Yellow Wood and Other Stories.”¹

All you need to participate in PoetScribe is the blank pages for copying and each week’s poem entries—simply click on the button links below. However, you’ll need to subscribe to Poetry & Made Things in order to receive new poems each week. You can subscribe by clicking the button at the end of this page.

How-To’s

TO BEGIN Scribing (copying) your poems, simply use the the template I’ve created to download and print the pages. The download includes 12 PoetScribe pages to print out with a heading on every other page, offering you blank pages for your own choice of poems or reflections. (There’s a button below to download all four poems-the first two entries and this week’s).

Ta Da! This week’s poems for copying/scribing

Accompaniment -Jody Collins

Birds, their tones both winged and bright
Harmonize from branches out of sight
Know their parts, score memorized
Flash and zoom before my eyes.

Soprano, alto, second, bass
Throaty praises from branchy place
Echo, float, reverberate
A pause, then celebrate

Mornings’ rise first slow and quiet
Against dull backdrops now a riot
Their songs reveal they know their place
Background my day, this hallowed space.

A slash of Blue Emily Dickinson

A slash of Blue --
A sweep of Gray --
Some scarlet patches on the way,
Compose an Evening Sky --
A little purple -- slipped between --
Some Ruby Trousers hurried on --
A Wave of Gold --
A Bank of Day --
This just makes out the Morning Sky.

This poem is in the public domain.

Wrapping it Up

All four poems (Weeks 1 & 2) can be downloaded using the button below.

Have fun PoetScribing and leave me a comment and tell me how the poems landed for you. What did you think of the rhyme schemes? Were the poems too long, too short or just right? I’d love to hear. And by all means, if you have a question, just hit “Reply” on this email and ask away. I’m so happy you’re making friends with poetry!

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New Readers—ICYMI

A Poem for the Garden

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P.S. This letter is free for you to read, but it took time (and at least one cup of coffee) to write. If you’d like to support my work ((and believe in the power of poetry to speak to our souls)), please leave a comment or share with a friend.

P.P.S. If you encounter any glitches on the downloads, please let me know.

Oh, and you can also upgrade to a PAID subscription or leave me a tip. Should you do so, I offer my humble thanks. Last Button, promise.

1. HERE ARE LINKS to purchase “Mining the Bright Birds” and K.C.’s book “A Yellow Wood & Other Stories”