Silent Poem
backroad leafmold stonewall chipmunk
underbrush grapevine woodchuck shadblow
woodsmoke cowbarn honeysuckle woodpile
sawhorse bucksaw outhouse wellsweep
backdoor flagstone bulkhead buttermilk
candlestick ragrug firedog brownbread
hilltop outcrop cowbell buttercup
whetstone thunderstorm pitchfork steeplebush
gristmill millstone cornmeal waterwheel
watercress buckwheat firefly jewelweed
gravestone groundpine windbreak bedrock
weathercock snowfall starlight cockcrow
Ack! I love this, for speaking to my “splaytable” and “jammedthroat.”
Willie taught this poem at VONA as an example of a form called the “collage poem.” I love it because Francis stuck so hard to the parameters he set up in the poem and thus we get “wellsweep”. ;-)
This was the form I used for my Orchard Beach collage poem.