The prompt for the day takes it cue from poet Dan Brady’s suggestion that erasure/word banks can allow for compelling repetitive effects. Today we challenge you to write a paragraph that briefly recounts a story, describes the scene outside your window, or even gives directions from your house to the grocery store. Now try erasing words from this paragraph to create a poem or, alternatively, use the words of your paragraph to build a new poem.

For the prompt, my erasure poem is  based on the below story I’ve written. The words in red form the poem. Learnt a new type of poetry today and found it both interesting and challenging.

30 years is a long time, In these years, they did not speak or see each other. Especially since they were branches of the same tree. 30 years is a long time. After all, it’s half a life-span. Hurt and disheartened by her callous behavior, he had walked away. His anger he had buried. It had simmered over time but he had not had an opportunity to vent it. 30 years is a long time. New people had come into the family. His children had been married and now he had grandchildren.  Some people had gone. He had lost his wife a few years ago. She knew nothing. She had not bothered to call. But over time the pain sublimes. It leaves a vacuum and there are no scars left to show. 30 years is a long time to hold a grudge, to not forgive. One day, she called and invited him to come over and stay with her, as she was alone . It seemed difficult to return. But sometime you must forgive a mistake not because the mistake was forgivable but for your own peace. He couldn’t turn back time and he could not forget the past. But he decided to go back. Once they had shared the same house, once they had shared secrets, once they had shared a room. 30 years is a long time. 

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Erasure Poem

30 years    a long time,                                       not speak or see            .                                          branches of the same tree. 30 years      long time.                                           half a life-span.

                                                                                                                                                anger            buried.                                             not                                                                             vent . 30 years a long time.                             people     come .                                                                    and                                                                        people  go  .                                                                                                                                                                                                   pain sublimes. leaves a vacuum                                no scars left to show. 30 years    a long time                                                                                          to                                                                                                                                                                        turn                                                                                                                                                                    your                                                back                       not .                                                                               to go back.  30 years  a long time 

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Thirty years-

A long time,

Not to speak or see

Branches of the same tree…

 

Thirty years-

A long time…

Half a life span spent, 

Anger buried, not vent …

 

Thirty years-

A long time…

People come and people go…

Pain sublimes, a vacuum leaves, no scars left to show.

 

Thirty years-

A long time… 

To turn your back

and not go back

 

Thirty years-

A long time… 

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