Weaver's Knot by Glenda Bailey-Mershon

Glenda Bailey-Mershon

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5 comments on My Attempt at Prose Poem and Telling You

My Attempt at Prose Poem and Telling You

Okay, here’s my attempt at using Jane’s poem as a model. Notice that although it doesn’t have the same subject, it uses her methods:

Begins with “Let me tell you”;

Follows with brief statements of “fact” or informed opinion;

Uses metaphors in the midsection (mountains, trapdoors, monsters, fangs)

Ends with more statements of “fact” or informed opinion.

Here’s my poem:

Don’t Give in to the Pain!

I’ve taken this down so that I can submit it to journals. Thanks for reading!

bm1703

–Glenda Bailey-Mershon

I’m glad to have written this.

People who don’t know chronic pain often say meaningless things to me, words of advice that do not apply. It’s complicated to try to reply with good manners. A poem doesn’t care if you’re polite or not!

What do you think? Please leave me a comment below, don’t forget to like the post, and even use the social media buttons to share if you like.

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Glenda Bailey-Mershon

Glenda Bailey-Mershon is the author of the novel Eve’s Garden (Twisted Road, 2014), the story of three generations of Romani women surviving in North Georgia, USA, during the 1960s. She is also the author of Weaver’s Knot: Poems (Finishing Line Press, forthcoming 2023) and other poetry titles, including sa-co-ni-ge/blue smoke: poems from the Southern Appalachians (Jane’s Stories) and Bird Talk: Poems (Wild Dove). A founder of the nonprofit, Jane’s Stories Press Foundarion, which presents the Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature, she edited four of their anthologies, the latest being Bridges and Borders, featuring immigrant women writers.

5 responses to “My Attempt at Prose Poem and Telling You”

  1. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    I think you nailed it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Glenda Bailey-Mershon Avatar
    Glenda Bailey-Mershon

    Really? Not sure about some of the images, but I hope it conveys something about chronic pain!

    Like

    Reply
  3. Storyteller Avatar
    Storyteller

    Yes I hear you. My pain journey dissipated several years ago now but I am left with a disability. There really are no words to say when someone has chronic pain. I was always in a haze of pain. It felt like I was trying to listen through a thick furnace of heat. For me just acknowledging me as a person but not expecting too much conversation was appreciated.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Glenda Bailey-Mershon Avatar
      Glenda Bailey-Mershon

      Storyteller, I hear you, too. Sometimes it just helps if someone sympathizes, but I really hate when people tell me what to do after hearing only a little of my complex issues. I know it flows from their wish for us to feel better, so I try to be polite, but inside I’m screaming, “Cutting nightshades out of my diet will not solve my problem! “ I do have to make myself do things that I know will make me feel better but cause me pain on the way, like exercise, driving a long way for treatments, finding the funds for massage, etc. I’m so glad your pain is better, and I completely understand about listening through a haze. I wish you many pain-free days.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Storyteller Avatar
        Storyteller

        So sorry you are walking through this journey.

        Like

        Reply

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