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March Madness Winds Down

4/11/2014

16 Comments

 
I had a terrific time doing March Madness this year and I'd like to again express my thanks to Ed DeCaria of Think Kid Think for hosting the contest every year and for putting an amazing amount of work into it on top of his day job. I'd also like to express my thanks to everyone who was behind me, supporting me, and voting for me. I felt it and it felt wonderful! I went into it with a whole lot of trepidation because I don't normally perform well under pressure. But even though I was sleep deprived, drinking copious quantities of green tea to help me stay up all night. writing double dactyls that really missed the mark, somehow, some way, I got it together enough to continue for five rounds. I can't ever remember feeling so inspired!

In the fourth round, my word was "imperceptible." I spent quite a while making lists of things that were imperceptible, such as an imperceptible glance between two high-schoolers that have begun to like each other (and I actually did write a poem using this idea.) Or, a grandfather pointing out to his granddaughter the imperceptible beginnings of spring.  I did not use this idea but in the fifth round, I think the seeds had been planted,  because I wrote my villanelle about the celebration of spring time.  Nothing is ever wasted.  Nothing is ever lost.

With these thoughts swirling in my head, I went to bed, and when I woke up the next day (I wouldn't say it was morning), I realized I wanted to write a pantoum. I had recently been experimenting with pantoums but had never managed to complete one in just four stanzas. That would be my challenge and here's the pantoum I came up with for round four:

Behind the Dancing Rain: A Pantoum

Lying in bed on nights when it storms,
I dream of a world past my window pane:
imperceptible movements, mysterious forms,
masked by the dance of the thunder-clapped rain.

I dream of a world past my window pane--
the gnarled fingers of troll-like trees.
Masked by the dance of the thunder-clapped rain,
owls hoo-hoo in the gusty breeze.

The gnarled fingers of troll-like trees
tap the walls of my hapless house.
Owls hoo-hoo in the gusty breeze.
In a sodden field sleeps a quiet mouse.

Tapping the walls of my hapless house,
imperceptible movements, mysterious forms.
In a sodden field sleeps a quiet mouse
in its own hidden bed on nights when it storms.




All Rights Reserved  2014  B.J. Lee

I'd also like to do a how-to on the pantoum similar to the one I did on the villanelle simply because I love forms!
16 Comments
Violet N. link
4/11/2014 02:11:33 pm

Congratulations on your fine showing, B.J.! The pressure seemed to bring out a special spark in you. Well done.

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B.J. Lee
4/11/2014 11:27:52 pm

Thanks Violet! It makes me feel good that people were watching!

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Tabatha
4/11/2014 06:45:52 pm

You really rose to the occasion, B.J.!

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B.J. Lee
4/11/2014 11:28:18 pm

Thanks Tabatha!

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Rosi link
4/12/2014 12:06:03 pm

I really like your pantoum. It is lovely. I only wrote my first pantoum recently, but I do like the form. Thanks for sharing this one.

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B.J. Lee
4/12/2014 02:10:50 pm

Thank you, Rosi! And thanks for stopping by! Pantoums are hard! Keep on trying. It gets easier!

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Jeannine Atkins link
4/13/2014 02:55:01 am

Forms, time constraints, eyes on you -- all of it seems to bring out the best in you. I'm in awe. Wonderful pantoum!

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B.J. Lee
4/13/2014 03:14:28 am

Thank you, Jeannine! What a nice comment! I'm glad you liked the pantoum!

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Patricia Cruzan link
4/13/2014 07:22:54 am

The pantoum is an interesting form. I can't remember if I'd tried the form before or not. Thanks for sharing your poem. It's lovely.

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B.J. Lee
4/13/2014 08:04:50 am

Hi Patricia! Do they call you Pat or Patty? Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you liked the pantoum. It is a very interesting form with an interesting history as well. If you do write another pantoum, I'd be delighted if you'd share it with me!

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Michelle Heidenrich Barnes link
4/13/2014 07:34:10 am

Now that you've got this experience under your belt, I bet it's good to know that you DO come through under pressure-- BIGTIME. I look forward to your pantoum how-to, BJ. You're pretty much my forms guru.

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B.J. Lee
4/13/2014 08:07:56 am

Hi Michelle! Yes, I surprised myself, frankly. Usually I fall apart under such circumstances. My carpel tunnel (or some kind of overused syndrome) has sprung up in my hands after that last round of non-stop typing for days, but that's only to be expected. I like writing the form how-to's and I DO plan to do one on the pantoum, not sure when. Thanks for your compliments, Michelle! You're the best!

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Mary Lee Hahn link
4/13/2014 08:46:33 am

Congratulations on getting as far as you did! I had the same experience both times I participated -- the energy of the event brought out some of the best poems I've ever written.

Your pantoum was one of my favorite poems in the whole competition.

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B.J. Lee
4/13/2014 12:34:31 pm

Thank you, Mary Lee. I could not have gone any farther. My carpel tunnel (or whatever kind of overuse syndrome I have) started acting up- not so much from the poem writing but from the networking. I have networked like I've never networked before! :) That's amazing about writing some of your best poems during MM. I think some of mine may fall into the same category. I felt strangely exhausted yet exhilarated! Thank you for the compliment on my pantoum That one means a lot to me!

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Laura Shovan @AuthorAmok link
4/22/2014 11:02:30 am

Hi, BJ! I'm so happy to find your poem on the night of our first spring thunderstorm in Maryland. The last two lines are the perfect balance of storm and silence.

Reply
B.J. Lee
4/22/2014 12:41:31 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Laura! Serendipity, I guess! :)

Reply



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    B. J. Lee is a children’s author and poet. Her picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, is launching with Pelican Publishing on February 15, 2019. She has poems in 25 poetry anthologies published by  Little, Brown, Wordsong, BloomsburyUK, National Geographic, Otter-Barry Books, Pomelo Books, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has worked with anthologists Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt. She has written poems for such children’s magazines as Spider, Highlights and The School Magazine. Follow her on Twitter @bjlee_writer.

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