Just for today look at the world through the eyes of forgiveness!

Bouquet. Tendril. Secret. An encounter with my junk drawer unearthed a buried book of Magnetic Poetry – that simple but ingenious invention—affirmed my faith in words.

My Magnetic Poetry book—a  chunky spiral bound tome—is filled with refrigerator cryptograms and provides the perfect opportunity to tell a story. Magnetic words can be used anyone—anyone big enough to reach the icebox and with enough digital dexterity to separate the tiny words from their magnetic home base.

Precocious toddlers, stooped elders and funny kids can participate. Lovers, newly-weds and the long married have equal access. Universal in its appeal, you can love it or hate it and still partake in it.

It’s Scrabble without the stress, a crossword without the clues or hangman without the noose. The object is to embrace all of poetry’s shapes—odes and lunes and tanka and tercet. Forced to create from limited resources compels us to pare down to essentials.  It requires the sentence creator to wholeheartedly do their job.

In this game the words take center stage. I have my favorites among the magnetic options.

Summer and song and secret.

Liquid and love and leave.

I love the creativity of put-together words like out-let and song-bird.

I love vivid words like summer and plums.

I love lexis that buzz and jump and make you look twice while pretending not to.

I love Haiku and tiny tales that jump off the board and send tidal waves of Oh’s to passersby.

liquid songs pronounce

morning shower so lovely

summers secret sound

Or

teach from here you said

bruised tongue staggers over his page

dark red book blossoms

Pure expression and creative endeavor—pick up a few words today—tell a miniature story.

Leave your poem below!

(original post Aug ’09)

Christine Kolenda, Laugh Yoga Instructor can be reached 914-272-7171