Poetry Workshop

Virginia Walker ran an interesting Poetry Workshop as a Participant Session. She let us randomly select from a pile of newspaper clippings she had brought. Then we were supposed to think of what images the story evoked in us, for possible future use in a poem.

She believes that Imagery is the essential thing in poetry.

I drew a story about the Eminent Domain controversy, and how Democrats, who position themselves as fighting for the little guy, were at first in favor of taking away the little guy's house to build a mall, but then guardedly starting saying it was a problem that needed to be studied. I thought of a castle or a house crumbling to its foundations. Then, after a bit of fumbling, I wrote this:

They blustered and blew
And the Pig's house fell down.
He cried "What can I do?
The wolves run the town!"

The wolves said: "Stay cool.
You don't have to holler.
We'll look at that rule.
Oh. And here's your five dollars."