Here’s an idea to get you started on writing a new poem.
For Writing Assignment #24, we will select a song,  look at the lyrics, and use our selected lyrics to inspire a new poem.

Choose one or two lines from that song as inspiration for your poem today.
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Step 1: choose your song. Pick a  song  you love, or one you don’t like at all. What you choose will give you direction to where you want to go with your poem.

Example: I chose “Waltz Across Texas”  by Ernest Tubb. I’ll give you my personal “back story” to this song if you’d like to know why I like it so much.
I like this old country song because I used to dance to it with my husband. We love traditional country music and dancing together is something we still do after 54 years of marriage.  This song also brings back memories of dancing with my husband in Texas, at Gilly’s, in 1980.  We flew into Houston over the July 4th weekend to attend the big party at Gilly’s. The air was so hot it took your breath away as we got off the plane.  We rented a car and drove across Texas for a week. I took photos along the way, and later when we were back in PA, I used my photos to create paintings of the Texas landscapes.

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Step 2: Select one or two lines from the song as a place to begin your poem.

Example: I chose to use the first two lines of “Waltz Across Texas” and I wanted to use it to write a poem about riding my motorcycle. In the poem, I am riding the motorcycle and it is a cold day. I am riding with a group of other women riders.
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The first two lines of the song are:

“When we dance together, my world’s in disguise.”

“It’s a bizarre fairyland tale…” Ernest Tubb

Step 3: Choose the format you will use for the poem.

Example: I chose the Pantoum format because the repeating lines can give the poem some speed and energy by use of repeating lines.  The repeating lines move the poem right along – on down the highway, in this case.

Note: For directions to writing the Pantoum form click onto my article at this link:

http://lyndalambert.com/you-can-write-a-pantoum/

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“When We Dance Together”

When we dance together, my world’s in disguise

Concealed behind black leather jackets

Dense fringes snap in the wind

We spiral downward – a bizarre fairyland tale.

Concealed behind black leather jackets

I hunker down against the brisk mountain air

We spiral downward – a bizarre fairyland tale

Wild rock-n-roll women in masquerade.

I hunker down against the brisk mountain air

The throbbing steel tank between my legs

Wild rock-n-roll women in masquerade

Neon surges through our veins.

The throbbing steel tank between my legs

With the rumble of Cobra Drags

Neon surges through our veins.

Lean into the slant wind that blows us around.

With the rumble of Cobra Drags

We ride side by side, with stars in our eyes

Lean into the slant wind that blows us around.

I raise the fist of my icy cold left hand

We ride side by side, with stars in our eyes,

On the rough pavement of the dance floor

I raise the fist of my icy cold left hand

Reach out to catch the storm.

On the rough pavement of the dance floor

Laughing with the painful gusts of rain

Reach out to catch the storm

Dancing together in disguise.

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Note: This poem is a Pantoum form.

Lynda McKinney Lambert. Copyright, 2013. All Rights Reserved.

This poem has been Published:*

Wordgathering Literary Magazine, Sept.  Issue, 2013.

Special THANKS to Wordgathering Literary Magazine for publishing my poem.

Copyright, 2013 and 2015. Lynda McKinney Lambert. All rights reserved.