Going my own runaway way
hailed like a returning hero
yet I will not beg to differ.
You see me frozen as in flesh
still, until the glacier - imperceptible
creature of myth, awe and danger.

We broke some bottles, rules and pentagrams
up on the Western rise
so what invoked this sudden ardour?
After all, you did not even stay
to watch those visuals in verse.

37 thoughts on “Swift surreptitious sweeps”

1. How perfectly consistent… I am in awe. If you had written this as a poem I would not have guessed that it was all gathered material. Brilliant

   1. many thanks for your encouraging words especially as some months there was not a lot to choose from –

2. I enjoyed your swift surreptitious sweeps, Laura, in which you show us how to do it! The frozen flesh and glacier are a perfect fit, and I love the final stanza.

   1. thank you Kim – the title personifies this prompt style!

3. I agree this is incredibly exquisite, Laura! I love how the lines taken from different poems feel as though they were meant to be written into one poem! 😍😍

   1. thank you Sanaa – it amazes me that any lines can come together after their original dispersals

4. I love that your own lines re-arranged like this create such an impactful poem, with such a strong voice.

   1. thank you for hearing as well as reading!

5. This came together so well. I read it as an expression of how we see ourselves in argument with how we are seen.

   1. wow Maria – I had not even imagined such context – thank you

6. Myth awe and danger–the stuff of life, the stuff of your poem(s). (K)

   1. I love that! – many thanks Kerfe

7. Oh my, an intricate poem from eleven sources that result in a brand new perfectly formed poem! Thank you for this prompt Laura. It certainly is producing amazing poetry!

   1. I appreciate that, and yes its been an eye opener as to how many have joined in with this prompt and ‘found’ real poetry in their selections – you included!

8. Your lines make an interesting story. The go together very well. The contrast at the beginning really sets the tone.

   1. many thanks Dwight – the opening sets up some contradiction and makes allowance for our ‘found’ poetry

      1. It works very well!

9. The more of these poems I read the more I love this exercise.
   Great poem and thanks for this awesome prompt, Laura!
   And since I only joined the community later last year, I’m now curious to read the other poems I had missed. Such powerful first lines!

   1. thank you Jan
      p.s. happy you found us halfway in to 2023 and joined in with this prompt – your poem worked so well

10. This works so amazingly well. Given the narrative cohesion, I would not have guessed found poetry without knowing the prompt. Bravo.

    1. many thanks for such encouraging feedback

11. Love the second stanza

    1. Thank you 🙏

12. Like Bjorn, I read this as a complete poem in itself. The lines work so well together, one would not think it emerged from an exercise. Wow.

    1. I appreciate your appreciation Sherry

13. Laura this does not read like a ‘patched’ poem, it flows beautifully ❤️

    1. Many thanks for that feedback

14. Interesting the way these pieces fall together Laura…

    1. indeed Rob!

15. This flows so very well! Reading it, I would never guess it’s a “found” poem!

    1. Thank you Lillian

16. agree with Bjorn that this looks like a poem you wrote for itself, and not wove together with lines from all over.. and those last three lines – beautiful..

    1. thank you for your encouraging words

17. Laura,

    The juxtaposition of elements like swift sweeps, frozen stillness, breaking rules, and the allure of visuals in verse creates a compelling narrative!

    ~David

    1. thank you David for enjoying this mix of narrative

18. I love this Laura, it flows beautifully.

    1. many thanks Paul – the flow is most of the challenge!

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