Ingredients:
* Words, freshly laid in your heart’s hearing
ensure they’re free range
not stopped by the glottal of mundane life
* Freshly squeezed passion
* An abundance of ideas
* Emotions – a pint or two
* Sprinkling of commas
* Teaspoon of full stops
* Time measureless
* One Laptop or PC
* Notepad and pen
Preparation:
Close the door,
switch off the mobile
and yesterday’s unfinished tasks
remove the mask of doing, doer
sit carefully and comfortably
undisturbed
fresh tea, coffee, a glass of wine to hand.
Caution: keep the critic out of The Poet’s Kitchen.
Instructions:
Pour ideas into your creative bowl.
Crack open the words and stir gently.
Pour in emotions engaged in memories.
Add a smidgen of colourful vocabulary
tho this isn’t always necessary.
Mix, taste, adjust.
Leave to stand.
Sip tea,
Stand, stretch, have a pee!
Dream and drift,
As you sift
these first stirrings.
Go walkabout!
Listen to the cat purr; count raindrops,
Ponder, reflect but remember,
you can’t cook a poem like an egg.
Let it simmer in the slow heat
of your unconscious mind.
Return.
Sieve cold commas, fruity full stops,
exuberant exclamation marks, one or two will do.
Read.
Now carefully lay your mixture on to your laptop or PC.
Set at one and half line spacing.
It is now in need of some correction
stirred by your laid back reflection;
type, delete,
ignore being neat.
It is now in need of more correction,
stirred by your critic’s interjection;
type, delete, try being neat.
Use butter greased verse cutters,
Stifle the critic’s mutters.
Save.
Turn down the flame of your inspiration.
Hungrily print out,
Smothering the doubt
that your poem is half baked.
Read.
Nod sagely, sip dregs of wine.
Relax.
You know you’ve cooked your poem.
Serve with no garnish, just as it is.
Louise Taylor © You Can’t Cook a Poem Like an Egg !
Louise – and Iona Jette’s – first collection of performance poetry and blogs about creativity, business and poetry. Available on www.amazon.co.uk.