Robert Lee Brewer has some favorite prompts he uses for the PAD challenge. One of them is the BLANK prompt. Robert gives a word and the filler BLANK with it. As poets we are supposed to use it as the title of the poem. This poem was written for the prompt, New (Blank).
“New Hands”
I wish I had new hands.
These do not write great poetry
or handle precious things properly.
–
My hands are callous and scarred
from traveling too far
from other hands
that only wanted
to know
I would never let them go.
–
These hands have broken
bread with no intention
of keeping
the promises set
at a table
I was invited to
but no longer
have a seat at.
–
I wish I had new hands.
These ache
with the weight
of carrying
the expectation
of caring
for a family tree
I’ve never enjoyed
the shade of.
I planted my own sapling
in soil I created
by breaking the stones
that held generational sins.
–
I wish I had new hands.
These are pale
from years spent in darkness,
fighting against the scales
Fate used in measuring
my worth.
No matter what I paid,
what dreams I placed
on the plate,
it never balanced
my life’s fulcrum
because Fate
kept its thumb
on the plot
I thought I was writing.
–
I wish I had new hands.
These are failing
in doing the work
of living a life
worth holding on to.
Poetic Form: Spoken Word
I sat with the idea for this poem for a while because of doubt. I am not sure what triggered the idea of having new hands, might have been just noticing my hand as I drank my coffee, but I was unsure of the idea. The idea of replacing my hands simply seemed unrealistic.
The line, “I wish I had new hands” just kept running through my head. I considered some poetic forms that use a refrain for the idea. Poetic forms like the quatern, the dansa, and the kyrielle. But as I wrote down a few lines, the forms didn’t feel right.
I actually tried to come up with some new ideas for the prompt, like “A New Day”, “New Words”, and some other ideas written on a post-it note. But I couldn’t shake the idea of new hands. I couldn’t shake the doubt either.
In fact you can read the doubt in the first stanza.
I’ve learned over the years to trust the muse more than doubt. It is hard, but once I take the first steps into the idea my creativity takes the wheel. Besides a few edits, this poem is as it was written on the yellow legal pad I used for writing during the PAD challenge. I wanted to write in longhand for each first draft during the challenge.
I also stayed with the more negative idea of why I needed new hands. But kept the idea of a refrain to start each section that dealt with the reason for why my hands were falling. I also focused on how the poem sounded as if I was at a poetry slam. That is why there is inconsistent rhyming, alliterations, and different line breaks. I do hope to use this poem in a poetry slam this summer.
The writing of “New Hands” highlights the battle I face sometimes between doubt and the idea the muse gives to me.
Please feel free to share how you deal with doubt in the comment section.
It is all Connected 