Laura is the host for the d’Verse MTB: Last Year’s First Eleven. She asks us to write a poem using the first lines from our poems written last year. Please see the rules and instructions below:

Poem Style:
• write a ‘Found’ poem from your own Jan-November 2023 poems
• write it as an 11 line list/catalog poem
OR
an 11 line verse poem (with or without stanzas)

Poem Structure:
• choose from one poem per month
• select ONLY the first line of the very first verse of your chosen poems
• select your title from the 12th month or any of the previous months’ first lines
• if you’ve posted less than one poem per month for Jan-Nov 2023 then choose a month where there is more than one to make up the 11

Poem Rules:
• your 11 lines can be written in any date order
• you must keep the original word order
• you may only change the tense or personal pronouns
• you may add a conjunction or a preposition for continuity 
• minor erasure at start or end of the original line is allowed
• enjambment can be helpful

Suggestion: include links to your original 2023 poems in a separate column or paragraph

I found the challenge of selecting eleven first lines from each month of my last year’s poems fun.
There was a lot to choose from. I didn’t know I’d written so many poems!
(Goes to prove that should you lay one brick a day, by the end of a year, you can build a massive wall.)

The process of selecting the first line, collating it, and trying to make it make some poetic sense is like stitching together a patchwork quilt. I hope you enjoy my found poem WALKING IN THE RAIN.

Walking in the rain   

The storm that raged the night before 
In the gaping craw of the tempest’s roar
Pink skies at sunset, golden sea below 
A little bird swings
Under the weeping willow 

There was a fine young Lady from Spain,
Moon bathing in the half light of mezza luna. My thoughts mull over why 
There is a crack in the window 
The mirror is a dark mysterious place 

I go for a walk down a country lane 
The rain falls upon my upturned face 


Lesley Scoble, January 2024

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Index

Index of first lines and post links

Title: Walking in the rain             
https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/02/22/walking-in-the-rain-a-quadrille-poem/

The storm that raged the night before https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/11/30/the-storm-that-raged-the-night-before-a-free-verse-poem/

In the gaping craw of the tempest’s roar https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/09/29/maelstrom-an-octave-poem/

Pink skies at sunset, golden sea below,  https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/01/22/can-ai-write-shakespeare-i-ask-artificial-intelligence-to-write-me-a-sonnet/

A little bird swings   https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/02/19/bird-on-the-wire-a-puente-poem/

Under the weeping willow  https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/10/31/under-the-weeping-willow-a-quadrille-poem/

There was a fine young Lady from Spain,  https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/04/07/there-was-a-young-lady-from-spain-a-limerick/

Moon bathing in the half light of mezza luna. My thoughts mull over why    https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/03/02/mezza-luna-a-haibun-poem/

There is a crack in the window   https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/08/28/at-the-crack-of-dawn-a-poem-after-leonard-cohen/

The mirror is a dark mysterious place  https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/05/17/the-silvered-realm

I go for a walk down a country lane    https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/06/16/the-small-spider-a-curious-poetic-observance-for-30dayswild/

The rain falls upon my upturned face  https://lesleyscoble.com/2023/07/14/petrichor-a-fragrant-poem/

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Thank you, Laura, for your interesting (sometimes vexing!) fun challenge for the d’Verse MTB: Last Year’s First Eleven. I’m sorry to miss the deadline. I am very grateful for the inspiration and hope to get to read as many of the other poems that I can. 🙏

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Lesley lives in the City of London Square Mile. An artist, actor and sculptor (her first ceramic sculpture won the V&A inspired by… Award). Scenic artist & book illustrator, playwright, (her musical play, Rapscallion performed in inner city schools and theatre school); TV dancer; Animator and illustrator for TV production. Set up Pinecone Studios Ltd and IIMSI Ltd drama and filmmaking workshops in London – producing award-winning films made by children.