Writing Process ... and Time

A while ago I happened upon Magpie Tales, a  weekly writing exercise organized and guided by a writer named Tess Kincaid. Her blog, Life at Willow Manor,  has become somewhat of a muse for me. There is a constant outpouring of writing and photography at The Manor and I find it all very intriguing. Tess's weekly Magpie Tales writing share is a fun place to play with words. That being said, I must say that when I write poetry, I write s-l-o-w-l-y. I revisit pieces that I’ve begun over and over searching for just the right word or turn of phrase or ... oh, I don’t know. A piece has to feel right after a complete 'read through',  before I can leave it alone and consider it complete. Take the piece below. I have worked on "Miss Spent Youth" for a couple months. It came from looking at and thinking about the photo prompt of Andy shopping for his infamous soup cans, but it made me associate with a young woman caught up in the scene at The Factory … a confused and self-destructive young woman. There were more than a few that hooked themselves up with that wild crowd – Edie Sedgewick comes to mind. That free association became the impetus for "Miss Spent Youth". Perhaps I’ll work on it some more, but right now, it feels okay to me.

                                                                                                                                          Photo Credit – Bob Adelman 1965

Miss Spent Youth

It was all so red and white

The lines were razor straight
Just like Warhol
And soon the edges blurred

Garbled voices like supermarket banter

The sound system crackling and music
Somewhere in the mix
The Factory rumbled on at breakneck

Afterward I railed and writhed

Staring back at a party gone wrong
Borne away … a sad comment
On avant angst and avarice