Poem of the Week: 11.17.22

"Lately" by Ricky Novaes de Oliveira

Lately

by Ricky Novaes de Oliveira

I Popeye the spinach the hangover
I sauté my scalp, shampoo & lime
I mean-mug imaginary enemies in the mirror
I tan lines / I line tanned
I horchata my cholesterol / I cheat a day
I quit the rumors 
I lie a life
I 10:00 AM the drive-thru
I job the search
I lifestyle the reinvention
I couch a day / I problem the fix
I any time the no parking 
I grandfather the crosswalk
I crossword the answer
I wish the sweets 
I growl the fence 
I copped all the caps
I all capped the cops
I can go on & on 
I can go on anon
I trash the pickup / I handy the man / I song the skip / I way the find
I waste land
I one leg 
I after the other
I walk sign
I street corner 
I pigeon the park the birdseed 
I breathe my share
I look around at the mess / wanting more
I mess the more the want until it's made
& then I want some more

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Enough with the serious stuff. “Lastly” is the most recent poem I wrote in/from the Notes app on my phone. I had fun with it.

In lieu of a long-winded analysis this week, I am going to save my breath and give you a writing exercise to try out! “Lastly” is filled with things used as verbs and wordplay. Try it for yourself: pick three things around you and turn them into actions.

Here’s an example. I am in my living room and around me is a dog, a water bottle, and light from a setting sun. I could start each line as so:

I dog...
I bottle... 
I sunset... 

From here, I consider what it means to do these things, regardless of the “sense” it makes. How do I act like a dog? What do I bottle inside of me? Why does the setting sun call to me? I can attempt to answer these questions in poetry:

I dog my worry, bury it in the backyard
I bottle the fear for when I need scaring
I sunset my self doubt, blood on the sky

You may not know where you’re going when you’re writing, but that is half of the fun.

If you end up writing something with this prompt, I’d love to read it! Share it in the comments below.

Until next week, Ricky