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September 21, 2017

Poetry Friday--Frost and Found

A big shout-out to Michelle Barnes who is featuring a post I wrote for TLD, "How to Get to Carnegie Hall." Be sure to check it out!

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

A long time ago I wrote an article titled, "Frost and Found." It was about "finding" haiku in the poems of Robert Frost. It never did see its way into print, but, I still think it is a valid approach to writing haiku, especially for kids who cry, "I don't know what to write about." Frost's work is chocky-block full of strong visual images. If you can't find a million images in a book of Frost's, there's something wrong with you.

Frost provides the images, and it's up to me, as the poet, and you, as the reader, to find the relationship to humans. I'm going to use Frost's phrases, but not necessarily in the order he presented them.

Since it's still apple picking time here in NH, and, since apples are particularly abundant this year, I thought I'd see what haiku lie hidden in "After Apple-Picking."
After Apple-Picking

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still,
And there's a barrel that I didn't fill
Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now.
Essence of winter sleep is on the night,
The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.
I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary grass.
It melted, and I let it fall and break.
But I was well
Upon my way to sleep before it fell,
And I could tell
What form my dreaming was about to take.
Magnified apples appear and disappear,
Stem end and blossom end,
And every fleck of russet showing clear.
My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.
And I keep hearing from the cellar bin
The rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.
For I have had too much
Of apple-picking: I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired.
There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.
For all
That struck the earth,
No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth.
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it's like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep.

Here are five haiku I found:

fleck of russet...
through a tree magnified
apples appear

of no worth
a barrel that I didn't
fill

cider-apple heap
ten thousand thousand fruit
struck the earth

coming in
scent of apples
on the night

rumbling sound
I keep hearing...
this sleep of mine

How many haiku can you find?

Amy at The Poem Farm is this week's Round-Up host. Please stop by!



33 comments:

  1. Wow! You make Frost seem verbose with your haiku scalpel skills! Thanks for the idea!

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  2. What a wonderful exercise! There are so many lines I would love to pluck from this poem and pack in my haiku barrel. Here is one;

    from the drinking trough
    magnified apples
    I didn't pick

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    Replies
    1. Frost does the hard work and we just come along and pick what we need!

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  3. Diane, these are bits of brilliant beauty! I love thinking of the apple heap and combing the poem for the most delicious words. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Irene. I was just on your blog trying to explain the PicMonkey problem I had and how I fixed it. I've gotten so used to it over the years, I'd hate to have to learn something new.

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  4. How clever, Diane. I am always amazed by your haiku expertise. Since it is apple picking time how would you like to offer your haiku below and pair it with a juicy apple picking photo from NH for my fall gallery (Autumn Ablaze)? Working on Sunkissed Summer now.
    coming in
    scent of apples
    on the night

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    Replies
    1. When you have the digital ready, just send it on to me. I have not sent out the invitation yet to Autumn Ablaze.

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  5. Great idea, Diane. Love your very astute word pickings. "coming in/scent of apples/on the night" -- lovely! And it was nice to read some Frost on this first day of Fall. Iconic stuff!

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  6. Oh, my goodness....I'm off to try this. I just snagged an old and dusty Frost book from a book jumble sale. Woot! You have the BEST ideas.
    a barrel that I didn't
    fill
    That one really gets me.

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  7. Frost and Found, I like that. Here's mine:

    ten thousand thousand fruit
    struck the earth,
    the cider-apple heap

    Makes me thirsty carving it from his words.

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    Replies
    1. Have you had any of the bottled hard ciders that are now available? Some are fantastic, and you can even tell yourself you're drinking a healthier alternative to beer. (I'm not sure it's true, though!)

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    2. I don't drink often, so I haven't had hard cider since the time my parent's gallon jug of cider turned. My stepbrother over-imbibed and sailed into his iceskating with loon-laughing and coat flapping open. That was a lot of years ago. :-)

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  8. I love this idea of taking one poem's words to create more poetry with haiku. I want to try it now. And I can relate to Frost's view of apples--not so much from picking them but from making apple sauce and apple butter and apple crisp and dehydrated apples. All we're missing is the cider press!

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    Replies
    1. Do you dry the apples in the sun, a dehydrator, or the oven? It's something I'd like to try some day.

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  9. This is such a fabulous idea, Diane. I'd love to read that article. This is one of my all-time favorite Frost poems.

    fruit-struck earth
    bruised, spiked with stubble
    cider-apple heap

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    Replies
    1. Nice, Laura! Wasn't it fun?

      If I ever find the article I'll send it to you.

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  10. Love the concept of "Frost and Found!" I agree, what a great start for kids who are struggling with finding something to write (and for us old folk, too.) I'll play:

    the scent of apples
    stem end and blossom end
    cherish in hand

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for playing Buffy! Frost's poems are a perfect starting place.

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  11. FROST AND FOUND! Brilliant.

    winter sleep
    keeps the ache
    load on load of apples

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  12. I love the idea of this activity to do with my students. There is a challenge in the seeking and joy in the finding.

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    Replies
    1. There's almost no way to fail with a seasonal Frost poem. Kids should take to it very easily.

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  13. Ah what fun, thanks for the challenge Diane, and the post!

    sticking through a tree,
    pick upon some bough of
    apples coming in

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  14. You did a spectacular job, Diane, and this is a terrific exercise! I'm going to pass it on. Here's mine:

    held against the world
    feel the ladder
    sway

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    Replies
    1. Never pick apples without a buddy! Nor go out into the world without one!

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  15. Yes...we are both Frostlovers this week for sure! What you have done here is so superneat and beautiful. I am going to copy this idea (and some of your haiku!) into my notebook for safekeeping and saferemembering. Peace. x

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  16. Wow, you had a heavy duty week of commenting last week, huh! I'm sorry I didn't get to this post last week, Diane, but I enjoyed it just as much this week. :) This is something I do from time to time, as well— challenge myself to write haiku using another poem as a jump-off point. (I'm clearly not as practiced as you are, though.) I find Barbara Crooker to be a great source of haiku inspiration.

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