“Poet’s Room” (Of One’s Own)
Poet’s Room
There’s a certain slant of light
in the room where the women
come and go
talking of Michelangelo.
The walls, I’m pretty sure,
are of clay and wattles made
(though the wattles
don’t show much from this angle), and
in the icebox,
there are plums
(which you are probably saving
for breakfast.)
It houses such stuff
as dreams are made of (along with the plums), and
about as much reality
as humankind can bear.
it is somewhere
i have never traveled, despite
repeated tries, but i make myself believe,
that,
as I walk out one evening,
I will find it==
perhaps not until the dews
grow quivering
and chill–
perhaps not until winter itself
is icumen’ in–I don’t care–
as long as there’s still
a certain slant of light,
enough
to write by.
***********************************
The above is my “found” homage of sorts to Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Shakespeare, more Eliot, e.e. cummings, W.H. Auden, more Dickinson, and Ezra Pound. In other words, I’ve stolen a bunch of really terrific lines from all these great poets! (In exchange for my everlasting love.)
The poem responds to the pictorial prompt posted by Tess Kincaid of Magpie Tales, the Andrew Wyeth painting, slightly modified above, “Big Room.” (I’m not sure the room in my mind actually looks too much like this one.)
I am also linking the poem to dVerse Poets Pub’s Open Link Night.
Check out Magpie Tales and dVerse for wonderful poetry and while you are at it, check out my books! Poetry, GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco). 1 Mississippi -counting book for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms, or Nose Dive, a very fun novel that is perfect for a pool or beachside escape. Nose Dive is available on Kindle for just 99 cents!
Tags: "found" poem, a certain slant of light in the room with the women, Big Room by Andrew Wyeth with icebox, clay/wattles/plums, manicddaily, talking of Michelangeo and Yeats, Where are the plums?
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ManicDDaily 
August 28, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I love the way you did this!
August 28, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Some of my favorite lines, Karin. I thought I spotted cummings in there. Nicely woven with a feeling of both appreciation and the longing to sit in that room and just listen listen, maybe to hear some of your own lines float out someday.
August 28, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Ha! k.
August 28, 2012 at 12:55 pm
I love this!
August 28, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Thanks, Ayala. k.
August 28, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Ha ha! LOVE this. I missed cummings, but found Yeats. And yes, many are among my favorite lines. Sometimes they speak louder than any others. Thank you.
August 28, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Thank you, ds. k.
August 28, 2012 at 1:53 pm
it is somewhere
i have never traveled, despite
repeated tries, but i make myself believe,
that,
as I walk out one evening,
I will find it== …. very cool k. – the poets’s room…literally and mentally…oh and we can travel far even beyond those..i like much
August 28, 2012 at 2:13 pm
This is brilliant…I love all the wonderful nods here…my favorite being the WCW plums…
August 28, 2012 at 2:26 pm
[…] Poet’s Room There’s a certain slant of light in the room where the women come and go talking of Michelangelo. The walls, I’m pretty sure, are of clay and wattles made (though the wattles don’t show… […]
August 28, 2012 at 2:26 pm
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August 28, 2012 at 2:26 pm
This is so clever, Karin. As I read, I kept thinking “I ‘ve seen this before, it must be a re-post.” But just couldn’t quite sort it out. So glad you added a process not or I’d be worrying about my mental status.
August 28, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Outstanding, Karin! I’m sharing this with the office before calling it a day…Love it!
August 28, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Thanks so much, Tash. k.
August 28, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Karin–very well crafted!
August 28, 2012 at 2:57 pm
What great taste and erudition shows through on the page…I love what you’ve done in partnership with most of my favorite poets.
August 28, 2012 at 3:44 pm
What a totally unique slant on the prompt pic. Very clever to use fav lines from all of the fav poets too. Loved the addition of the fridge in the room…lol Really enjoyed this
August 28, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it! So delightful to recognise all my old friends here — and to see their lines put together in a way that’s new and fresh.
August 28, 2012 at 4:09 pm
PS But you didn’t acknowledge dear old Anon – who is surely the author of ‘sumer is icumen in’.
August 28, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Oh, I love it! And didn’t need your roll call at the bottom to see where most of the lines were coming from…brilliantly done, great fun..
August 28, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Loved, loved, loved this! Did I say I loved this yet?
August 28, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Ha! Thanks so much, Audrey. k.
August 28, 2012 at 6:00 pm
I love this…
August 28, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Thanks, Tumblewords! k.
August 28, 2012 at 6:59 pm
I thought I spied TS Eliot in there, but I could be wrong.
Either way, it’s a fantastic read.
August 28, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Thanks–there are two bits of Eliot, from Prufrock and the Preludes–the part about humankind. Thanks so much for reading and commenting. K.
August 28, 2012 at 7:01 pm
This was great, many a room we can find well known by my little rhyming behind haha
August 28, 2012 at 8:37 pm
i think you have your place in the poets rooms k….smiles….def an interesting take on the pic….somedays it is elusive you know….i hope that your trip is going ok…i know at times hard….
August 28, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Thanks (as always)Brian for your kindness. K.
August 28, 2012 at 8:46 pm
What a wonderful surprise is this. Clever clever clever. It doesn’t hurt that you’ve used my favorite Eliot poem, (Love Song)
August 28, 2012 at 8:52 pm
I love the reference to William Carlos Williams’ plums!
August 28, 2012 at 8:59 pm
Do I sense a flavor of Midnight in Paris crossed with the Algonquin Round Table..or is it just me, the picture or am I way off base?
August 28, 2012 at 10:18 pm
Gou k ow I didn’t see midnight in Paris but I understand it was wonderful. Certainly, nostalgia is something I know! Thanks for reading and commenting. K.
August 29, 2012 at 1:20 am
Outstanding. Great tone/voice/flow. Love the (along with the plums) such a nice touch. And the play on the classic line Sumer is Icumen in, applied to winter, was really creative. Great read. Thanks
August 29, 2012 at 8:05 am
Thanks Fred and so happy to have you at dverse. I must confess that I took the winter is Icumen in from Ezra Pound. But thanks for your kind words. K.
August 29, 2012 at 5:00 am
I think you just did find it. I think you’ve introduced us to it. A real triumph, this, on several levels.
August 29, 2012 at 8:04 am
Ha. Thanks so much, Dave. K.
August 29, 2012 at 8:34 am
I love that you called this the poet’s room- yours, theirs and now ours. What a clever way to put the lines together so we can hear them from a different slant.
August 29, 2012 at 9:34 am
Your words are more revealing than the picture, beautifully presented 🙂
August 29, 2012 at 9:41 am
A feast of great lines, woven together masterfully, found art of the highest order!
August 29, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Thanks, Anna. So great to have you back! k.
August 29, 2012 at 9:59 am
a true poets room ! delightfully woven together….:))
loved the last line…as long as there’s enough light to write….
August 29, 2012 at 11:09 am
Love the resonance of those ‘found’ lines in a fresh and surprising context.. this really works as a way of examining context! Nice 🙂
August 29, 2012 at 11:27 am
You have found your poet’s room ~~ love this unique interpretation of Wyeth’s work.
August 29, 2012 at 11:47 am
Karin, this is a beautifully crafted “found poem”, not an easy feat. It flows with such ease.
Pamela
August 29, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Thank you , Pamela. k.
August 29, 2012 at 2:52 pm
I love the fourth stanza. It describes the dream like quality of the poetic spirit, and it reminds us that art has deep roots in the very real human experience.
August 29, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Thanks, Jessica. k.
August 29, 2012 at 4:05 pm
I think I caught them all..favorite lines from favorite poems – quel homage!
August 29, 2012 at 4:08 pm
I guess properly it should be “quel hommage”
August 29, 2012 at 4:15 pm
Ha! Thanks. k.
August 29, 2012 at 4:35 pm
loved the picture here and the slant of light… moon light maybe
August 29, 2012 at 6:00 pm
a beautiful tapestry! filled with voice(s) and light. it is very clear what is important in this room.
August 29, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Ahh, this is lovely, borrowed or not! It was you that chose the lines and put together the stanzas to make this piece sing! Well done!
August 30, 2012 at 4:02 pm
“they” do blend nicely! I really liked “a certain slant of light,
enough to write by.”… which one wrote that?
August 30, 2012 at 4:21 pm
That’s Emily Dickinson, only she uses it in a somewhat negative way – as a rather oppressive kind of light. k.
August 30, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Thank you. I haven’t read much of her, sorry to say, but I do have a book on my shelf. I’m waiting for cold winter days to delve into so many books…
August 30, 2012 at 4:38 pm
I’m sure you’ll like her. I haven’t read as much as I’d like either. k.
August 30, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Actually, Margaret, just looked again at your comment. The certain slant of light is Emily Dickinson– the poem goes something “there’s a certain slant of light/ winter afternoons that oppresses like the heft of cathedral tunes.” (I’m sorry doing from memory and don’t know line breaks.). The light to write by was my own addition. (ha!). K.