Sharon Olds Springboard

Springboard du Jour:

The doctor said to my father, “You asked me
to tell you when nothing more could be done.
That’s what I’m telling you now.”

From the poem “His Stillness” by Sharon Olds, from Strike Sparks: Selected Poems 1980-2002.

Take a Flying Leap

A springboard is anything that propels you into writing; free writing, journal entry, rough draft of a new poem – any old form your inspiration takes. Lots of books on writing have great lists of prompts to get you going. A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves or Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg are two that come to mind. I’m partial to diving off from a great line I’ve run across in a poem or novel. When a turn of phrase arrests me in some way, I jot it down in a little notebook I keep near my desk. Whenever I’m ready to free write, I flip open my notebook and pick the first thing that strikes me – then fling myself into the abyss.

I’ll be adding a daily (or nearly) springboard above for your consideration, and I invite you to take a flying leap.

Springboard du Jour: "I am lonely, lonely. I was born to be lonely, I am best so!" from Danse Russe by William Carlos Williams