love & wonder

a Camille Dungy poem prompt

Sep 21, 2023

Hello to new subscribers and those who’ve been with me since I started a few weeks ago! I’m so happy to have you here. Today, I have a writing prompt for you based on a brilliant poem by Camille Dungy. I hope you enjoy it and that it brings you a moment to breathe and write.

A few years ago, Carolyn Oliver, brought this Camille Dungy poem to our Madwomen in the Attic workshop. Although I knew and loved Dungy’s writing, I hadn’t encountered this poem yet. It blew me away with its concise, pressurized language. Its ability to shift deftly from idea to idea, and moment to moment—imperceptibly building emotional power. And good lord, do you see how tender the speaker of this poem is with herself? How she can approach her shame and accept it, and keep going…

After Opening The New York Times I Wonder How to Write a Poem about Love

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To love like God can love, sometimes.
Before the kettle boils to a whistle, quiet. Quiet
that is lost on me, waiting as I am
for an alarm. The sort of things I notice:
the bay over redbud blossoms, mountains
over magnolia blooms. There is always something
starting somewhere, and I have lost ambition
to look into the details. Shame fits comfortably 
as my best skirt, and what can I do
but walk around in that habit? Turn the page.
Turn another page. This was meant to be
about love. Now there is nothing left but this.

—from Smith Blue by Camille T. Dungy (2011)

Prompt

Choose two words that call to you from this poem.
Write a poem that begins with those two words in a sentence.
Then, write from the feeling that Dungy’s poem evokes in you.
Bring in at least one word that hedges or expresses doubt (examples: sometimes, perhaps, maybe, might, etc)
List some things that you observe around you in your environment (you could use some of your 7 observations lists!) or close your eyes and travel somewhere else in your memory
See where your writing takes you…

Camille Dungy has a new book out, SOIL: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, and I can’t wait to read it. She visited Pittsburgh to give a reading at City of Asylum this summer and I could only attend virtually, but someday I will get to an in-person reading of hers.

I can’t recommend her work enough: Trophic Cascade is a poetry book I’m always reading. teaching, and recommending, and Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History is one of the books that made me want to write essays.

Two things to check out:

The second workshop in the Write Beside’s recurring series, Mothering Beside is coming up on October 17 from 7-9 p.m. EST. “Each month, we meet virtually to discuss poetry about motherhood, and generate poetry. This space is designed to be one of uplifting support. No prior writing experience is needed. This month's theme is the postpartum experience, and we will be reading and discussing work by: Kate Baer, Emily Mohn-Slate, and Chelsea Rathburn.” Register HERE. Please share with others who might be interested!
I loved this interview with Amanda Montei in Write More and I can’t wait to read her book, Touched Out: Motherhood, Misogyny, Consent and Control, which just landed! Also check out her newsletter, Madwoman, one of my absolute favorites.

Be Where You Are is a newsletter about how to use writing and mindfulness to be where you are. I’ll be back on Sunday.

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