You have done it on your own
the craft of poetry
garnering your words
identifying your voice
never mixing metaphors
unless you mean to
accenting with alliteration
tackling subjects
from waxing lyrical about nature
to sounding the clarion calls
to activism in a world gone mad…
Now, why not try the delights
of collaboration…
a dance á deux
a menage á trois
an orgy of poesie
with multiple poets
if you will
bat stanzas back and forth
ekphrast a painting
or photograph by a friend
why do it on your own
when you can do it together
become a collaborator…
© Andrew Wilson, 2025
Ten months ago, our very own Melissa Lemay, started an online journal of collaborative poetry, Collaborature so why not head over there and have a gander at all the exciting poems that have been submitted and then reach out to another poet to have a go at collaboration…
Over at dVerse Poets Pub, Lisa or Li in Poetics invites us to write about Getting Crafty…
Great use of alliteration in the title, and I love the way you explored collaboration in this poem Andrew, and the synonyms you gave it made me smile, as did the phrase ‘ekphrast a painting’. You couldn’t have written this poem during WW2, when collaborator had a very different meaning.
True, Kim, who can forget those pictures of French women being “judged”… Glad you enjoyed it and if you ever fancy a collaboration, I’m open to it!
I’m a Gen X Brit and that word still carries that connotation for me too!
Great write Andrew. 👏
Thanks Shaun! i didn’t know you were British – where do you live now?
Andrew – love this, it honours the craft of poetry and then opens up to something more expansive – collaboration, interplay, risk and community – your collaboration with Melissa is epic, I love the adventures of you both on Barbie sailing the seas 👏💕
So glad you like it Ange – it has been great fun to write and I think it published tomorrow – taking to over 1,000 lines! As Melissa said – we are writing a novella!
“bat stanzas back and forth
ekphrast a painting
or photograph by a friend”
I also admire these lines. And who can forget an orgy of poesie?🤣
I hope it will raise some interest in both readers and future collaborators Melissa…
I’M IN!!! What an utterly delightful write, Andrew. Cheers.
Thanks Helen, I would love to write with you but at the moment I have two collaborations on the go but I hope will one day and in the meantime – why not write with someone else – Melissa would be delighted!
What am I saying – it’s just a matter of scheduling – Melissa tries not to have the same person too frequently but if you have an idea for a collaboration, let’s write – it doesn’t matter when it goes our – it would be a pleasure – I love your “voice”…
Plying your craft with another can be very rewarding and inspirational! Well done, Andrew!
Give it a go Dwight if you have not done so already and if you have – Collaborature awaits submissions…
I like the idea of bonding with other members of the blogging community through collaborative poetry.
Waste no time Li – send out an invitation…
This is such a delightful poem, Andrew! It gives us a chance to explore something more expansive ❤️❤️–
Thanks, Sanaa, Melissa’s journal has published some fine work but is always on the lookout for more collaborating poets – check it out if you haven’t done so before…
A long time ago we were a bunch of poets that started collaboration as well… we go to know each other on twitter and it was my main reason for starting a blog….
Is that how dVerse came about or was this earlier, Björn?
Oh you make your craft hum, Andrew, enough to make one want to plunge headlong into its various tuning sounds, singly or communally.
Thank you so much Dora – and you do…
This is great, Andrew. A wonderful invitation to collaborate with poetry. I’ve written poems and stories with my son.
Why dont you submit them then Robbi…