As an entry point into writing poetry, I tried to use another poem as a direct source of inspiration. Let me know how I did. I've already burned through a few drafts trying to get it ready.
My Inspiration:
Adrienne Rich, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
My imitation:
Old Leo’s Lion,
By WR
Old Leo’s Lion stands bold and proud,
A tan figure roaring loud.
His call goes out for man or beast,
Be they from the west or the east.
Old Leo’s chisel shakes in his grip,
Age making his steadiness dip.
The weeds of a life unfulfilled,
Tangle him like a garden untilled.
Old Leo’s time is short, but he is beyond caring,
All his life he was never daring.
The oak lion stands proud, a work finally completed,
Still daring and graceful after Leo’s life is depleted.
How'd I do?
