I am drawing inspiration from Kwame Alexander's definition poems in his book Crossover. To kick off the month, I decided to write a definition about the word slice and how it applies to this wonderful writing community. I am excited for the slices of our lives.
Slice
/slīs/
A thin, broad piece of food, such as bread, meat, or cake, cut from a larger portion.
As in: an observation
of an item or being
that moves the soul's pencil
to paint its beauty in words.
As in: a sound or conversation
so important or funny
it begs to be recorded
so as not to get lost
in an overloaded, aging mind.
As in: a small moment
that causes one to pause
or feel something -- so delicious
it is worthy of sharing
with others.
When I first read Crossover, I hadn't gotten into poetry yet. So, of course, I barely remember his definition poem. Now that I'm reading your version, I can't wait to try it out myself. Looking forward to reading your slices this month. Happy writing, friend!
ReplyDeleteCrossover has been both inspirational and empowering for me as well. I have not done a definition poem, but thanks to you, I will do one this month. Great inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI love that you describe a small moment as something that can be delicious!!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love this definition poem. It definitely has moved my soul. Thank you for sharing this. You have inspired my yet again my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe begging - I love that. That’s exactly what it is for me. And then I’ll ignore it because I’m tired, or busy, and it recedes into the background and becomes forgotten. But when you answer that slice in writing, it’s like it’s released! I loved this, also love Kwame Alexander, so I love that you used his poetry for inspiration. I will try that sometime!
ReplyDeleteNow that I have your new blog link, I have some catching up to do!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this poem. I hope someone from Two Writing Teachers saw this because I think it is the perfect defintion of a slice!