Free Association

RED LICORICE ~BOB HICOK

Turns out the universe is an accordion.
I take this as vindication of the polka.
If it began with the Big Bang
will it end with the Big Suck? I like
physics more than psychics. These days
there are psychics all night on TV.
Nostradamus would be ashamed.
Why predict sexual dysfunction
when there are tidal waves in the offing?
If we didn't die we wouldn't care
about time. We'd make and break
appointments with a shrug. The top half
of calendars with pretty pictures
would be enough. Ansel Adams aimed
a slow exposure at the Rockies
but didn't know they were running away.
Maybe all matter is shy. This hubbub
makes me stay at home. Stop signs
have no effect on entropy. I'm saddened
by the eventual demise of red licorice
but not black. Yet consider how often
you've wanted a second chance.
Nietzsche said we do the whole thing
again and again. That life's
an endless waltz to a patient band.
If I come back I hope gravity's
reversed. To fall up. To be
with my wife but not have to shop
for shoes. Somewhere is the first atom
that existed. The next time
you feel nostalgic wait your turn.

Brainstorming and freewriting are some of the best methods of finding 'surprise'--to quote Robert Frost, "no surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader." If we sit down with a plan for a poem, often we end up sounding derivative, or rigid--"planned" poems can come off more essay-like in tone, with each line so logically following the previous in terms of sense that the reader is lulled gently to sleep, and not challenged in the slightest.

Hicok is a genius at this--his poems are carefully crafted, and do not read like a brainstorm (in terms of messiness) but still celebrate expansiveness, and a willingness to play. Yet, his language is careful--he moves from image to image, idea to idea, rather abruptly, not pulling the reader into anything more elaborate than what can be opened up in a line or two. This is a poem of "emergent properties"--the author never tells the reader what to think, or even takes the reader in any particular direction. It's more of a cumulative effect, with a richness that grows from multiple readings. Again, note the use of first person-- Hicok uses "I," but it hardly intrudes--most sentences, he avoids it entirely. Using "I" too much in a poem such as this would remove the focus from the ideas to the writer--which would be a real shame.

Your assignment: Just start writing. (Using lots of "I" in the free-write is fine, but plan to remove most "I" and "my" from any re-write.) Free-associate from one idea to another. Don't allow yourself to get too enmeshed in any one idea--just hop about, and see what emerges. After getting between 10-25 ideas down, start editing--make your language precise, your juxtapositions more surprising. The point is not to keep all of your ideas rigidly in the order they came to your brain--it's more to create a unique pathway for your reader to follow. Whip the reader through a thought process that involves many surprises--cut out all of the bulky, everyday thoughts that strike you as plebian or cliche upon a second read-through. (Note how Hicok uses the Big Bang, psychics and stop signs in unusual ways.) In this poem, do not allow yourself to say anything ordinary. Good luck!

~Dani