Going Going Gone! (Midweek Prompt!)

The other day I was trying to remember various poems that I had once memorized.  (Agh.)  

I typically picked poems to learn that I liked very much; I also went for factors such as rhyme and meter as these tend to serve as mnemonics. 

When I was thinking through these old favorites, I was struck by how often they began with a “going.”  (Not necessarily a leave-taking, but simply some kind of movement.)  As in:

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made,

Nine bean-rows will I have there, and a hive for the honey bee
And live alone in the bee-loud glade. 

(From The Lake Isle of Innisfree, by W.B. Yeats.)

Let us go then you and I
when the evening is spread against the sky
like a patient etherized upon a table.

(From The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by T.S. Eliot.)

As I walked out one evening,
walking down Bristol Street,
the crowds upon the pavement

were fields of harvest wheat.

     (From As I Walked Out One Evening, by W.H. Auden.)

I went out to a hazel wood
Because a fire was in my head
And cut and peeled a hazel wand
And hooked a berry to a thread.

     (From The Wandering Aengus, by W.B. Yeats.)

Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,

Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil’s foot, 

    (From Song: Go and Catch a Falling Star, by John Donne.)

What I realized is that “going” is a very common jumping off point for a poem; poems from the Odyssey and The Canterbury Tales on down often describe some kind of journey--be it a journey across the world, out to your garden, to the far side of the moon, or into your own heart. 

So, poets, your prompt for the day--should you choose to participate--is to use the trope of “going,” however that may go down for you as some kind of jumping off point for your poem.  You do not need to use the word “going” in your poem and you do not have to write in the present, past or imperative sense (although you probably will use one of them.)

For extra points, although we all know that the game of poetry doesn’t really keep score, think of writing a poem that someone might memorize and that won’t immediately “go” out of their consciousness--i.e. consider incorporating rhyme, meter; also keep it relatively short! 

I hope you are all well!  I am sorry to have been so absent from the blogging world and am grateful to Kerry for allowing me to remain as part of the group. 

The pictures such as they are are mine. You are free to use them, all rights are reserved and please credit Karin Gustafson.  Thanks!