Let's Ride Some Poetry!
Grow with Mother Crow: January 2023
Introducing Grow with Mother Crow Creative Writing and Expression Exercises
Curious what a writing exercise looks like? Keep Scrolling and Look for the Words:
“Try it out: Write about…”
New exercises are added each week to mothercrowpoetry.com where you can access the entire archive here or submit your work to Mother Crow here.
Whether you follow these prompts note-for-note, utilize them merely as inspiration, or only consider your responses to them inside your own head, I hope expressing yourself encourages a better understanding of yourself.
I can’t guarantee therapeutic results- nor a cure for grief and anxiety- but I can promise self-discovery, and that’s the closest thing I’ve found to mental health.
Let’s Crow!
~Sophia Elizabeth
“Let’s Ride Some Poetry!”- January 23, 2023:
Thank you for joining me as I journey through the scribbles of my past. Some of my older poems are timeless, some of them I want to hack apart with a chainsaw, and it feels as though I'm reading some of them for the first time...
I like "Emotion Sickness" because it demonstrates why I needed (and will always need) poetry in my life.
In times of emotional darkness, writing a certain poem can make me physically ill, but once it is done- once it is out of me- I can move past it with gratitude, edit it with objectivity, own it with acceptance, and share it with pride.
We all need to express ourselves somehow! Writing poetry is a very effective outlet for moving forward through our pain into purpose, healing, and art.
Have you ever rode a poem to get past a problem?
Try it out: Write about the writing process!
How does it feel to write something emotionally charged, such as a piece about grief or a difficult message to someone else? Are there physical sensations of discomfort? Relief? Anger? Euphoria?
What does it feel like to read a poem that deeply resonates with you?
Write a poem about your favorite poem.
Write a poem about what it feels like to write poetry!
“This Time Around...”- January 25, 2023:
Listen to This Time Around, Though
Ten years ago, I performed my poetry around San Francisco as a grief-stricken and confused (yet eager and shrewd) poet named PhiaMeSo.
Now, after a decade of emotional growth, I've cracked out of my nest as a mother and a crow.
Despite how hard it is to remain courageous and not cave under regular bouts of shame, doubt, and discomfort, I refuse to go back into my shell.
Just Be Caws!
Try it out: Write about your current self in relation to a younger you!
Start with the words: "This time around..."
Fill in and repeat:
"Right now, I am _____________________."
Close your eyes and visualize a past version of yourself. Now imagine that younger version like an old and mature professor. What are they trying to teach you now? What does rebelling against their lessons look like?
“Poetry, Prose, or Both?”- January 27, 2023:
Listen to Dissociative Identity Order:
"Dissociative Identity Order" is a new poem that (despite its short length) took me several weeks to mull over and craft.
The writing came later as the creation of this poem inspired my personal essay, "The Order Within," as well as the entire Metacog-Gnosis issue of Mother Crow.
One of my favorite methods for writing something new is blurring the lines between poetry and prose. Most of my poems begin as journal entries, essays, stories, or messages... before they go poetically awry.
Poetry is a language of heightened emotion. Whenever I sit down to write, I usually get carried away or emotionally overwhelmed by the topic or process, so my syntax and diction become increasingly more cryptic, rhythmic, and wild. Literal sentences start morphing into figurative verse and what begins with paragraph, ends in stanza.
I then have the option of continuing with the piece as a whole or separating the poem from the prose and editing each individually.
I do this with my paintings as well, using one artform as the muse for the next. This approach lends to a very rich and holistic creative experience, one that encourages forward momentum as the passion from one piece ignites another.
Try it out: Write about one topic, feeling, or memory in two ways!
Write a poem inspired by something you've already written, such as a journal entry, an essay, a story, or a message to someone else.
OR! Write a journal entry, an essay, a story, or message to someone else inspired by a favorite poem or an old poem you wrote in the past.
Recite each piece and observe the differences in your tone, cadence, and mannerisms as you speak them out loud separately.
Could you blend the two pieces into one?
Add a visual element (drawing, painting, collage, or photo) to round off the expressive process.
Write your way to inner peace and poetry!
Whether you follow these prompts note-for-note, utilize them merely as inspiration, or only consider your responses to them inside your own head, I hope expressing yourself encourages a better understanding of yourself. I can’t guarantee therapeutic results, nor a cure for grief and anxiety, but I can promise self-discovery, and that’s the closest thing I’ve found to mental health.
For more creative writing prompts and expression exercises:
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