It’s a wild, wild life – with Irene Latham!

In celebration of her 10-year blogiversary, the lovely and talented Irene Latham is celebrating all things WILD today! She has invited many of her fellow bloggers and writers to join her by sharing something on the theme of “WILD.” I’ve chosen to jump in with my own unique take on the subject…

Rather than think about what it means to be “wild” via poem, picture, story, etc. – I decided to take a slightly different route. As I was thinking about the word “wild,” the Talking Heads tune, “Wild, Wild Life” popped into my head and wouldn’t let go. (And when it comes to earworms, David Byrne and crew were excellent at creating them.)

If you’re unfamiliar with the song, here it is:

So…getting back to my plan, I wondered how I could take this earworm and turn it into something productive. Then it hit me: found poetry!

A ‘found poem’ is one that is made up of lines already written – perhaps from a book, magazine, or wherever. For example, one found poem I recently wrote was included in Laura Purdie Salas’ book, Catch Your Breath: Writing Poignant Poetry (Capstone Press, 2015):

Voice

Expressing unspoken thoughts
and burning desire,
a voice that is not part of the narrative
pauses for a breath;
the essential commands
and
extreme situations
still seem confusing.
Don’t get discouraged.
Slow down,
evaluate your work,
and take your time
through talent,
steely focus,
and faith
to change the world.

– © 2014 Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

That poem was created from a multitude of lines I pulled from various voiceover websites! I did not write any additional words; everything above was already written. I just organized the lines in such a way as to create a new work.

That’s what I decided to do today! Pulling lines from various songs that had the word “wild” in the title, I created this poem:

“Wild”

Here on this mountaintop,
feeling like I’m racing
in the wind
I wrestle your conscience; at night
undercover by the water
everything seems
in a state of grace.

I remember a time
there came
a killing frost
reflected in your eyes;
the one that loved you
tried to tame you.

I wonder
if you think about it.

Come, stand
before the mirror
before the wind
catches your feet;
In a world gone crazy, you
reckless and hungered,
can be anything
you want to be.

– © 2015, Matt Forrest Esenwine, all rights reserved

I used a bunch of songs for this, too – from multiple genres of music! Here’s the list:

“Wild, Wild Life” by Talking Heads
“Wild One” by Janis Joplin
“Real Wild Child” by Iggy Pop
“Wild Side of Life” by Hank Thompson
“Wild Thing” by The Troggs
“Pickin’ Wildflowers” by Keith Anderson
“Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf
“Your Wildest Dreams” by The Moody Blues
“Wildfire” by Michael Martin Murphy
“Wild Night” by Van Morrison
“Wild Boys” by Duran Duran

Be sure to visit Irene’s blog and see all the links her friends are sharing – and if you haven’t heard, the second round of “Poetry…Cubed!” just got underway this past Friday, so click HERE to learn more about how you can win this fun contest!

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