Iterative Poetry from the Pacific

‘Iterative Poetry’ is a method for creating short descriptive poems, using imagery generated in a longer set of writings.  In the first ‘iteration’, I created a long poem through freewriting.  Then, reading back through the poem, I selected the most meaningful portions (using six highlighter colors).  For the second iteration, I re-combined the selected portions into a series of new, shorter poems.  For the final iteration, I selected the best of the shorter poems from the preceding series.  The philosophy of this method is based in chaos theory, specifically ‘self-similarity’, which is a frequently occurring natural pattern.  The inspiration for these particular poems stems from my trip across the Pacific with the Sea Education Association.

A blue snail

Rides the ancient grey humps

Delivering thunderclaps

The morning extends for miles

Brimming with stars

Beyond the belly of the squares’l

Sea ends,

Delivering blows at its borders

Unprotected and vulnerable

Sailor’s ghosts

Accept offerings or injustices

In the sky at morning

Life

Lost in darkness

Under mercury reflections

Flickers of green

Amid monstrous caps

Pelted with rain

Dark, hungry mountains

Filled with jellyfish

A fireball lights the Pacific sky