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Graham Jackson commented on the post, 3 Powers of Personification 7 months, 1 week ago
Hey there! Thanks so much for the kind comments on my articles. If you would like to follow more of my writings (mostly poetry and such) you can search up my Substack. It’s titled “After-Image.” I’d share the URL here, but not sure if it will come out. Again, thank you for the kind encouragement, and happy writing!
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, The Runner 1 year, 11 months ago
Inhale—
my feet pound
upon the earth
I once thought
could support me.
But it’s not enough.
Exhale—
I reach down, deep
into my burning self,
for fiery gulps of air
seething up from dark
strong places […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Ice Age 2 years, 2 months ago
I feel the silent march of time
Like a glacier crawling, haltingly,
Toward an open and unknown sea,
The gulls’ joyful weeping haunting me
Under the wintry brilliance of sun
And the piercing sky. It calves, w […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Waiting in the Rain 2 years, 3 months ago
While I’m waiting, I am
Distilling neon signs in a drop
Of rain, nearby the rushing
Of the world’s many neurons,
Held by the weight of stillness:
The back and forth and back of
This daily game of hid […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, The Idea of Flowers 2 years, 8 months ago
Each bee that’s crystalline
with spring’s golden frost
(each filament gleaming
with the idea of flowers)
carries with it the possibility of true
abundance—the hope of things not yet
seen by the manifol […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Fearful Wonders 2 years, 10 months ago
I am fearfully made
In this garden of wonders
Where sun dapples down
Upon bench and bed,
Upon creeper and crocus,
With shoots lancing quickly up,
Defiant through dampened earth.
I am wonderfully […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Pain Well 3 years ago
That sunny day I stepped upon a shell,
Its bitter clam’s edge digging in my sole.
I remembered why we pain, remembered well.
So I dug in deeper, dug deeper still,
My foot on the shard in the fleeting ho […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Miracles 3 years, 1 month ago
Miracles are quiet,
great as the blades of mountains
that rise and score the clouds,
rending greater gashes
and letting light inside
a world that’s gone too loud.
Miracles are small
as a child’s feet ru […]-
This was a beautiful poem and I love it, even though I am not an introvert. 🙂 This was a good reminder that though they may not be as outspoken as extroverts like myself are, introverts have just as important and life-changing things to say. Many of my friends are introverts, and I’ve definitely learned to listen better over the years. Thank you for the reminder!
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Yes to this peom. I especially love the lines:Miracles are voices
around the supper table, or
on contrary sides of the street, or
bidding good evening or good morning:
never insisting, yet calmly asserting––
if only the world would stop and listen.
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Because I experience them so much. Thank you for this poem! -
This is absolutely beautiful. Makes me smile. Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
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Graham Jackson commented on the post, Progress 3 years, 2 months ago
Such an honest and poignant poem! It’s so lovely how the reader enters the poem with loose screws…and leaves the poem with the screws finding their place. Comforting.
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, The Eucharist’s Rule of Thumb 3 years, 2 months ago
The snickering blade draws a fine, sharp smile
across the wrinkled surface of my thumb,
and the bread I pursued with all my guile
turns real, running flesh and blood. Numb
with pain, I watch and wait as dark […] -
Graham Jackson commented on the post, The Bird 3 years, 5 months ago
Thanks Bethany! When I saw the bird hit that window, its story likewise hit me.
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Graham Jackson commented on the post, The Bird 3 years, 5 months ago
Thanks, Scott! Amen and amen.
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, The Bird 3 years, 6 months ago
The bird quickly rapped
Against the window, hard,
The azure pane, that false pane.
At least, that’s what others
Told me—I wasn’t
There.
When I made it
Outside to see if
It still lived, still moved […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, 3 Ways to Craft a Unique Opening Line for a Poem 3 years, 6 months ago
When you’re waiting for the curtain to rise at a theatrical production, you wonder what the stage will look like. Will the first few moments show dazzling scenery or characters prancing about? Will silence or s […]
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, 3 Lessons Fantasy Writers Can Learn from the Classical Epic 3 years, 9 months ago
You’ve probably heard the expression “That was epic!” thousands of times. But what does it actually mean? Epic is used to describe a myriad of experiences, but we typically treat it as a synonym for big, awe-i […]
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Wind and Rain 3 years, 9 months ago
“Tell me, Wind,”
said Rain, “you
who catches me in
your cool embrace,
what it means to wander,
to wander the world,
to want no direction.”
“Simple, Rain,”
said Wind, who
caught its breath.
“So […] -
Graham Jackson commented on the post, How to Brainstorm a Topic for Your Poem When You're Out of Ideas 3 years, 11 months ago
Hi Libby, I’m glad this article was helpful/encouraging. 🙂 Thank you for reading!
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, How to Brainstorm a Topic for Your Poem When You're Out of Ideas 4 years ago
Whenever I’ve asked my students to write a poem, I invariably hear the question, “Where do I start?” My immediate reaction is consternation, plus a certain level of frustration (in case you don’t know, writing […]
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This was really helpful and encouraging, Graham. Thank you for sharing this.
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Hi Libby, I’m glad this article was helpful/encouraging. 🙂 Thank you for reading!
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Thank you, sir!
I find a sad lack of teaching on the art of poetry, and often feel sucked dry when I contemplate writing a poem. Sometimes poems still appear, sometimes they don’t; the feeling stays. Perhaps this article will help.
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Graham Jackson wrote a new post, Found 4 years, 1 month ago
Found: a poem, down a dusty old path
that leaves have scraped with many final breaths.
When asked why it lingered so, it laughed
and held onto my arm, and hopped with wreaths
of dry, pressed daisies (all the […] -
Graham Jackson wrote a new post, 4 Techniques Novelists Can Steal from Poets to Strengthen Their Own Imagery 4 years, 6 months ago
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in our three-part series on harnessing the power of poetry, which explores the insights and techniques novelists can glean from poets. You can read the introductory p […]
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Wow! This is amazing and very well-written.