Day 5 - 30 Poems in 30 Days

Day Five of 30 poems in 30 days – NaPoWriMo Assignment - write a “golden shovel.” This form was invented by Terrance Hayes in his poem, The Golden Shovel. The last word of each line of Hayes’ poem is a word from Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem We Real Cool. You can read Brooks’ poem by reading the last word of each line of Hayes’ poem!

I chose the poem Dust of Snow by Robert Frost.  I know the language is archaic but it’s a start that I may work on later (after I’ve caught up on my 30 in 30 poems).

Dust of the Crow (After Robert Frost – Dust of Snow)

Perched high and solitary in the

Pines which lined the way
To evening shadows where a
Caw could claim the crow
Then here the evening shook
And dusk began to drift down
As travelers hurried on

A mite of dust fell straight on me

From under the blue-black wing of the
Winged-one, higher than the dust
And mourning doves where something of
Memory like November snow
That whistled silently from
Another day white with a
Ghost of the dark green hemlock
As I stood firm against that tree

For years this land has

Harbored corvus, given
Graciously everything my
Days could do to fill this heart
And offered more than a
Momentary fleeting change
The Spring pleasure of
Coltsfoots yellow mood
Of service bloom and

Shinny bobbles I have saved

To leave as gifts for some
Crow to gather, then leave and part
To fly and claim another way of
Giving this and that to a
Familiar stranger in the day
To others who feel, like I
That his song and wing had
Chased away all sorrows we rued.