Yosemite
a Golden Shovel poem & an invitation to write one!
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Inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem We Real Cool, Terrance Hayes wrote The Golden Shovel. Hayes uses each word in Brook’s poem as an end word in his new poem, creating a new poetic form now called the Golden Shovel poem.
Hayes’ poem takes inspiration from Brooks’ original work while transforming it into something entirely new.
I’ve never written poetry before, nor have I thought of myself as someone who could. Yet, the Golden Shovel poetic form is inviting, encouraging, and playful. The idea of finding creativity within some boundaries sounded less intimidating than coming up with something from scratch. I tried—and I did.
The verse I chose from The Golden Shovel:
Into the talented city we go, weakened by the fire’s ethereal afterglow.
Note: Instead of strictly following the rule of using one word from the original poem at the end of each new line, I sometimes used more than one word. If you are reading this on your phone, please note that a single line may be separated into two or three lines.
Yosemite
Restless summer air and melting snow, we trek into the
wild. Deep blue skies and emerald water, talented
birds cheering around us, hundreds of miles away from the city
we know. Nine thousand feet above sea level, we go
deep into the mountains. Our bodies and minds, weakened
by mosquitos and the mid-day heat. Staring into the dark, we rest by the fire
that dances in the air. The stars stare down at us with an ethereal afterglow.
My invitation
If you feel creative and inspired, I invite you to create your own Golden Shovel poem and share it with me in the comments. Grab a verse or two from a poem or an essay you like, or find one here. It doesn’t matter if you’ve written a poem before (I had not until a few days ago), as long as you feel the desire to create. It doesn’t need to rhyme, or even be beautiful. Just have fun and enjoy the process!
Finally, here are a few more photos from our 3-night backpacking trip.
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This piece is a lovely blend of personal reflection and creative inspiration! Your Golden Shovel poem, Yosemite, beautifully captures the essence of your trip with vivid imagery that transports the reader right into the wilderness with you.