Love Letters to Poetry | Poetry of the Senses: From LAND OF THE CRANES
The poem I selected from my verse novel, Land of the Cranes, is a poem that takes place in the moment when the main character, Betita, and her pregnant mother enter a family immigration detention prison also called "la hielera" or "the ice box".
The poem is one that establishes the bleak setting in which they find themselves physically but also, it one that is filled with sound. Betita acutely notices faces and sounds as she tries to understand what are the silver sheets she and her mother have been given. She hears coughs, the sound of the shuffling of the mylar blankets, crying, etc. and it all comes together in her ears. This along with the faces of people around her, the freezing temperature, fill in her new reality of being incarcerated and her understanding of what is now also their fate.
Among poetry's many tools, the use of imagery or the use of the senses stands among one of the most powerful. Our senses can create an intimacy with the reader -- one of recognition, or curiosity, or imagination. From this poem, we know what it looks like and what it sounds like in the detention center. What might it smell like in this detention center? What would the food taste like? The more you use imagery, the more vivid your writing becomes.
Writing Prompt
Write a poem about a moment you witnessed using two or more of your five senses. Create a moment that conjures what something might smell, hear, look, taste, or feel like. Best of luck!
