Val Dumond

Author

Publisher

Editor

Consultant

Articles on Writing, Grammar, and Publishing
by Val Dumond

Poetry the Fun Way!
by Val Dumond
©2008

I don't claim to be a poet, have never learned to write poetry, and don't plan on writing poetry in the future. And I know poetry is partly a learned process, picking up some of the basics before leaping out on your own.

Except: doing it the fun way.

Thanks to The News Tribune (that's in Tacoma for you out-of-towners), I spent most of the day playing on the computer, composing poetry. Yes, that's a better word. I didn't "create" it, I "composed" it. (See? I do know the difference).

Here's how it works:

1. Choose a news item, online or newspaper text.
2. Use a marker for newspaper text and the Underline prompt for the computer.
3. Black out or strike through all the words you didn't underline.
4. Write down the remaining words.

Shazam! There's your poem.

Send me a copy if you wish and I'll send you my amazement.

For my first attempt, I chose a column for bridge players, written by Phillip Alder. The original reads as follows:

Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, essayist and statesman who died in 1626, wrote, "Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral gave; logic and rhetoric able to contend."

Occasionally at the bridge table a player must be subtle to contend. North and South had their bidding shoes on to reach four spades. (I won't encumber you with the layout of the four hands. Just look at the words!)

West might have led his trump, trying to give nothing away. Some would have selected a club, because short suite with an honor usually make better leads than long suits with an honor, since you might get more tricks from the suit before declarer can ruff in. But that would have been fatal here.

When West selected a low diamond, East won with his king and immediately shifted to the heart king. Declarer won with his ace and played a trump to dummy's king. East won with his ace, took the heart queen, and tried to cash the diamond ace. South, after ruffing and drawing the missing trump, had to find the club queen. East had already produced the spade ace, heart king-queen and diamond ace-king: 16 points. Since his one no-trump showed 15-17, he could not have the club queen. Declarer finessed through West to make his contract.

East should have lied in one of the red suits, perhaps winning with the diamond ace and returning a low diamond. (West's fourth-highest lead guaranteed an honor in the suite.) Shift to the heart queen at trick two. South would probably get the clubs wrong.

Here's the poem I came up with (there are many wonderful words in this piece; you could probably come up with something even better. Try it!)

BRIDGE

Wise poets,
Deep, grave,
Able to bridge
Nothing.

Some with honor
Might trick
That fatal heart
With points.

Could not
Have lied perhaps
Winning honor?
Wrong.

Back to the main Articles page

"Please feel free to contact me. I welcome your comments and any specific questions you may have. "