MONDAYS ARE FREE EXERCISES 111—115

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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MONDAYS ARE FREE EXERCISES 111—115

Viaje. Headlines. Release. Instructions. Tapestry.

EXERCISE 111: CALL UPON YOUR (M)OTHER TONGUES

other than English

Write a poem that embeds a language other than English inside of it.

Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso. I was 16 years old when I went to Santander, Spain to study Spanish./ Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso. My first passport./ Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso. La Guernica and La Cueva de Altamira./ Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso. Hymn sings and Abuela’s flan./ Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso. Travel as life rhythm./ Un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso. Travel builds imagination. Imagination builds empathy.

EXERCISE 112: INTRODUCING THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF POETS

A sudden turn

Write an imitation of Frank O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died.” Include at least 1. a non-English language newspaper, 2. a specific brand of something that comes in a small box, and 3. a sudden turn into breathlessness.

It is 8:37 in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, November 3/ and I am working on a weekly newsletter for my writing group./ It is 2025 about a year since the 2024 United States Presidential election./ Today — human kidnapping, environment distructing, government shutting, people starving, costs skyrocketing, soy beans rotting, layoffs slashing, East Wing of the White House demolishing, January 6^th rioters pardoning, eradicated diseases reemerging, Great Gatsby partying, local elections occurring, people protesting, legacy media capitulating, independent media investigating./ Deep breath.// What are they saying in Japan? I look at Yomiuri Shimbun — the largest circulated daily newspaper in the world. I read several of the most popular articles. “Japan’s deep-sea drilling vessel sets Guinness World Record.” “Japan team gets male sturgeon to switch sex, make roe for caviar.” “Giant mural at Hiroshima Airport screams ‘no more nukes’.” The world seems a little bigger when I think of deep-sea drilling, sturgeon sex switching, and art protesting. Deep-sea drilling, sturgeon sex switching, and art protesting. Deep-sea drilling, sturgeon sex switching, and art protesting.// I look at my small green box of La Mer. The face cream too expensive to justify. The face cream that soothes 50 couple. The face cream I stockpile just in case. The face cream that twice daily reminds me to drink more water. The face cream of comfort. The face cream of longing for glamor.

EXERCISE 113: WHAT CAN YOU RELEASE?

for things as various

In Dilruba Ahmed’s poem “Phase One,” the speaker forgives someone (could be herself) for things as various as “leaving the fridge open,” “hideous visions/after childbirth,” and “For treating your mother/with contempt.” Make a long list of annoyances, mistakes, and offenses and forgive each of them.

I forgive myself for painting the middle school baseball clubhouse without permission. I forgive myself for leaving the spotlight shining too close to the stage curtain. I forgive myself for interrupting people. I forgive myself for not always paying attention. I forgive myself for being a horrible college roommate. I forgive myself for not always mending fences. I forgive myself for too much pizza and television binge watching. I forgive myself for occasional drunken antics. I forgive myself for serving lasagna with mushy noodles. I forgive myself for not starting my exercise program. I forgive myself for not calling my family enough. I forgive myself for not always remembering birthdays and anniversaries. I forgive myself for not taking my supplements and logging my food and syncing my workouts. I forgive myself for not watering my plants enough or watering them too much.

EXERCISE 114: INSTRUCTIONS, OR, AGAINST INSTRUCTIONS

what we hear

Write an imitation of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl.” And/or: write a version of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” in which what we hear are the child’s internal replies to the mother’s chidings and warnings and admonitions.

Tell the truth. That includes: omission lies, convenience lies, comfort lies, strategic lies, sideways lies, halfway lies, sexy lies, blatant lies, blurry lies, and smelly lies. Measure twice, cut once. Remember what you learned when made the quilt for Emma. When we all sat around the table cutting fabric, assembling squares, guiding them through the machine, and admiring our work — three generations sharing stories, teaching each other, and making something together. You can do what you set your mind to. There is a ton of responsibility involved in setting your mind. It means paying attention to what you love, and heading in that direction. It means a lot of failure and never quitting. It means always finishing what you start, but always starting. Listen to your gut. Your gut is your moral compass. You know all the rules: Forgive 7 times 70. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Turn the other cheek. All that lives in your gut. Listen. Your life is a song. You are a singer. You know your song. You sing and sing and sing. You imagine and create and build and don’t give up.

EXERCISE 115: WHAT ELSE IS HIDDEN THERE?

Apparently hidden

In Malik Abduh’s poem “Sugar Shack,” the speaker finds Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You in a box, apparently hidden from the speaker, which his father designated “Midnight Magic.” Abduh writes:/ I found Marvin’s “I Want You”
in my father’s box/ marked Midnight Magic./ Describe an object that you came upon that you were not meant to find./ Also see: John Murillo’s “On Metaphor.”

Tapestry. I found you in my parent’s 8-track collection in our garage on Acorn Lane. I permanently borrowed you and played you for hours on my yellow 8-track player. I fell in love. A tapestry of soft light through a window. I am not sure if it is sunrise, noon, or sunset. If I knew more about angles and reflection maybe I would know which one it is. Understanding light is important. I could probably tell you more about light if I knew about shadows. Shadows hold half the space. A chest of drawers. A table. A chair. Shadows frame a curly-haired soul. She has curly hair. Like my curly hair. Curly. Unkempt. Beautiful. She has always been me. Feeling the earth move. Asking about love. Seeking friendship. Tapestry was released the year I was born. We celebrated our 50 birthday a few years ago. A long-hair cat sits on the windowsill somewhere between stay and go, today and tomorrow, hard and soft, noise and quiet. Things feel different now.

Thanks for reading Mondays are Free. Subscribe to Weekly Wide-Awake and read more poetic practice.

EXERCISE 111: CALL UPON YOUR (M)OTHER TONGUES

other than English

Write a poem that embeds a language other than English inside of it.

EXERCISE 112: INTRODUCING THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF POETS

A sudden turn

Write an imitation of Frank O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died.” Include at least 1. a non-English language newspaper, 2. a specific brand of something that comes in a small box, and 3. a sudden turn into breathlessness.

EXERCISE 113: WHAT CAN YOU RELEASE?

for things as various

In Dilruba Ahmed’s poem “Phase One,” the speaker forgives someone (could be herself) for things as various as “leaving the fridge open,” “hideous visions/after childbirth,” and “For treating your mother/with contempt.” Make a long list of annoyances, mistakes, and offenses and forgive each of them.

EXERCISE 114: INSTRUCTIONS, OR, AGAINST INSTRUCTIONS

what we hear

Write an imitation of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl.” And/or: write a version of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” in which what we hear are the child’s internal replies to the mother’s chidings and warnings and admonitions.

EXERCISE 115: WHAT ELSE IS HIDDEN THERE?

Apparently hidden

In Malik Abduh’s poem “Sugar Shack,” the speaker finds Marvin Gaye’s album I Want You in a box, apparently hidden from the speaker, which his father designated “Midnight Magic.” Abduh writes:/ I found Marvin’s “I Want You”
in my father’s box/ marked Midnight Magic./ Describe an object that you came upon that you were not meant to find./ Also see: John Murillo’s “On Metaphor.”

Thanks for reading Mondays are Free. Subscribe to Weekly Wide-Awake and read more poetic practice.

Enter your email here to receive Weekly Wide-Awake

MONDAYS ARE FREE EXERCISES 111—115

Viaje. Headlines. Release. Instructions. Tapestry.

EXERCISE 111: CALL UPON YOUR (M)OTHER TONGUES

EXERCISE 112: INTRODUCING THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF POETS

EXERCISE 113: WHAT CAN YOU RELEASE?

EXERCISE 114: INSTRUCTIONS, OR, AGAINST INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISE 115: WHAT ELSE IS HIDDEN THERE?

EXERCISE 111: CALL UPON YOUR (M)OTHER TONGUES

EXERCISE 112: INTRODUCING THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF POETS

EXERCISE 113: WHAT CAN YOU RELEASE?

EXERCISE 114: INSTRUCTIONS, OR, AGAINST INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISE 115: WHAT ELSE IS HIDDEN THERE?

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