"Fourth Meditation" by Theodore Roethke I was always one for being alone, Seeking in my own way, eternal purpose; At the edge of the field waiting for the pure moment; Standing, silent, on sandy beaches or walking along green embankments; Knowing the sinuousness of small waters: As a chip or shell, floating lazily with a slow current... Was it yesterday I stretched out the thin bones of my innocence? O the songs we hide, singing only to ourselves! Once I could touch my shadow, and be happy; In the white kingdoms, I was light as a seed, Drifting with the blossoms, A pensive petal. I think of the self-involved: The ritualists of the mirror, the lonely drinkers, The minions of benzedrine and paraldehyde, And those who submerge themselves deliberately in trivia... What do they need? O more than a roaring boy, For the sleek captains of intuition cannot reach them; They feel neither the tearing iron Nor the sound of another footstep-- How I wish them awake! May the high flower of the hay climb into their hearts; May they lean into light and live; May they sleep in robes of green, among the ancient ferns... May the sun gild them a worm; May they be taken by the true burning; May they flame into being!-...." Activity: All writers keep a notebook in which they write down observations of people, their own feelings, questions, definitions of themselves, whatever. To help writers in their quest for their true selves: "Write a poem (or story) in which you undertake a journey to an unknown destination. The poem does not necessarily have to have a formal 'plot,' but does have to leave you, at the end of the journey, in a wholly unexpected place: either in the midst of a strange landscape (mental and/or physical) or in the throes of a threatening or exciting discovery (self, other, or both). Begin the writing with a predicament: The speaker of the poem or an actual person is lost, or hunting for something (someone), or is being propelled into a quest against his or her will, or is on a supposedly ordinary journey that turns weird. You may use 'useless' material: images that exist for their own quirky beauty, flotsam and jetsam from actual journeys, revived memories, old legends and stories" (Snively, Susan. "A Journey to Nowhere." The Practice of Poetry. Eds. Robin Behn and Chase Twichell. New York: HarperCollins, 1992), The assignment is open-ended and students will be able to engage in wish fulfillment while learning to feel comfortable in taking risks in the act of creating. Poem source: The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975.