Taken Lines

This week at Belding, students discussed the practice, honorable or otherwise, of appropriating lines. After learning about poets for whom such appropriation is practice, they gave their own opinions about whether stealing lines or inspiration from others was appropriate. Students then read from an introduction by Ezra Pound--a poet who often used the lines of other works in his own--and were prompted to write a poem stealing a single line from Pound's Notes for Canto CXX as inspiration. Read some of the responses below:

from Mr. Merrill's class:

by Fardosa

Let the wind speak in harmony
beneath the mountains among the
forest. The mountains will forgive
the one who understand their mistakes.

***

by Victor

Listening to the wind
blowing in your ear. Smelling
roses in the summer
breeze. But especially
stealing a line from Ezra
Pound to use it in
my poem. Now that
is paradise.

***

by Justine

Let the gods
forgive what I
have done.
All the things I did
was not good it
was bad I wish
I have not
done this I
feel bad and I feel
sad.

***

from Ms. Navrocki's class

***

by Lio

I am in paradise
I feel shaky
I try to forget
But I can't
That is my sorry
That is paradise
I will come back
That is my will.

***

Peace is Gone

by Rhita

Everyone is fighting.
There is no peace in the world.
I do not trust anyone.
I have tried to write Paradise.
Now, I fight you.
I am sorry,
But I don't care.
Do not care about anthing.
Care only goes in Love...
Love only goes to peace...
Peace is gone.
Love is gone.
I don't care,
But I'm sorry.

***

By Gloria

Oh, please oh please let the wind speak
It's haunting me just because I
won't let the wind speak my heart
will speak but the wind won't speak
like your wind will speak but I don't
know why my wind won't speak. All
I want you to do wind is
speak speak just speak speak
to me of something.