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***This is the tenth in a never-ending series called BACKSTORY
OF THE POEM where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one
specific poem and how the poet wrote that specific poem. All of
the BACKSTORY OF THE POEM series links are posted at the end
of this piece.
Backstory of the Poem
“Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
by Scott Thomas Outlar
Can you go through the step-by-step process of
writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain
until final form? I’ve
been residing in the suburbs outside of Atlanta, Georgia for the past several
years. Two of my favorite activities are walking and visiting the many parks located
throughout Gwinnett County. Thankfully, Mountain Park is only a mile from my
residence, and so nearly every day I make the journey up there to spend time in
the woods writing. Sometimes poems begin to form in my mind as I’m walking
along the sidewalk on Five Forks Trickum Road, and that is the case with this
particular piece. Its theme, tempo, rhythm, and cadence arrived spontaneously
from my subconscious. By the time I reached the bridge inside the park where I momentarily
rest while finishing my first cigarette of the day, the entire poem had been
constructed in my head.
Where were you when you started to actually
write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail. A few minutes later I had
climbed the final hill and was seated at my favorite bench in the woods feverishly
scribbling down the poem while it was still fresh in my thoughts. The entire
process from original idea to written draft was completed within 20 minutes.
The woods in the area are filled with pine trees, and the bench is situated
beside a tree that has a heart with initials carved into it. There is a
baseball field in the distance that can be seen from the angle where I sit.
It’s a wonderful place to relax and commune with nature while receiving a
steady flow of inspiration.
What month and year did you start writing this
poem? It was written on
October 6, 2017.
How many drafts of this poem did you write
before going to the final? (And can you share a photograph of your rough drafts
with pen markings on it?) There
was one rough draft written down in pen, and then the final version was typed
later in the day.
What do you want readers of this poem to take
from this poem? A
feeling of unity, connectedness, and Oneness with their fellow human beings, as
well as a sense of harmony and balance with the natural processes of life and
death on earth.
Has this poem been published before? And
if so where? Yes,
it was originally published at Dissident Voice. DV is a cultural, political,
and social justice newsletter edited by Angie Tibbs where I have now been
contributing a weekly poem for the past three and a half years.
My friend and
fellow poet, Heath Brougher, also filmed an impromptu performance of me reading
the piece during a recent trip to London, England. That video can be seen here on YouTube.
Contact info?
I can be reached via email: 17Numa@gmail.com. I’m also active on
several social media platforms. The best place to reach out is on my personal
Facebook page. I always welcome feedback and am open to engaging in new
conversations with friends and contemporaries.
Natural Reflection of Your Palms
This
is my breath,
the
same as yours,
the
same as dust, the same as ash
when
it all comes to an end,
but
held deeply within
steady
lungs
that
long for truth
while
we’re still here.
This
is my flesh,
the
same as yours,
the
same as tissue, the same as sinew,
but
without
fiber
optic connections as of now;
and
never will be,
so
don’t dare try me
with
temptations
toward
such so-called system upgrades.
This
is my blood,
the
same as yours,
the
same as a river, the same as the ocean
where
we all swam
before
the expansion
of
our evolution
was
set into forward motion.
These
are my hands,
the
same as yours,
the
same as caring, the same as giving,
the
same as taking, the same as wanting,
the
same as needing to hold
everything
that is loved
firmly
within their grasp.
Scott Thomas Outlar
hosts the site 17Numa.wordpress.com where links to his published poetry, fiction,
essays, interviews, reviews, live events, and books can be found. His work has
been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Scott was a
recipient of the 2017 Setu Magazine Award for Excellence in the field of
literature. His words has been translated into Albanian, Afrikaans, Persian,
Serbian, and Italian. His books include: Songs
of a Dissident (Transcendent Zero Press, 2015); Chaos Songs (Weasel Press, 2016); Happy Hour Hallelujah (CTU Publishing, 2016); Poison in Paradise (Alien Buddha Press, 2017); and Abstract Visions of Light (Alien Buddha
Press, forthcoming in 2018).
001 December 29, 2017
Margo
Berdeshevksy’s “12-24”
002 January 08, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “82 Miles From the Beach, We Order The Lobster At Clear Lake
Café”
003 January 12, 2018
Barbara
Crooker’s “Orange”
004 January 22, 2018
Sonia
Saikaley’s “Modern Matsushima”
005 January 29, 2018
Ellen
Foos’s “Side Yard”
006 February 03, 2018
Susan
Sundial’s “The Ringmaster”
007 February 09, 2018
Leslea
Newman’s “That Night”
008 February 17, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher “June Fairchild Isn’t Dead”
009 February 24, 2018
Charles
Clifford Brooks III “The Gift of the Year With Granny”
010 March 03, 2018
Scott
Thomas Outlar’s “Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/chris-ricecooper-caccoopaol.html
011 March 10, 2018
Arya F. Jenkins “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph, “History Abandoned" https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/11-backstory-of-poem-after-diane.html
Arya F. Jenkins “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph, “History Abandoned" https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/11-backstory-of-poem-after-diane.html
012 March 17, 2018
Angela Narciso Torres’s “What I Learned This Week”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/12-backstory-of-poem-series-angela.html
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/12-backstory-of-poem-series-angela.html
013 March 24, 2018
Jan
Steckel’s “Holiday On ICE”
014 March 31, 2018
Ibrahim
Honjo’s “Colors”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/14-backstory-of-poem-ibrahim-honjos.html
015 April 14, 2018
Marilyn
Kallett’s “Ode to Disappointment”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/04/15-backstory-of-poem-ode-to_14.html
016 April 27, 2018
Beth
Copeland’s “Reliquary”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/04/16-backstory-of-poem-reliquary-by-beth.html
017 May 12, 2018
Marlon
L Fick’s “The Swallows of Barcelona”
018 May 25, 2018
Juliet
Cook’s “ARTERIAL DISCOMBOBULATION”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/05/18-backstory-of-poem-arterial.html
019 June 09, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “Stiletto Killer. . . A Surmise”
020 June 16, 2018
Charles
Rammelkamp’s “At Last I Can Start Suffering”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-backstory-of-poem-at-least-i-can.html
021 July 05, 2018
Marla
Shaw O’Neill’s “Wind Chimes”
022 July 13, 2018
Julia Gordon-Bramer’s
“Studying Ariel”
023 July 20, 2018
Bill Yarrow’s “Jesus
Zombie”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/07/23-backstory-of-poem-jesus-zombie-by.html
024 July 27, 2018
Telaina Eriksen’s “Brag
2016”
025 August 01, 2018
Seth Berg’s (It is only
Yourself that Bends – so Wake up!”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/25-backstory-of-poem-it-is-only.html
026 August 07, 2018
David Herrle’s “Devil In
the Details”
