This may be obvious to anyone paying attention, but I have of late had Shakespeare on the brain. It’s a pattern with me, I think. The last time I took on a role in a Shakespeare play the same thing happened: my entire creative output became infused by the bard. Trying to write songs in that era, lyrically I could think of nothing but references to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now, in my poems for National Poetry Writing Month, it’s all about the Romeo and Juliet. Today’s prompt from napowrimo challenges us to write a poem from entries found in an index. In keeping with the Shakespeare theme (because it appears there is no other option for me), here’s my index poem from the Arden Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotations. I’ve used brackets to indicate those places where I have bastardized (or amended) the found material. I also took liberties with punctuation with interesting results, I think.
ABC Shakespeare
Angels, by that sin fell the
Angry, who is the man that is not [in]
Anguish of a torturing hour [in which]
Appetite had grown by what it fed on?
April, he smells.
Babe, like a naked newborn [must]
Banish all the world. I love
Bastards, I love [them].
Blade, with bloody blameful
Brain, [of which the nurse has one]
no more [or less] than I have in my elbows.
Captain of compliments, his
Care killed a cat, [you]
Cat, hang off thou thrice the branded
Centre of my sinful earth and, [lest we forget]
Capulet says, what ho, bring me my longsword again.
michael jarmer 