Self Sketch

Posted on September 10, 2020 by 
Written for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics:  Come and take a Selfie!
(posted by sarahsouthwest)

"One of the great things about dVerse is that people write regularly. I feel I know many of you in a very special way, through your poetry. And equally, I’ve told you things about myself – consciously and unconsciously – that I wouldn’t normally tell people, because that’s what poetry does. It opens us up.

For this prompt, I wanted to make that very explicit. I’d like to see some self-portraits.
If you were giving me a portrait of someone else, you might pull out one feature, or one incident, or start telling me about their eyebrows and head off somewhere completely different. I’d like a self-portrait that does something like that. By the end of this we might not know what colour your eyes are, but we might know what inspires you, or how you take your coffee."


A sketch, an outline–
no table of internal
contents.  People say
I look confident 
and calm.  Under
the surface is a
ticking bomb.  If you look 
strong, do you suppose
you can grow into
that look?  Hair is curly
now with age.  Don't
know why.  Blue eyes
search the glass
but never for long. I am
happiest when my
sarcastic sense
of humor makes others
laugh, when my imagination
in writing soars,
and when I am reading 
a book I love.

https://dversepoets.com/

About purplepeninportland

I am a freelance poet, born and bred in Brooklyn, New York. I live with my husband, John, and two charming rescue dogs–Marion Miller and Murphy. We spent eight lovely years in Portland, OR, but are now back in New York. My goal is to create and share poetry with others who write, or simply enjoy reading poetry. I hope to touch a nerve in you, and feel your sparks as well.
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18 Responses to Self Sketch

  1. robtkistner says:
    September 10, 2020 at 2:05 am

    Wonderful write Sara! Blue eyes, curly hair, sarcastic — Sounds cool… 😉

    Like

  2. Helen Dehner says:
    September 10, 2020 at 2:06 am

    I love this selfie portrait of you! A you folks gravitate to, I’m certain.

    Like

  3. rivrvlogr says:
    September 10, 2020 at 2:54 pm

    Nice opening, and all of this comes across as an honest self-appraisal.

    Like

  4. lillian says:
    September 10, 2020 at 3:13 pm

    Love the ending here….the listing of what makes you happy! 🙂 Since you enjoy books: The Old Woman Who Broke All the Rules. Read it! You’ll chuckle out loud! 🙂

    Like

  5. Mother Wintermoon says:
    September 10, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    Beautiful, straightforward and fun self sketch. Love all of it and the book lover’s ending. 🙏

    Like

  6. sarahsouthwest says:
    September 10, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    I love a bit of sarcasm! I was left feeling that you’re happiest when you’re not thinking about yourself at all – and maybe that’s the best way to be.

    Like

  7. calmkate says:
    September 11, 2020 at 4:57 am

    this is really lovely, thanks for sharing you!

    Like

  8. msjadeli says:
    September 11, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    What makes a person happy says so much about them. I liked the honesty and simplicity of your poem, Sara.

    Like

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