Katrina Morrison hosted the March Open write at Ethical ELA on Tuesday.
Her invitation: I am calling [this] a“Dictionary Poem.” If anything can define and expound upon the meaning of a word, it is poetry…pick a word to take apart and put back together in a poem. Begin with the dictionary definition of the word. Obviously, some words will offer multiple meanings. Craft your poem however you will. After the definition, expound upon the word’s meaning…the vicissitudes of life may direct you to write a haiku or a villanelle or free verse today.
I will NOT be attempting the villanelle again anytime soon; I wrestled that form to the ground on Saturday and haven’t recouped the stamina yet to give it another go. I went with an acrostic, because the word “shards” stays in my mind, and I keep turning it around and playing with it anyway, to find out all it wants to tell me. I love this word, so…the poem:
Defining
shard
(shärd) also sherd (shûrd)
n.
1. A broken piece or fragment, as of pottery or glass.
2. Zoology A tough scale or covering, such as the elytron of a beetle.
—Dictionary.com
The Poet’s interpretation:
shards
plural
sharp-edged fragments of memory, or
seeking healing among remnants, despite suffering
Somewhere in the shattering
Healing awaits, disguised
As sharp points
Ready to draw yet more blood…
Dare to touch the memories. Discover
Scattered diamondlight, all around.
Image: beasternchen. Pixabay.
*******
with thanks to Two Writing Teachers for the March Slice of Life Story Challenge
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lit bits and pieces 
Love your poem! I haven’t thought about shards like that before, but you described it so perfectly. 🥰
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Oh wow. I love the discovery of shattered diamondlight. That’s a shard benefit, for sure…but you’ve got to dare to touch the memories. (that just reminded me of “but you gotta know the territory! From Music Man).
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I love this poem! I have never heard of a dictionary poem but so now I might write one. Thanks for this slice.
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Oh what a great poem! I do love the word ‘shards’ and your acrostic fully does it justice. I also smiled at your comment about the villanelle format!
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Wow! Your picture and your acrostic are so beautifully wound together! Diamond light … yes!
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Yes, everything about your poem and picture work so well together. I like the prompt that brought your poem to life.
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Such a powerful poem! I love your definition. Even without the lovely poem, what a helpful exercise to change the dictionary definition of the word by letting it speak to us and then rewriting it. Thank you!
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Love your poem! Very vivid word choice.
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”Somewhere in the shattering
Healing awaits, disguised”
Such a powerful message, Fran.
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Truly powerful poem, and I love the photo to accompany it today!
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The graphic is amazing, and beyond your definition poem you have an acrostic that ends in such beauty:
Dare to touch the memories. Discover
Scattered diamondlight, all around.
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Brilliant.
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Ooh! I love “seeking healing among remnants, despite suffering”. I feel like it belongs in a print, perhaps with the image you chose to illustrate your poetry today.
Just now on my PBS station, an episode of “Your Fantastic Mind” aired, highlighting the controlled use of psychedelics with therapy and spirituality to combat severe depression. Participants described the experience as returning to a state of being whole, enveloped in love. Your poem made me picture their psyches as shards, being drawn together by caring hands.
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Beautiful.
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I love everything about this post. PERHAPS it is so many posts about memories this year, but I find myself caught in a sea of memories that often have sharp shards and cause moments of pain and even tears, Shards it is.
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This line made me chuckle: “I will NOT be attempting the villanelle again anytime soon; I wrestled that form to the ground on Saturday and haven’t recouped the stamina yet to give it another go.” And I absolutely love your poem–for all the lines that other commenters have mentioned, and for the whole that each of these beautiful lines (shards!) coalesce to create.–Diamondlight all around, indeed!
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