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? At the time of initially writing this poem, I had conceived an idea to write a series of poems based on nursery rhymes and children’s fairytales. Initially this poem was a mess, unclear unfocused and for a short poem- then and now, it was a train wreck of a poem. I didn’t know how to enter the poem- whether to be literal and maintain the rhyme scheme everyone learned as a kid, or to stay true just to the nature of the poem or do a little of both. I think in the end I decided to be less literal with the poem but still hopefully have readers recognize where the poem comes from. I so love nursery rhymes as well as taking tropes and images that most, Americans at least, grew up singing, viewing and reciting. I like taking the old and rethinking the possibilities of the thing- sort of like how the original nursery rhymes weren’t necessarily designed for the easy consumption by young kids, but as cautionary tales and could at times be quite gory. I wanted to take these rhymes and add an edge back to them- not necessarily gory in nature though. All that glitters isn’t always gold in my world. I tend to pack a lot of emotion and meaning into small poems and wanted this short poem to carry a lot of weight. Not sure if I succeeded but eventually, after more than six months, I finally managed to come up with a version that suited me. During this time I worked on What little blk gurls are made of and its companion poem- Boys are made from scratch.
https://www.inthebook.com/en-us/blog/history-of-nursery-rhymes/
https://www.grunge.com/23605/dark-history-behind-7-classic-nursery-rhymes/
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail. Funny but I can remember where and when the Gardens at Lake Merritt Park in Oakland, CA on a quite warm and sunny day in October in 2017. I decided to go sit in the Palm Garden in the park- this is a area of the park filled with over 20 or so different types of palms- the place at times can feel quite prehistoric where you can picture pterodactyls flying about. Or maybe that’s just my odd imagination. Anyway, I was sitting on a bench half in, half out of the sun just staring at my notepad- watching the squirrels scamper up and down trees, listening to the birds chirp and peck around in the undergrowth when all of a sudden it came to me- why not write a poem based on the nursery rhyme What Are Little Boys Made Of? Originally this poem holds both the rhyme for little boys and little girls, but I knew I needed to separate them out into their own short poems- give both genders their due as stand-alone poems. I started writing the boys poem, but quickly found that this wasn’t working, I just didn’t know how to write what I felt or wanted to say. So sitting there under the trees I switched to writing the girls verse. I found starting with this verse was easier and even though it still took me months to finalize both poems, I still feel the girls’ verse is more successful.
So I would write a line, get up and walk around the garden, touching the palms, marveling at this bright yellow flowering tree close by. Then I would return to the bench and write a few more lines. I am to this day not quite sure what about that space inspired this poem, why nature spoke about boys and girls and their makeup.
What month and year did you start writing this poem? It’s odd to think that this poem is almost 4 years old now being started in October of 2017 (Below). Hard to believe because I am still tinkering with the Boys Are Made From Scratch part of the two linked poems. Short poems are always the hardest for me to write and being that I mainly write short poems, it is a wonder I ever finish anything.
Were there any lines in any of your rough drafts of this poem that were not in the final version? And can you share them with us? LOL- truly I don’t think there is anything of the original drafts that is actually in the finished poem. The initial draft and and cross-outs and erasures (I think to write initially by hand- makes me feel connected to the thoughts and the visceral nature of creating) of the early drafts, were just holding spaces, a way for me to enter into the idea of the poem. I didn’t at the time really understand this or know that everything that I put on paper was dreck and would be totally tossed out. Normally I am one of those writers that love everything he writes- become enamored with lines and phrasing and hate to throw anything I wrote away. Not so with this poem. I instantly knew it was BAD, but didn’t know that the horrible poetry that I wrote that day would get tossed out for fresher lines and a broader vision.
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? The what and why of this poem was unclear at the early stages of writing it, hence the long period of time it took to complete. I had no full idea the WHY. I had a sense that yes, I wanted to rethink these rhymes and make them more relevant and contemporary, but what the message was, I didn’t know. It wasn’t until months later that I realized that I wanted to show black girls as strong and the sustenance that feeds not just the black communities but the world. Hence I made it a recipe poem- the black girl literally feeding others of her body.
Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why? Once clarity around this poem came together, the whole poem became an emotional journey for me. I saw my single mother who raised eight kids on her own after our father died, who sacrificed and still managed to raise children that were productive, provider and lovers of life. I saw my 6 sisters in the poem, who also through hardships found a way to persevere. The girl in the poem was the women I knew that pushed through and always found a way to feed my mind, body and soul.
Has this poem been published before? And if so where? This poem is still looking for a home, but I am not sure if I have ever sent it out for publication.
