#395 Backstory of the Poem “For the Maladjusted Gardner Who Would Be Culled By Her Own Brown Thumb” from the poetry chapbook FINDING HER by Kristie L. Williams

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? The first thing I let myself envision was a woman digging in a garden. The next thing to pop in my head were the words… “I watch the earth open up and swallow you whole”. From there I wrote what became the middle of the poem with nothing more than the word “pergola” in mind.

Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail. The poem was conceived after a phone conversation. I needed to process the whole event of that phone call. I sat outside on my patio at a black wrought iron table, looking out at the wooded area facing me. I sat with a notebook and 3 pens(black, blue, and purple ink) I do this so I can decide how to move stanza around when I am ready to work with what I choose to type on the page.

Kristie L. Williams at her writing space. Copyright by Kristie L. Williams

What month and year did you start writing this poem? September 2020. I had a final draft in 4 days.

Kristie L. Williams in September of 2020. Copyright by Kristie L. Williams

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? I did cut out a stanza that did not move the poem forward. I don’t usually include draft notes in a conversation like this one because readers have told me it distracts them from the poem itself. It may change their original perceptions and/or personal connection to the piece.

Kristie L. Williams at her book party on September 9, 2022. Copyright by Kristie L. Williams

What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? No matter where you are in the moment of highest rage or pain there will be a time when your vantage point will be full of light.

Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why? “I watch the earth open up and swallow you whole” Because that was the line that allowed me to unleash all of my rage/pain on to the maladjusted gardener. And then I was able to decide whether or not “whole” would be the end of a sentence or stand in its power. It also eventually allowed me to let go. And now I smile every time I read the poem.