This exercise uses eavesdropping in a public setting, such as a cafe, coffee shop, bus stop, library, bookstore, or any number of locations. Listen for conversation–and write down whatever is said, along with any ambient sounds, such as a bird chirping, a car honking, a door slamming. Stay alert for unusual words and vibrant images you perceive through the language spoken, as well as the sounds heard. Is the woman hissing in a whisper you cannot quite hear? Did he say, “vermilion?” Focus completely on listening instead of sight.
Once you have gathered enough concrete sound images and words, draft a poem using free verse (see chapter 4). Think about the words, phrases, and sentences you heard, as well as sounds. You might want to start by putting selected ones in a list exactly as you heard them. Notice how long each line of the list looks on the page. Do you want the line to stay together, or do you want to break it into pieces? Consider deleting parts of lines, too. Rearrange them. Maybe you want to add something you did not hear or observe, or change part of what you did hear. Decide if you want commas to slow down how the lines are read at any point and if you want periods anywhere to stop the reader. Your choices there. Perhaps you want no punctuation or capitalization anywhere. That’s OK, too. Number of lines to be written: from 12 to 15 lines.
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