Photo by Nikola Ancevski on Unsplash
In his poem, “Piano Lessons,” Billy Collins tells us how he is learning to play the piano. In the third stanza, he explains the difference between the scale and the chords. The “He” in the following line is his piano teacher: “He says the scale is the mother of the chords. / I can see her pacing the bedroom floor / waiting for her children to come home. / They are out at nightclubs shading and lighting / all the songs while couples dance slowly / or stare at one another across tables. / This is the way it must be. / After all, just the right chord can bring you to tears / but no one listens to the scales, / no one listens to their mother.” (This delightful poem is in the collection, Sailing Alone Around the Room, by Billy Collins.)
Even if we’re unfamiliar with playing an instrument, we get the message. The scales are necessary because without them, there wouldn’t be the rich layered chords that create harmony and rhythm, what we love hearing in beautiful music. However, the poor scales are largely ignored in the same way that children ignore their mothers. Collins draws a humorous picture for us with his brilliant metaphor which compares the scale to a worried mother.
As you see with this example, metaphors have the power to take us beyond the narrowness of simple description and into another way of perceiving the world.
Metaphors expand our perspectives and can evoke our emotions in a way that simply writing, “The scale is different than the chords. It is necessary but often overlooked” doesn’t.
Thinking and Writing Metaphorically
To think and write metaphorically, begin with what you wish to describe and what mood or emotion you want to elicit in your reader. Ask yourself, “What does this thing look/feel/smell/taste/ or sound like?” and “What do I want my reader to feel or think of?” Also, “What is something from another part of our world that I can compare it to?”
In the last blog post, “People & Places of the Heart,” I described the leaves of my mother’s plum tree as “blood-red flags.” I thought about how the shape of the leaf is like a flag; the color is a stunning burgundy. Moreover, I wanted to use an image that announces sorrow. Flags signal or announce the identity of nations and states. This metaphor along with the “oak, stripped of leaves,” tells the reader it is winter but more importantly, on an emotional level, strikes a somber, sad tone and implies death.
As a poet, I find that I often need to do a good bit of free-writing before my brain will say, “Hey, I’ve got the perfect metaphor!” Trust me when I tell you that it’s worth the work.
The best metaphors temporarily transport us into another world. They make comparisons that surprise us but ring true.
Metaphors are imaginative roller coaster rides not only for our readers but for us, too, as writers. I do a victory dance around my writing room when suddenly, an apt and surprising metaphor enters my mind. It is a wonderful occurrence that I don’t take for granted : ).
My husband and I traveled to England when we were first married. Once home, I wrote “Spiritual Tour of British Waters,” a brief historical travelogue of a few religious sites we visited—Glastonbury tor, Bath’s sacred springs and ending at the River Avon. This poem has been through several revisions. However, I have changed little about the last two stanzas; read these just below.
See if you can spot the metaphor and simile.
from "Spiritual Tour of British Waters"
We stand above the Avon/
in early evening hush,/
watch late sun shimmer/
golden medallions/
against the bridge’s
inner arches. /
The river fans
into gushing fountains/
where pigeons perch/
like still Buddhas/
on wet ledges. /
-Diana Ewell Engel
Photo by Isabel Cuasace on Unsplash
About these stanzas: During one of the last nights of our England tour, we stood on a cobblestone bridge over the Avon at sunset, a lovely sight and one I will never forget. The sun striking the inner arches cast circles of light. In remembering and consulting my travel journal, I thought of the shape. My mind went to the image of medallions which are golden, the same as the light. This is the metaphor. However, I am prouder of the image that follows: “where pigeons perch / like still Buddhas / on wet ledges.” Yes, there were perching pigeons. They were very still. Because I was writing about spiritual sites, my mind was subconsciously excavating for the religious image. The simile (which really is a metaphor that uses “like” or “as”) “like still Buddhas” occurred. Yes! I thought.
When it comes to thinking of metaphors and similes, use all tools at your disposal. Begin with a free-write in which you time yourself and don’t let your pen/fingers leave the paper/keyboard for a good ten minutes or longer. Be patient with yourself. Our brains can be sluggish and contrary processors. My best images come during the last few minutes of my free-write, once I am warmed up and have all the blah-worthy cliches out of the way.
Searching for synonyms is always permissible. Google your key image along with the word “synonyms” to begin your mental journey to a metaphor. Other like words are Not what you are going for, but such words may aid you in thinking comparatively of a unique image. It can also prove helpful to research your subject, although I will warn you: Remember that poetry is at its heart about images and impressions. You are not writing informative, explanatory sentences as you would in an essay, an article, or even a novel. However, learning about your subject can help you think about it in a different way which is what thinking and writing metaphorically is all about.
Write About Who You Are
Try writing metaphorically. Begin with completing the sentence, “I am …”
Below is the poem I wrote after a difficult winter. I was on my bike for the first time since the previous fall, and I felt joyful. I used “I am” as the beginning stem for most of the stanzas of my poem.
Sweet Motion Revision 1
I am a lamp popping on,/
street after street,/
as darkness descends./
I am the crocus blooming
after a bitter season, /
the mockingbird preening
his evening sonata,/
the blue heron shadow
gliding
above the rooftops./
I am worn like a sneaker
tossed into the road,/
the flapping house siding
aged by 20 years
of storms,/
a mailbox
that can no longer shut,/
my stripped back tire./
As I soar on my Schwinn,/
March breezes cool,/
neighbors call/
yard to yard, /
and the aroma
of sidewalk roses/
becomes sky gasoline
for my legs./
Laughing, /
I fly. /
-Diana Ewell Engel
Notice in my poem, “Sweet Motion,” that not all of my images are positive. In the third stanza, I am conveying my feelings of fatigue and past distress with the “sneaker tossed into the yard,” “flapping … siding aged by 20 years of storms, “a mailbox that can no longer shut,” and “my stripped back tire.”
Allow your feelings and images free reign. We are complex human beings with many emotions and experiences, and our poetry should reflect that.
Photo by Marianna Lutkova on Unsplash
Write About Something Important to You
If the writing prompt above doesn’t suit you, try writing about something important to you and use the verb “is.” Then dig deep to complete the sentence with metaphors. For instance, I am currently working on a poem which ends with “Poetry is …” I have completed my sentence in these lines, “Poetry is my coat, / the tissue for my tears, / my howl for justice, / the magnifying glass for my soul, / my survival kit.”-Diana Ewell Engel
Stretch your mind to think of unusual and surprising metaphors, comparison-type images that you can visualize and understand in a relatable way but which are original.
Share your poems and/or sentences in the Comments. I look forward to reading your writing!
Happy New Year!
I love your use of metaphor and simile. " sidewalk roses" "sky gasoline" your pigeon "Buddhas" Your poetry is incredibly evocative beautifully deft.