The Rose and the Lilly

Golden Shovel Poetry is a style of verse created by Terrance Hayes. This form of found poetry allows the writer to take a favorite poem and use it to make something original. I experimented with found poetry last year when I wrote Blank Verse poems. Since I have a small booklet of William Blake poems on my shelf that I’ve planned to reread, I decided to start the month of July playing with the words written by this Romantic Era poet. Blake didn’t receive much recognition in his life. Some people thought he was insane. I will call this first poem The Rose and the Lilly.

The rules for writing a Golden Shovel Poem and The Rose and the Lilly

While researching this style of poetry created by Terrance Hayes, there seem to be four simple rules. You can use as many lines of the poem as you want, and the poem will end with you being your creation. I find this idea interesting. Written below are the three simple rules.

1). Choose a poem that you like. I will use poems by William Blake in my July poetic adventure.

2)Use each word in the line or lines as the end word in your poem. Make sure they stay in order.

3) Construct an entire poem around them. The meaning doesn’t have to be the same.

4) Give the original poet credit who wrote the line or lines you used.  

In this poetic adventure, I will stick to using poems written by William Blake. This small poem I call Twisted Love will call The Rose and the Lilly. The word end words of each line were from Blake’s The Lilly.

The Rose and the Lilly

Between the petal and the 
Stem, there exists a modest
Blush on a white Rose
A trace of red puts
Backward and forth
The slight trace of a
Kiss from the thorn

And if I could ask the
Thorn so humble
Why not remain like the Sheep
Never to harm a
Hand or become threat’ning
With it’s prickly horn?

And all the while
On the vine the
Meek Lilly
Mild and white
And shimmering shall
Bask in
The light of Love
And delicate delight


Meaning no harm nor
Toxic threat to a 
Hand once pricked by a thorn,
Bloodied finger nor
Secrets that create a
Poisonous threat
There is no stain
To damage her
Fragrance and beauty
The Lilly white and bright

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

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