I think I Smell An Apple Pie

 

I spread my wings, but I won’t fly.
I think I smell an apple pie.
Cooling on the window sill,
Without a fork I’ll use my bill.

Sneaky and quiet I will go,
To have my share, no one will know.
Especially not the farmer’s cook,
She’s too busy with her book.

So I reach up high and find a flaw.
For I have no fingers, thumb or claw.
How will I take it with my wing?
Maybe if I had a string.

I could tie a knot and throw it high,
And with good luck it’d reach the pie.
So here I go, just one good toss.
Oh no, run fast, here comes the boss!

                            –Written by Rose McFarland

Do you ever look at a funny picture or animal and immediately you’re off into a fantasy world imaging all sorts of stories or rhymes.  Well I do! 

Like the one above I couldn’t resist this picture of a big white goose and wondered what he was thinking about with his head cocked and wonder in his eyes.  Silly as it seems, I actually thought about it for a couple of days.  I thought, maybe he was ready to take flight.  No, that didn’t seem right at all.  Perhaps, he was drying his wings on a warm sunny afternoon after a dip in the lake.  That could be.  But then I realized the answer was in the expression on his face.  And I also knew that as a writer, I could decide what that expression was and make up a story. 

Well, you can do the same thing too.  You can be a writer.  By looking into the world with your imagination, you can make stories up about anything you want.  And do you know what; each story will be right and truthful, as you see it in your mind.  It’s yours, so how could be anything else?

This picture below of a horse is a perfect example.  What comes to your mind when you take a good look at it?  Does the horse seem happy, mischievous, or maybe playful?  Is he all of them at once?  Sometimes you know right away what feelings a picture brings to you and other times, like me, you must ponder it until the idea you have about it seem right. 

So, if the thought of becoming a writer captures your imagination, then don’t put it off another moment. 

Find something that interests you and just begin by taking a good long hard look at it.  Jot down on a piece of paper or your notebook, what was the first thing that came to your mind when you looked at it.  How did it make you feel?  Did it make you laugh or cry?  Did it surprise you?  Or is it something like the little goose above that made you puzzle over it?  And once you know how it made you feel, try to put that feeling into a story.  It doesn’t have to be rhyme.  It can be anything you want.  I thought, what is that funny goose looking at?  And all of a sudden, a hot steaming, scrumptious apple pie popped into my mind like a light bulb.  But where would a goose see an apple pie?  Well, if he were in a barnyard he might see it when he looks at the nearby farmhouse.  That’s when I knew I had it right and just starting writing.  After that, the rest came easily, and before I knew it I had written a poem.

Now it’s your turn.  Practice on the horse above if you’d like or a picture you have in your room and see what your imagination says about it.  After that, the rest will begin to fall into place.