There's a stream, and a weeping willow
And it weeps, and weeps, and weeps.
It bends its branches to the water
So its tears cannot be seen.
And beside that stream sits a girl.
for "To All the Women" contest
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1.
What are the three words that describe your writing?
Joy, comfort, God-centred.
2.
How would you describe poetry?
As a way to say things that might seem too hard, or too fanciful - maybe, too far out of the common way of things - for ordinary prose; or too elevated for ordinary life. Poetry takes you out of your ordinary life in a way prose doesn’t, not to the same extent.
3.
What are some of your favourite themes to write about?
I love to write about Christianity and from a Christian worldview. I love writing about characters who discover God, I love writing the way they interact with this new knowledge and with each other.
I love romance, although I’m not very good at it; I’ve had no practice, after all! I like to write adventure and action scenes, but then again I’m really bad at translating fast-paced visuals from my head to the page.
As far as poetry goes, though, I like to write about nature and discovery and exploration. I like the delicate, light things that seem as airy as a cobweb, that would shatter at a touch. I like using words in unexpected places and ways, words that have big meanings to somehow convey the enormity of nature in little ways.
4.
Tell us a little bit about your winning entry for the To All the Women contest?
Honestly, I decided to enter on a whim. Another entrant - whose entry really should’ve won, in my opinion - told her discord server about it, so I thought, why not try it? And the words just sort of flowed nicely, so I put it in - I couldn’t lose anything, after all!
I wrote it about a character I’m writing a story about, actually - her name is Aelwen, and she’s going to be in my upcoming short story collection Sparks Under Heaven (details on Wattpad, I think). While this particular occurrence doesn’t happen in the story, it very well could. Having a bigger picture around the poem, I feel, improves poetry, even if it’s never mentioned in the actual poem.
5.
If you could read only one kind of poetry forever, which would you pick?
Assuming you mean structure, I’d probably go with limerick. They’re honestly such fun to read, even though they tend to be more lighthearted than some other, more serious ones that I treasure.
6.
Given the chance, which poet would you like to meet?
I’m pretty sure he’d be dead by now, but A. B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson. He had such an incredible way of spinning his words, so evocative and beautiful. Sure, some of the poems include some… questionable content, but many of them are gorgeous, and the way he paints a picture of the Bush as it was is lovely. I grew up in a family that quoted various parts of various of his poems, like The Man From Snowy River, or Mulga Bill’s Bicycle.
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Thank you for chatting with us, L!
If you want to read their works, visit them at LEMorgan1.
Until next time!
