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Of a Certain Age [1]

Poetry [2]
7.25.23

In his poem “Self-Portrait at Twenty,” [3] Gregory Orr demonstrates the short, personal lyric he’s known for and captures a moment in time in his life. Rather than include details about what occurred when he was twenty, Orr presents a series of stark, detailed images that create a sense of foreboding for what the year had in store for him. The poem begins with the lines: “I stood inside myself / like a dead tree or a tower.” Then, later in the poem, he writes: “Because my tongue / spoke harshly, I said: / Make it dust.” Take inspiration from Orr’s poem and write a self-portrait poem that captures what you felt at a specific age. Try to avoid revealing narrative details and instead, use your sense of imagery to allow the reader in to your state of mind.


Source URL:https://www.pw.org/content/of_a_certain_age

Links
[1] https://www.pw.org/content/of_a_certain_age [2] https://www.pw.org/genre/poetry [3] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51115/self-portrait-at-twenty