After Years - Ted Kooser

After Years
Ted Kooser

Today, from a distance, I saw you
walking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer's retina
as he stood on the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell.

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Here, the author takes an experience (seeing "you" after years) and creates a feeling by directing our attention to believable concurring images. And finally, after leading us on a journey of images, the author brings us back to himself and somehow the images he has woven together create a feeling in us that allows us to empathize with his experience. 

While keeping this poem in mind, it's messages and techniques, here are some prompts that you may use to write a poem:

1. Find a moment in your life where a change occurred or a memory resurfaced and imagine concurring images that help both mimic your feelings and also add up to give us a greater understanding of you as a person. Use the final image as a tie in back to you.
2. Take a line from this poem and use this in your poem (a title, a first line, or other). Write.
3. What else does this poem remind you of or inspire in you? Write.