Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Scenes from The Whipping Club

By Glynn Young 10 Comments

It was another TweetSpeak Poetry Twitter party last Tuesday, and 13 intrepid souls braved the shock of their Twitter followers and tweeted away, creating lines of poetry. The prompts were all taken from The Whipping Club by Deborah Henry, the novel published by T.S. Poetry Press and listed as one of Oprah’s Hot Summer Reads.

This Twitter party started in the woods, moved quickly to the ballroom, and then sailed back to the woods. Here are the first five poems assembled and edited from the tweets; we’ll have more next week.

Scenes from The Whipping Club

By @llbarkat, @mmerubies, @BrighterSideBlg, @charsingleton, @lanearnold, @Doallas, @chrisyokel, @VaporWhisp, @LW_Willingham, @gyoung9751, @jen_rose, @pathoftreasure, and @GBrodhurstDavis. Edited by @gyoung9751. Overslept: @duane_scott.

The Woods

He imagined the woods,
with their orange mushrooms,
scented pines deep and dark, a thousand
miles from the sea, beyond desert.
He learned his way through the woods
tree by tree
He learned his way through the dark
star by star
to where the weeping willows are.
And tree by tree, he gathered moss
He learned his way through the owl’s hoot
and the soft cooing of the whippoorwill.

The willows whisper behind fluttering leaves.
The sky a skirt of storm cloud sweeping trees,
the oaks stiffly bow and dance to please.

Trailing by tip toe, body long and lean,
he glanced and saw, his hands reaching
up through the snow, steady falling
down a thousand miles from the willows,
touching a sign scored in the grain
of the wood, its bark stripped like his heart.
He takes the heart to every girl;
it only fit just the one.

The glance reminds him of second chances,
second chances and second fields, reminded
him of first shoes removed and new bare feet;
only bare feet feel holiness of the ground, and
shoes are not for leaving , by the way.
The second glance is what convinces him:
the aspen leaves had quaked their secret,
the leaves slipping over their gathered bark,
the branches stretching a thousand miles more.

For another glance he would give the moon away
and sacrifice the sun which makes it day.

The Ball in the Woods

And what do the mushrooms wear?
Tattered lace and ribbons, shawls weaved
of lavender in a midnight moon, a dress
of gathered bark, a slip of rain, shoes
of stars, a belt of cooing. Mushrooms
bob their button-hatted heads, trailing
a thousand more ribbons from a hat
that could make you cry.

When they are going to the ball?
Ah, soon, they shall go to the ball!
Full of dance they learned from the trees.
Dance high! Dance high! Leave your troubles
with your shoes, on the side. Yes dancing
the wild dance they learned from the trees,
the trees and the breeze and the buzzing
of bees: they go to the ball as they please.

Dressing for the Ball

I polish my nails with twinkling lights.
I powder my face with the sand
beside the sea. I weave sunbeams
through my hair, and you could
never hope to climb as high as me.
Touch the ruffle of my hem,
look to the fields, look to the stars.
I wear black-point shoes and I twist
my hair so tight the bun holds back
everything, every single dream
a dancer dreams. I learned to dance
on a September day, in a circle
of trees colored still green,
life green, their branches reaching
out to me, singing me their song.

Ruffles of Hemlock

Ruffles of hemlock skate the night,
leaves crumble and dry, poison
already praying to kiss my lips.
Kiss my lips as if I were a tree,
hold tight and roughen me.
My words will one day dance
across your pages. You will
read them and know a part
of me that even I can’t touch.

Two Osprey

Two osprey soar beside the live oak,
bearded in Spanish moss. They soar
tree by tree and stone by stone.
The sky wears a skirt of storm clouds.
The rain falls; the osprey hear
the whisper under thunder; the osprey
breathe the sharp acrid smell of new life.

Photo by Rvdh. Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of Dancing Priest.

___________

Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $2.99— Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In June we’re exploring the theme Trees.

Every Day Poems Driftwood

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of the Civil War romance Brookhaven, as well as Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass” - May 22, 2025
  • A History of Children’s Stories: “The Haunted Wood” by Sam Leith - May 20, 2025
  • World War II Had Its Poets, Too - May 15, 2025

Filed Under: article, poetry, Twitter poetry

Try Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Donna says

    June 26, 2012 at 8:09 am

    Wow… now that was fun, all over again! Thank you for your weaving it all together … it’s like magic. This phrase took my breath away –

    “My words will one day dance
    across your pages.
    You will read them and
    know a part
    of me that even
    I can’t touch.”

    … and its truth seems to be found out here, in these poetry party lines that have found each other.

    Reply
  2. L. L. Barkat says

    June 26, 2012 at 8:21 am

    Lol! I loved the “overslept” slipped in. Somebody needs to tell Duane 😉

    Lovely poems. Really showing, I think, that some of the participants have been writing together over time. Can’t believe some of the synchronicity here.

    Reply
  3. Chris Yokel says

    June 26, 2012 at 9:21 am

    This whole connection of dancing and balls and woods reminds me of scenes from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

    Reply
  4. Maureen Doallas says

    June 26, 2012 at 9:57 am

    Glynn, you did wonder with the tweeted lines. Some of these lines are so lyrical, and I like their fantastic elements, too.

    Reply
  5. Tania Runyan says

    June 26, 2012 at 10:59 am

    What luscious lines! I especially love “The sky wears a skirt of storm clouds.”

    Reply
  6. Heather Truett says

    June 26, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    So beautiful and so much fun!!

    Reply
  7. Charity Singleton says

    June 26, 2012 at 6:42 pm

    Glynn – I am always amazed at how these poems come together so beautifully under your pen. Like LL, it’s amazing that the voices of so many writers blend so beautifully together – the community has taken on a voice of its own.

    Reply
  8. Kathleen says

    June 26, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    Ruffles of Hemlock is brilliant. I also like this line very much, in my gut….. I twist
    my hair so tight the bun holds back
    everything, every single dream
    a dancer dreams.

    Reply
  9. Laurie Flanigan says

    July 10, 2012 at 8:56 am

    The lines are put together beautifully. I love “I twist my hair so tight the bun holds back everything”. It resonates a familiar feeling.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Scenes from The Whipping Club 2 | TweetSpeak Poetry says:
    July 3, 2012 at 5:05 am

    […] Scenes from The Whipping Club 1 – the first five poems  […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our May Menu

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

The Graphic Novel

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

How to Write Poetry

Your Comments

  • 10 Ways to Help Your Favorite Introverted Author: 1,000 Words - Tweetspeak Poetry on The Joy of Poetry: As Much as She Could Carry
  • Donna Hilbert on Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass”
  • L.L. Barkat on Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass”
  • Poets and Poems: L.L. Barkat and “Beyond the Glass” - Tweetspeak Poetry on Love, Etc.: Poems of Love, Laughter, Longing & Loss

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2025 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy