Using a blank page, write a poem from the bottom up, beginning with the line “It Starts Here”. Then, read it from top to bottom when you’re done. What ulterior meaning does the poem have from reading it another way? What were some unintended results?

Length: One Page

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I began this exercise with mixed emotions. In fact, I was going to skip over it. What possible advantage will I have when this poem is done? But, being truthful to myself, I jumped into it and began writing in my paper journal. In the beginning I was reaching. However, by the time I’d reached the fourth line from the bottom – going up with a pencil – I began to have a better grasp on free verse because I was concentrating on the words rather than the message. Looking ahead at subsequent assignments it seems like this freedom from planning and letting it all hang out might be an important asset.

Reasons that seem crazy

And reasons I’m competing for

Into the world of nowhere

An eight-day adventure

It began as an exercise

For reasons unclear

I’m writing upside-down

This poem of mine

It starts here