I thought I would post a poem I wrote from its inception to finish; I wrote it while on sabbatical in 2001. It starts with a free writing exercise on Fall. You can see where I took the leaves.

Autumn begins in the Lower East side

Shortly after school starts and the

Heat burns out of the air.

I am 8 years old;

in my part of the city there is an oasis of trees.

I am instructed to collect the reds and golds and bring the

Dropped treasures of maples and elms

to school:

these will be tacked to bulletin boards

incorporated into drawings,

pasted, glued.

Admired.

But eventually hues fade

And are diminished to

A crackle of brown.

It is Halloween and I don’t have a costume to

Trick or treat in.

There is a wealth of doorbells to ring,

Bounties to receive.

I put on a plaid jumper and a silly

plaid golf hat with a red pompom.

I tack a sign to my chest:

Scotch Doll 25¢

2. First Draft

Fall

Leaves

3-hole punched

right margin

texts

heavy burdens to memorize;

Leaves the house 7:00 a.m. to

Return at 4:30

To turn leaves into homework.

3. Rewrite

Fall

Fresh, new, white, barren

Leaves.

Signify a new chance,

the year begins with leaves

Virginal leaves

3-hole punched

the descent on Staples, Office Max, Office Depot,

the corner store–

for leaves of all sizes, prices,

to fill up, flip through, scribble

dabble, crumple, toss, hold chewing gum

rip open packs

divide and conquer into

big rings;

they are categorized and waiting.

New year, new chance

Purged sins

New beginning.

Leaves: in all sizes

To flip through, fill up

scribble, dabble, crumple, toss,

hold: ideas, chewed gum, pencil shavings.

3-hole punched,

right margined,

plastic wrapped;

rip them open

divide and conquer

into big rings

held fast,

they wait.

5. Final Edit
Fall

Leaves,

to flip through,

fill up,

scribble, dabble, crumple, toss.

Hold:

ideas, chewed gum, lone words, erasures,

pencil shavings, love notes, footprints,

frustration,triumph.

3-hole punched,

right margined,

plastic wrapped.

Rip open;

Divide and conquer.

Into big rings

Held fast

They wait.

reply riihele wrote on Oct 30, ’07 Hei Sue Good poems – i can see where you are ‘coming from’ with them… Take care and do keep so well. Rii 🙂

reply bostonsdandd wrote on Oct 30, ’07 I like how you took us through the editing process. I was wondering about that for the longest LOL. Very nice poem too. I love fall and the changing of the colors, smells, and the air we breathe.

reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Oct 30, ’07 Interesting to see the evolution of your final poem..it’s perfect!!!

reply fluffyj wrote on Oct 30, ’07 I love seeing writes, reworks, and rewrites.  The evolution of a thought carried to the birth of a poem.  Love the images of leaves captured and held.

reply papahere wrote on Oct 31, ’07 Like everything you do there is a striving toward perfection.~Papa

reply afsheenahmed wrote on Oct 31, ’07 Your ‘1. Free writing exercise’ is nice ,I liked it because its proves and highlight some critical situation with sensitivity.

reply afsheenahmed wrote on Oct 31, ’07 Thanks for sharing sue to all of your writing experiments on “Fall” I think this will provide to new writers some good lessons for skill’s journey by creative spirit about writing.

reply aladybug wrote on Oct 31, ’07 I love this because it takes you through the process of creating the poem.  It’s a great poem and also a great blog.  I find it… educational!   Thanks for sharing how you go through the process.  I have always loved your poems, as you know!!!!   Publish, publish!!!   Hugs!    🙂

reply redheadgirl4 wrote on Oct 31, ’07 This was so wonderful! I love how you laid it out, so we could see the process in action. And I love the result as always my brilliant friend!

reply philsgal7759 wrote on Nov 1, ’07 great job connecting the seasons with back to school and the consumer seasons

reply markg1 wrote on Nov 2, ’07 Interesting how you took the free form and compressed it. In some ways the original was so very powerful, not in a conventional poetic manner; however it had a quality of depth and innocence at the same time. There was something about the original that drew in wanting more, wanting to go back to that time of collecting leaves for the pleasure and amazement that one feels when they are so young. Wonderful.

Comment deleted at the request of the author.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Oct 27, ’08, edited on Oct 27, ’08 I enjoyed reading and observing the evolutionary process of your poem here. It takes me back to my childhood when I collected leaves and pressed them in a book. Fall poetry the best. I love the first section where you make up you own Halloween costume and call yourself “Scotch Doll”. Thanks. Here your return link: http://lauritasita.multiply.com/journal/item/982/Poetry_Wednesday_102908_Sign_in_and_take_the_tour?replies_read=9

reply starfishred wrote on Oct 27, ’08 love them all but the first one I can just see you all dolled up lol and that sign Scotch doll 25c love it

reply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Oct 29, ’08 Each draft adds a new dimension to the association of fall and school. I’m big fan of your childhood tales so #1 appeal to me. Isn’t it amazing how we remember such thing as leaves with events in our lives? My favorite memory of leaves was actually on my wedding day…a gorgeous fall complete with all hues or red and yellow leaves that just added decoration to this life event for me. Oh my..your poems always nudge my memories..thank you my dear!

reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Oct 30, ’08 this time of year is so inspirational for so many things, this is a lovely poem, thanks http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/journal/item/192/Tam_O_Shanter_poetry_by_Rabbie_Burns

reply dianahopeless wrote on Oct 31, ’08 Sometimes the creative process is as interesting as the final product. In this case I liked them all.