Red Lineage Poems

At Poets United this week I am sharing a feature about a project by American poet and interactive artist Natasha Marin, which captured my imagination.

It is called Red Lineage. You can find out about it here, and also read her own poem which began it all. You can experience other people's contributions, both at that page and here, and you can participate yourself here. (Go to the "Explore' drop-down menu and select +Add Your Lineage.)

I wrote this Red Lineage poem some weeks ago, when I first came across the site:

My name is Redrose.
My mother's name is Soft Red.
My father's name is Lively Red.
I come from a people known for loving words.
Remember me.

(The ambiguity in the second-last line is intentional.)

Today I returned and found that she has added more spaces for us to write into, more possibilities to explore – so I created this one and participated again:

My name is Witchpoet Red.
My mother’s name is Fearful Red.
My father’s name is Remorseful Red.

I come from a people who are known for
adoration of language and delight in Nature.

After I go, I will leave my words scattered
like feathers, which may be found and kept
or be reabsorbed back into the earth.

Remember me.

(I have broken the longest lines of this into shorter ones. It seemed right to make the verse breaks, too.)

If you decide to participate, please enter your poems at the site; and if you post them to your blog, please link to the site. Natasha requested this when giving me permission to share and teach Red Lineage.




(My rose photos are to illustrate my first piece. I like photographing roses and sharing the photos on facebook with wishes for love, peace and joy for all.)