Everything I do is stitched with its color.
– W.S. Merwin, from “Separation”

Good evening, Pub Poets! Lisa here to welcome you to Prosery: the prompt where we write prose based on some given lines of poetry. This can be flash-fiction or creative non-fiction, but it cannot exceed 144 words in total (not including the title) and must not be poetry (no versification, line breaks, metre, etc.)

Before getting into the nitty gritty of today’s prompt and poet who wrote it, a reminder:

OLN LIVE will be on Thursday, January 19th from 3 to 4 PM EST . . . AND . . . on Saturday, January 21st from 10 to 11 AM EST. Come to the dVerse home page on Thursday and/or Saturday and click on the appropriate link that will take you to the live session. All are welcome across all time zones! Come to simply listen and meet poets from around the globe OR come and read a poem of your choice. We’re a very friendly bunch so we hope you’ll join us at one or both sessions. Mark your calendars now!

Onward! I did a little surfing for Mary Oliver lines as I received one of her poetry books for Christmas. Then I browsed for January-themed quotes in goodreads, but it was difficult to sort the authors from the poets. Finally I did a random search and came across this fellow’s poem and heard the ding, “winner!” Searching through the dVerse archives using his last name, I see his poems have been used multiple times and are there for you to see if you wish. (Use the search box at the top of the main page and type Merwin in it.) The poem this one came from has not been used, so it’s fair game. Also, none of the other posts included his biography. After reading a few of his poems and his biography, I now want to learn more about this talented and passionate poet.

Wikipedia introduces Merwin with:

William Stanley Merwin (b. 9/30/27 – d. 3/15/19) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin’s unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island’s rainforests.

Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009; the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005, and the Tanning Prize—one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets—as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate.

Poet Edward Hirsch wrote that Merwin 

is one of the greatest poets of our age. He is a rare spiritual presence in American life and letters (the Thoreau of our era).

Now that you know a little about this illustrious wordsmith, it’s time to decide if you want to meet the challenge of writing prosery to his following line of poetry:

Everything I do is stitched with its color.

Here’s how to take part in the Prosery Prompt:
•  Write a piece of flash fiction or other prose up of up to or exactly 144 words, including the given line from the poem.
•  Post your Prosery piece on your blog and link back to this post.
•  Place the link to your actual post (not your blog url) on the Mister Linky page.
•  Don’t forget to check the little box to accept use/privacy policy.
•  Please visit other blogs and comment on their posts!

top embroidered image by Lauren DiCioccio
Merwin’s photo image link