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“Modern western thinking counts four cardinal points (north, south, east and west) but the Irish, along with several other traditional Indo-European cultures and the Chinese, think of five directions – the fifth being ‘here’ or ‘centre’.” [source]

Today we are focusing on one number and one poet. The number is five, naturally, as its the 5th October and the poet is Juan Filipe Herrera.

“Before you go further,
let me tell you what a poem brings,
first, you must know the secret, there is no poem
to speak of, it is a way to attain a life without boundaries,
yes, it is that easy, a poem…”

In those opening 5 lines Hererra gives us a version of Ars Poetica of “Let me Tell You what a Poem Brings”. But perhaps most notably he is known for his “Five Directions to my house”

“1 Go back to the grain yellow hills where the broken speak of elegance
2. Walk up to the canvas door, the short bed stretched against the clouds
3. Beneath the earth, an ant writes with the grace of a governor
4. Blow, blow Red Tail Hawk, your hidden sleeve—your desert secrets
5. You are there, almost, without a name, without a body, go now
6. I said five, said five like a guitar says six. “

In 2014, the Academy of American Poets made this a national poetry month prompt which amongst others, elicited this response from 18 year old student Ilyssa: Five Minutes to My House :

“ One, the mountain cradles the rising sun as it leaves
a warm pink collection of colors in the air.
Bright, brutal sunlight turns the sky on
like an electrical switch and the sky becomes
alive.

Two,
the staccato of a wood pecker tapping on my roof
in the morning stirs me awake.

Three,
an endless stretch of rocks and dirt, harsh
to the eyes, a barren desolate land”… (read more)

So for today’s poetry prompt we are also taking “Five Directions to My House” as inspiration:

  • write your poem in five stanzas of five lines per stanza (quintain)
  • write as a Pentastich Quintain (unregulated rhyme, meter etc)
  • each stanza is one of five ways to your house (real or imaginary)
  • can be literal or metaphorical, measured in time, direction, etc or a mix
  • the title is your own choice but must begin: “Five…………”
  • include a reference to Hererra’s poem somewhere in your post

N.B. Think of the fifth way as the central compass point – here, the start, the existential now
Guidance: Remember this is poetry – avoid making your poem sound as descriptive as a travel or map guide
Suggestion: you could include these selected words from Hererra’s poem in your 5 stanzas in order:-
1 yellow hills; 2 canvas door; 3 the earth; 4 desert secrets 5 a name

Useful Link: Hererra explains his 6th line and reads his poem in Poet to Poet 2014

So once you have posted your poem according to the topic’s guidelines above, do add it to Mr Linky below then go visiting others as that is half the fun of our dVerse gatherings.