Odes

I grew up in Nashville, Tn.  and in 1967, Nashville was immersed in the song, “Ode to Billie Jo”.

It was twangy and swampy, and who knows (even now) what happened to Billie Jo. Yet as a young listener, I could sense the power of pulling an author chasing to pull someone or something out of the shadows for close examination.

In this case the songwriter shared a transgressive secret and called it an “Ode to Billie Jo.”

WHAT IS AN ODE?

An ode is a writing device whereby you take the features of something and reveal its qualities in a singular focus. You could write an ode to a place, a person or an object.

You can write line after line telling what you love about something.  It has an energy to it because you are narrowing down to one thing and writing a full and unusual list of its traits.

HERE ARE TWO EXAMPLES:

1.

Watch Kevin Young Read and Ode

This poem is one of his many odes… he has also honored okra, barbecue, and short ribs. My personal favorite, is titled an Ode to Pepper Vinegar.

2.

Song

by Edward Hirsch


This is a song for the speechless,
the dumb, the mute and the motley, the unmourned!
This is a song for every pig that was too thin
to be slaughtered last night,
but was slaughtered anyway, 
every worm that was hooked on a hook that it didn’t expect, 
every chair in New York City that has no arms or legs,
and can’t speak English,
every sofa that has ever been torn apart by the children
or the dog
and earmarked for the dump,
every sheet that was lost in the laundry,
every car that has been stripped down and abandoned,
too poor to be towed away, too weak and humble to protest.
Listen, this song is for you even if you can’t listen to it, or join in;
even if you don’t have lungs, 

even if you don’t know what a song is, or want to know. 

This song is for everyone who is not listening tonight 
and refuses to sing. 
Not singing is also an act of devotion; 
those who have no voices have one tongue.

Writing Your Own Ode

Be thinking about what you would like to honor in an ode.

Here Are Suggestions

Ode to the journal I didn't finish, 

Ode to my stack of bills, 

Ode to my kickstand, 

Ode to the last 25 pounds I put on, 

Ode to Cinnamon Rolls, 

Ode to the voting booth, 

Ode to my Blues, 

Ode to my Dishwasher, 

Dear Procrastination, 

Ode to Letters I never Sent.*

The list is endless. Enjoy writing a few of your own.