Let’s talk about the golden shovel. This form starts with a quote – from poetry, music, or any other source. The quote is then expanded to create a poem. The goal is to maintain the beauty of the original quote while also giving ample room for creative license. Let’s take a look at the specifics.
Learning The Form
Terrance Hayes blessed us with this form about a decade ago. Hayes’ poem “The Golden Shovel” took lines from Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” – putting lines from the poem in new context. The golden shovel takes a quote and shifts it into a vertical layout. A poem is then crafted using each word from the quote as the final word in each line.
What Can This Look Like?
I was struck by the line, “you are the one holding the bomb and the bomb is also you” from Sabrina Benhaim’s “Unrequited Love in 9 Parts.” So, I ran with it. As you can see, the bolded words at the end of each line make up the quote.
Maybe I am the bomb
by Alex Aimee Kist
after Sabrina Benhaim
And though you said it was unexpected that I chose to let you
go. I wonder if you are
still surprised that the sunset was beautiful. That the
promise of someone else being the one
with the privilege of holding
your hand was beautiful. The
point is, I am sorry you were not the spark that lit the bomb
that would release heat and fire and
intimacy shrapnelled in my ribs. I am sorry that the
person who lit the bomb
came after you and that is
to say, I am also
sorry that I still wonder: If things had been different. Could it have been you?
My Favorites
I’ve collected my top three golden shovels – starting, of course, with the original golden shovel.
- The Golden Shovel by Terrance Hayes
- Cold Alchemy by Amrita Chakraborty
- A Financial Planner Asks About My Goals, or Golden Shovel with Cardi B’s “Money” by Kemi Alabi
Have a golden shovel you’re dying to share? I want to see it! Reach out on my contact page and drop your poem!
Alex Aimee Kist 