The Poetry of Lists
June 13, 2014
“As oppressive as a list may be when one is a slave to its demands, there is a certain beauty to it; to seeing all the tasks that must be laid to rest all arranged and laid out like a poem.”
— Bill Richardson, Bachelor Brothers Bed & Breakfast
My list of fun things to do this summer
I admit that I am fond of lists. I seem to have so many odds and ends zinging around my mind that I need lists to help organize my thoughts. Once I’ve captured an item on paper, I stop fretting about it.
I don’t think of the items on my list being “laid to rest” once I complete them, but I do find satisfaction in checking them off one by one. I like the idea of my list being structured like a poem. I am a poet who doesn’t know it!
Rosemary's Blog 
June 13, 2014 at 6:33 am
I love writing lists by hand. There is definitely something soothing and poetic about it that this quote captures very well. I’ll be making my own summer list when I get home today!
June 13, 2014 at 8:33 pm
I am a list maker also..have heard it said that it is a characteristic of the girls in our family to make lists..my college roommate still comments on The lists I always made
June 14, 2014 at 6:48 pm
Your handwriting’s lovely. No wonder you enjoy making lists!
Truth to tell, my only lists are for the grocery store or other such things. Cat to vet. Wash car. Pay bills.
I can’t even imagine making a list of fun things to do over the summer. Chores and lists are so firmly connected in my mind, if I put something on a list, it becomes a chore, something to be worked at. Funny-strange, and funny-amusing.
June 15, 2014 at 7:07 am
One of the other reasons I like lists is because I can write some ideas quickly but briefly. I’ve never been a writer like you, who fleshes things out and goes beyond the surface.
June 15, 2014 at 7:11 am
And now you’ve suggested a possibility — that my draft file actually is what you call a list. It’s full of “drafts” that are nothing more than a title, a few words, or a clutch of links to explore.