Crossing and Returning
Crossing and Returning
A Journey Poem
A Journey Poem
Write a poem where the speaker goes somewhere—it can be an ordinary place (a childhood home, a grocery store, a park) or somewhere more symbolic (a graveyard, a train station, a hospital). While in this place, they observe something small and specific—an object, a scent, a sound—that triggers a flashback to an earlier time.
The Present: The speaker arrives at the place and notices something.
The Flashback: The speaker is pulled into a memory connected to what they observed.
The Return: The speaker comes back to the present, reflecting on how things have changed—or stayed the same.
This poem bridges past and present, movement and memory, permanence and change. The shift between time periods should feel natural, almost inevitable, like stepping through a door that has always been waiting.
In this assignment, you will develop your ability to describe an object or place in different ways over time. One of the most powerful tools a writer has is the ability to return to the same image but make it feel different—through memory, perspective, and the passage of time.
Donald Hall’s Maple Syrup does this beautifully, using the act of boiling sap, the changing of the seasons, and the physical space of the farm as an anchor to explore memory, loss, and change.
How does the same object look different in memory versus in the present?
How do sensory details shift? Does a once-warm home feel cold now? Does a childhood food taste different as an adult?
How can you subtly show growth, decay, nostalgia, or distance through these changing descriptions?
The poem must describe a journey or movement—the speaker must go somewhere.
The speaker must observe something specific that sparks a flashback.
The speaker must return to the present, reflecting on what has changed (or hasn’t).
The poem must use an object or place as an anchor for both the present and past, showing how its meaning, description, or emotional weight shifts over time.
Sensory details (sight, smell, touch, sound, taste) should make the memory feel vivid.
Choose an anchor: What specific thing triggers the memory? Is it a smell, an object, a certain quality of light?
Play with description over time: The same object can feel different—a childhood backyard can shrink, an old car can smell like rust instead of freedom.
Make the transition seamless: Instead of announcing “I remember…” allow the memory to pull the speaker in naturally.
Think about contrast: Is the speaker’s memory warmer than the present? More painful? Does the past explain the way they see the present?
Use parallel images: Can a small action in the past mirror an action in the present? A repeated phrase or rhythm can subtly connect the two time periods.
Donald Hall’s “Maple Syrup” (the return to a familiar place, shaped by grief and time)
Robert Frost’s “Directive” (a journey leading into the past and back again)
Li-Young Lee’s “Eating Alone” (a moment of solitude triggering childhood memory)
Natasha Trethewey’s “Myth” (the looping nature of memory and return)