We sprinkled a word or two from the poem we've just read here and there throughout the poem. In other words we've plagiarized. We've managed to wreck the original at the expense of some short-lived satisfaction. Let's try something I call mapping. Rather than stealing specific lines or words lets steal the poet's strategy for the poem.
Lets use the progress of the poem to chart our own poem.
As an example we'll use excerpts from a Garret Hongo poem. In it Hongo remembers members of his family who have passed away. What's surprising about the poem is how he remembers his father and grandfather. I want the cold stone in my hand to pound the earth, I want the splash of cool or steaming water to wash my feet, I want the dead beside me when I dance, to help me flesh the notes of my song, to tell me it's all right. Okay let's map Hongo's poem.