Day Nine ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2020

Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “write a ‘concrete’ poem — a poem in which the lines and words are organized to take a shape that reflects in some way the theme of the poem. This might seem like a very modernist idea, but poets have been writing concrete poems since the 1600s! Your poem can take a simple shape, like a box or ball, or maybe you’ll have fun trying something more elaborate.” Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “write an ekphrastic poem. An ekphrastic poem is one that’s inspired by a work of art, whether that’s a painting, photograph, sculpture, or some other creation.” Robert's post today provides five images that one could write on; click here if you're interested in seeing them. I’ve chosen to write my ekphrasis on this image from Brewer's five visual prompts. Today, I’ve written another poem in my aswang monster novella, which I described yesterday. This poem is set around the same time as yesterday’s poem on Malcolm, with Clara thinking about her husband Santiago at war, knowing his deepest desires are in opposition to their promise to each other not to give in to their monstrous impulses. The Soldier’s Wife                         I sit in the bay window looking out on Kearny Street in Chinatown, the sun setting while where Tiyago is in the Pacific, the sun rose just a short while ago. Our day and night reversed. I wonder if he is spilling red blood there changed to aswang dog form. It’s just so hard for him, missing the chase in midnight moonlight, stark fear in the eyes of the quarry. I want to say, yes, my love, drink. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] About today's poem, Alan writes, “I thought a poem about the commercialization of Easter would be appropriate, so I took Herbert’s ‘Easter Wings’ and gave it a visual reversal so that the stanzas are shaped like Imperial Tie Fighters.” Easter Things             Lord, I walked into a big-box store Sparse stocked As if no more Than faith openly mocked Could shake finances to the core In a pandemic. There, aligned Along the center aisle What could I find? A pile Of Easter baskets, Star Wars designed. I have known that faith over forty years, A dream, One that endears: A small group might redeem All life itself, overcome fears And then an image reappears, An old, familiar trope: A child appears, Our hope, An egg-shaped crib and long, green bunny ears. —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Fun poem, Alan! And rhyme too! Also, everyone, this is an ekphrastic poem as well, riffing on cinema. I think there's a widespread belief that ekphrasis in poetry is only done in response to art. Not true . . . ekphrastic poems can be written on music, on videos, on any kind of art apart from writing. Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. To comment, look for a red line below that starts Posted by, then click once on the word comments in that line. If you don’t find the word “comments” in that line, then look for a blue link below that says Post a comment and click it once. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

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