A Concrete Poem (for the Lunatics) #NaPoWriMo

moon, wh-
en you touch me with s-
ilver licking lunacy, my inne-
r stores replenish once more…I fa-
ll away into howling divinity, mate-
rnal, replete, cake-dust-sweet…I f-
all away into timelessness, a tr-
ick you like to play with me
…stardust fizzing in
my bones.

_{^{© N Nazir 2022}}

*Wordpress doesn’t allow for much in the way of formatting so I kept it simple. It’s a total cheat as I wrote it a few months ago, but I was short on time.

*if you wish, you can check out another example of a concrete poem by me here.

*Sorry I haven’t responded to comments yet, everything’s a little topsy turvy right now, but I will respond soon. I really appreciate them though ❤

NaPoWriMo prompt: Today’s (optional) prompt is to write a concrete poem. Like acrostic poems, concrete poems are a favourite for grade-school writing assignments, so this may not be your first time at the concrete-poem rodeo. In brief, a concrete poem is one in which the lines are shaped in a way that mimics the topic of the poem. For example, May Swenson’s poem “Women” mimics curves, reinforcing the poem’s references to motion, rocking horses, and even the shape of a woman’s body. George Starbuck’s “Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree” is – you guessed it – a sonnet in the shape of a potted Christmas tree. Your concrete poem could be complexly-shaped, but relatively simple strategies can also be “concrete” —  like a poem involving a staircase where the length of the lines grows or shrinks over time, like an ascending (or descending) set of stairs.

For more information or to take part, please visit www.napowrimo.net

What’s Love Got to Do With it?

^{_{Untitled, digital photograph, © N Nazir 2020}}

Why do crabs walk sideways?

If whales, with their monumental beautiful brains and singularly extraordinary perception, could tell us everything they know, what would they tell us?

Why was Orpheus and Eurydice’s love doomed when their only crime was to love?

What if love is not the answer?

What if God and the Devil do exist and God chose Lucifer as the most talented at teaching humankind the hardest lessons, to be the keeper of the balance of power, to all the more pour light into the world? What if Lucifer wants to love but is forbidden?

Why does the truth hurt? And when it does, is it a good pain because the truth is absolute? Is truth absolute? What is a good pain?

Why do continents separate soul mates? If we are no longer allowed to travel for the sake of the planet’s survival, how do we meet our soul mates then?

Why, after it has rained, do I always step on that one paving slab that sends water shooting up my leg?

Why do people hate spiders when all they did was exist?

How often have you experienced zielschmerz?

Why does kindness make people cry?

Why have I never read Vonnegut? Why does everyone say you have to read Vonnegut? What is the big deal with Vonnegut?

Is it possible for a true artist to become a successful businessperson without compromising the authenticity of their art?

Do all poets experience ambedo?

Why are some people destined to be alone? Is destiny an unstoppable force or always a choice, or both?

When was the last time you experienced an ecstatic shock?

Why are clichés a bad thing?

Why does writing always make me feel better?

^{© N Nazir 2021}

NaPoWriMo Prompt: to write a poem that poses a series of questions. I have also done yesterday’s belated prompt by including three concepts from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

– ambedo: n. a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details – raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee – briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.

– ecstatic shock: n. the surge of energy upon catching a glance from someone you like—a thrill that starts in your stomach, arcs up through your lungs and flashes into a spontaneous smile—which scrambles your ungrounded circuits and tempts you to chase that feeling with a kite and a key.

– Zielschmerz: n. the exhilarating dread of finally pursuing a lifelong dream, which requires you to put your true abilities out there to be tested on the open savannah, no longer protected inside the terrarium of hopes and delusions that you created in kindergarten and kept sealed as long as you could, only to break in case of emergency.

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