Scrittura Wednesday Poetry Prompt

Cauldron of Poesy

sorrow and joy

As a man I have no womb, but we all carry cauldrons deep inside, to catch the life we swim in, concoct surprises, sacred truths, and holy lives.

These lines from What Kind of Magic? convey my incomplete understanding of the Three Cauldrons (akin but not identical with chakras) spoken of in very old Irish poetry, notably by Amirgen White-Knee. For a much more comprehensive understanding, refer to Erynn Rowan Laurie’s article The Cauldron of Poesy in the magazine Obsidian. Laurie calls them cauldrons of Incubation (in the abdomen), Motion(in the chest) and Wisdom (in the head). Cauldrons can be upside down (empty), slanting on the side (partially full), or upright (full). Elsewhere the cauldrons are named Warming, Vocation and Knowledge.

Poetry comes from the Cauldron of Motion, influenced by the other two cauldrons. Amirgen says that this cauldron is upside down in ignorant people, slanting in mid-level poets, and upright in the highest-level poets. What I find intriguing is that the Cauldron of Motion can be turned upright by great sorrow or joy. This influenced a short piece titled Acknowledgements, in an unpublished manuscript:

Surely I owe everything to loving souls taught me to sing.

Still, lest I ungrateful seem, thanks to those taught me to scream.

Has sorrow or joy ever taken your poetry to a higher level?

For this Wednesday’s prompt, write a poem inspired by powerful joy and/or sorrow in your life. Focus on the event, circumstances, or memory and let the words flow.

As always, observe the Scrittura guidelines, include a link to the prompt, and tag me. Tag others you feel might be up for the challenge, if you like. Power to your writing…

~ Wry Welwood May 2023 attention: Zay Pareltheon. (Zay published this on Thursday this week because, well, he wanted to get all the prompt parts just right! Zay hopes he did that part correctly.)

(another poem about the Cauldrons: Three Cauldrons.)

Herbert Moyer, Chiarra Sue, Christina White, Connie Song, Filza Chaudhry, Trisha Dunbar (She/Her), O’lam Harriston, Andrea Zanon Confidente, Margie Willis, Carolyn Riker, Kristie Darling, Madison Ann ✨📝, John O’Neill, Suma Narayan, Carly Barrett, David Rudder, SE Waters, Gilbert Corliss, Kay Alexander, Angelina Der Arakelian Caitlin Rebecca, Jack Finn, Somsubhra Banerjee, Social Saeedd, Amy Jasek, Toni Crowe, Prudence Hatchett, SLSnow88, Brigitte Michelle, Austin Petti, Evelyn Jean Pine, Crystal Garrett, Chris Mooney-Singh, Eva Gervais, Reza Mozafari Manesh, Johnmooner-chief, Brittany Ruiz, Humble Dog, Vic Spandrio, Shangamitra Chakraborty, Timothy Kincaid, Robert James Karpie -B4HEART and Believe!, Mukundarajan V N, James Cussen, James Cussen, Sharad Gupta, Dan J, Be Open, Alireza Zare, Patrick OConnell, Caroline Mellor, Melissa Coffey, Chloe Paulina Hawes, Esq., J.D., Star Love Grey, Joseph Lieungh, AsherTheChamp, Nathan Simone 👨‍💻, Francis Edwards, published writer, Rustam Seerat, Galit Birk, PhD, Shashin Parikh, Rachel K., Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar, Spyder Darling, Mather Schneider, Jay Squires, M.T. Pariti, J.D. Harms, Larissa Jones, Pierre Trudel, Hayden Moore, Mike Johnson, Jacob Flanders, Herbert Dyer, Jr., Donna L Roberts, PhD (Psych, Lucy M., Jennifer Burke Grehan, Franco Amati, Debra Reay, Emily Hanz, The Nutrition Nurse, A.P. Grayson, Joe Clark, Karen DeGroot Carter, Amanda Walker, Jennifer Seibert Morriss, Michael Hall, Lawrence Heidinga, Desiree Driesenaar, Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀, Kimberlee Jakobe, Judy Derby, Philippa Bagley, Andawn F., Carolyn Hastings, C.A. Jaymes, Sophie Grace, Shalu Bajaj Ahuja, Gus Gresham, Mpdoc,