Stellar Syntheses

07 August 2021 Saturday Poetry Prompt: power of an opening question

Meeting – how can there be this much sweat between us –

Whistling through a dry humid summer – unending pleas – for the touch –

but this – this is love in a plague though – tempting dreams and some elaborate quiet too – nothing stings lately –

But my hand and face flicker between numb and sensate – I want to lay that to you – but darling I opened up too –

Strings of light – nothing like an eager Christmas an enthusiastic neighbour – a stretch – easily somehow – over 14000kms away…but

I am fucking melting – clearly – I don’t say I am not/have not gone mad – except reason dropped out of this race a while ago –

not content to keep finishing last – that’s got to be someone though, yeah –

Excruciating cleansing —as if I had any luck redirecting my head – I swear I left it with you – between the pillow and your head – or maybe cruising up and down the sheets against your thighs –

An imaginative body springs up – and like some blood-starved cannibals we madly tear into a dialogue that doesn’t require any rain to grow –

Yes, love – pressed in your arms – eyes lit in that Lady Macbeth light – a savage glee inside the compulsion –

A synthesis without opposing pieces.

J.D. Harms 2021

Prompt:

Every now and then, it’s interesting to begin a piece with a question (and, yes, I’ve done variations of this prompt before), using stream of consciousness/explication to unfold other associations. One of the troubles, however, of this approach is falling into the trap of making the poem one long unending question, perhaps inserting a new question each stanza. I don’t want you to do this; also, “why can’t I sleep?” is okay, but “what is love?”…not so much. What I want to see is just one question, right at the beginning. The question, also, must contain a subject (“us”, in mine). Doesn’t matter how wild or extraneous the piece becomes. Just begin with one question, and spend the rest of it answering.

Don’t forget to tag me in it; also, remember to check out your Scrittura colleague’s work. There’s some really amazing stuff coming out lately, and always!

Eli Snow Jessica Lee McMillan Zay Pareltheon Viraji Ogodapola Melissa Coffey Adrea Kore Samantha Lazar Paroma Sen Vic Spandrio Jesse M. Gonzalez Alex Guenther Caitlin Rebecca Wry Welwood Gary Chapin Jeff Langley Ana-Maria Schweitzer Ann Marie Steele Joseph Lieungh Chris Mooney-Singh Renee Podunovich Sydney J. Shipp Gurpreet Aparna Das Sadhukhan Mimi Bordeaux Barry Dawson Jr. IV Aaron Quist Michael Ulf Wolf jenine bsharah baines MDSHall Suzanne V. Tanner Dennett Annine Massaro Andrea Juillerat-Olvera Iva Hotko Kevin E. Pittack Jr. Jonah Angeles Jonah Lightwhale Connie Song Saugat Menon Somsubhra Banerjee Rhonda Marrone Xandra Winters Charlene Marron Josh Lonsdale Evan Wildstein Mohan Boone Janaka Stagnaro. allie wisniewski Kristie Darling Rambling Rose Terry Barr I am not a Robot Steven Clifford Lennie Varvarides Daniel Barry Betsy Denson Saurabh C Niki Madore Vixen Lea Lori Lamothe Sylvia Dziuba Ben Human Jaylee Reign j.calabrese Wilfreda Edward