“Write a poem from the inside out.”
This prompt was submitted by Jo Eckler and is as she phrased it “Purposefully vague”
24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
“Write a poem from the inside out.”
This prompt was submitted by Jo Eckler and is as she phrased it “Purposefully vague”
Oh my!
Well, the follow-up phrase is “Purposefully vague”.
Hmm. . . .
A cherita
teeth chattering
I wring the day
out of my clothes
only an hour
to walk all the way
from aye to nay
wow. This one just opened things up…
Long-Lasting Laundry
On Saturdays, I do laundry.
But before I put T- Shirts,
socks, and underwear in the clothes
washer, I turn them inside out.
I’m told that that’s how I can make
them last longer: the colors will
remain more vibrant.
On other days, I write poetry.
But before I save my words, phrases,
and ideas on the computer,
I turn them inside out.
I’ve learned that that’s how I can make
them last longer, too.
I grab each word by its collar,
I spin each phrase around,
I flip each idea over and over,
to ensure my poems, like my
laundry, will come out much cleaner,
brighter and well folded.
FROM THE BACK
Edgar Degas, At the Louvre (Miss Cassatt), 1879
Turn me away, turn me inside out. Hide my eyes, show my back. Don’t stare at my low-heeled shoes or the cut of my Victorian clothes (dark, floor length, pleated). Imagine where I’m going – down this hall or that. Consider the angle of the floor – is the wood parquet slanting up into space?
Don’t worry about who is speaking – Cassatt or the other woman with Miss Cassatt. You may not know – you can’t see my face.
Whose paintings do you imagine Edgar thinks I am looking at? Think about that.