M Christine Delea's Blog, page 12

Holding Vigil by Alison Luterman

Holding Vigil

by Alison Luterman

(published in Rattle, Poets Respond, on November 3, 2024)

My cousin asks if I can describe this moment,

the heaviness of it, like sitting outside

the operating room while someone you love

is in surgery and you’re on those awful plastic chairs

eating flaming Doritos from the vending machine

which is the only thing that seems appealing to you, dinner-wise,

waiting for the moment when the doctor will come out

in her scrubs and face-mask, which she’ll pull down

t...

Bless This School for Girls by Warsan Shire

Bless This School for Girls

by Warsan Shire

(published in he2022 book, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head from Rocking Chair Books)

Falis taught us more about our bodies

than we’d ever glean from the curriculum;

periods, uterus contractions, early symptoms

of cysts, signs of infertility, abortions and where

they were punishable by death, miscarriage—

how long it took to pass the clots and why

you shouldn’t flush as a reflex. Our lady of red

rags—bless her—no one ever though...

Another Name Game: Prompt

Think of fairly common names that are also words that are things other than names. I am thinking of--and these will show my age--Art, Rose, Randy, Will, Sandy, Melody, Bill, Frank, Violet, Ray, Mike, Robin, Daisy, Fern, Buck, Tom, Dolly, Pat, Nick, John, and Peg. There are many more, especially if you start thinking of names that are more contemporary and/or just less traditional: Prince, Star, Clover, Nova, Briar, Ash, Justice, Cricket, Angel, as well as a variety of the place names that parent...

Rape by Adrienne Rich

Rape

by Adrienne Rich

There is a cop who is both prowler and father:

he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers,

had certain ideals.

You hardly knew him in his boots and silver badge,

on horseback, one hand touching his gun.

You hardly know him but you have to get to know him:

he has access to machinery that could kill you.

He and his stallion clop like warlords among the trash,

his ideals stand in the air, a frozen cloud

from between his unsmiling lips.

And so, when the time comes...

Two loves I have of comfort and despair by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 144

by William Shakespeare

Two loves I have of comfort and despair,

Which like two spirits do suggest me still:

The better angel is a man right fair,

The worser spirit a woman colour’d ill.

To win me soon to hell, my female evil

Tempteth my better angel from my side,

And would corrupt my saint to bea devil,

Wooing his purity with her foul pride.

And whether that my angel be turn’d fiend

Suspect I may, yet not directly tell;

But being both from me, both to each friend,

I guess one angel ...

So Many Emotions!: Prompt

Although I am creating this post with photos of 3 pieces of art, this is not an ekphrastic exercise. Rather, I want you to consider how each piece uses metaphor to visually depict

strong emotions.

This first painting is entitled Grief. It is by Antanas Žmuidzinavičus.

The second piece is Joie de Vivre. It is by Mark de Suervo.

The last piece is Fear in the Woods. It is by Hugo Simberg.

Imagine grief, joy, or fear--as well as any other emotion--and think about depicting it without stati...

America by Claude McKay

America

by Claude McKay

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,

And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,

Stealing my breath of life, I will confess

I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!

Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,

Giving me strength erect against her hate.

Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.

Yet as a rebel fronts a king in state,

I stand within her walls with not a shred

Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.

Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,

And see her mig...

The Halloween Party by Aidan Mathews

The Halloween Party

by Aidan Mathews

(published in The Irish Times, October 29, 2022)

I hoist a knitted skeleton on a drip-stand in the porch.

The children are coming, a hundred and twenty last year.

Remember the white-face zombie in her communion dress

And the imp with the actual scythe and his separated father

Standing shyly out at the gate as if it were Saturday.

Later, the lights gone out in the scared terraces,

There will be no safe house for the lads in the black bin-liners.

I pla...

Letting Go: Prompt

We all need to let go of something or someone. (Hey, "The Raven" speaker! Let go of Lenore!). It is easy to talk about, even plan, but not always easy to do.

Today's prompt asks you to create a piece that speaks to letting go.

A few additional nudges:

something you have tried and failed to let go of

someone you let go and you now regret that decision

a job where you were let go

a part of your personality you wish you could let go of

the freedom of letting something go

the idea of letting go ...

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Raven

by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

    While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—

            Only this and nothing more.”

    Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the fl...