NaPoWriMo 1 ~ Stilettos & Feathers ~ Big Tent

~Process Notes~
One of the prompts at Big Tent Poetry this week was to use feather and stilettos in a poem, but to use them without people wearing them. The first thing that I did to tackle the prompt was brainstorm a list of words that shared sounds with stiletto and feather. I added to the list all day today. Pairing the words in several variations, I said them aloud over and over. When I sat down to write, the first sentence I wrote was, “Ethel’s stiletto left a divot in Devin’s head.” I looked up divot and discovered it isn’t the hole left behind, but the chunk popped out…ew! Anyway, that sentence started my first piece for NaPoWriMo. The rest of the poem took some time and I tried to incorporate the sounds, which ultimately drove the content through an admittedly bizarre landscape.

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When Ethel came home and found Devin dead

Ethel’s stiletto left a seven centimeter
pit in Devin’s head that became a haven for maggots.
Writhing, white and wormlike
they fed on Devin’s flesh.
Sentience ceased
and his energy lit the Ethernet’s libretto.
Feather’s fell on Ethel
like a soft warm snow.
Downy dark quills
covered her computer
and she cried.

Devin kept her tethered
far above the nether,
where they metronomed together
Eskimos against death’s cold.

Feathers enveloped Ethel’s ankles:
Devin’s final caress.

Steeling herself against the stench,
she dialed 9-1-1.

Ethel knew she’d never wear those shoes again.