31 March 2011

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.

17 comments:

vivinfrance said...

I'm still chuckling at your last line, and at the mischief of the entire poem.

brenda w said...

Viv, I'm glad you enjoyed the mischief. Thank you for your visit and words. It should be a fun month. I'm looking forward, not only to writing, but to reading too! ~Brenda

M. A. S. said...

I love that. I've tried to have a discovery like that at the end of some of my poems. Yours woks perfectly. But I like the graphic imagery even better.

Marianne said...

Richly creative piece ... Your use of stilettos and feathers is brilliant!

Elizabeth said...

Wonderful fun, Brenda. Am looking forward to reading more. Have missed you here,

Elizabeth

flaubert said...

Brenda, this is hilarious! The piece starts out a bit dark and I love how you turned it around at the end. Nice work. Looking forward to a fun month with you:)

Pamela

Mike Patrick said...

A delightful flight of fancy. I love that there was no way to guess where it was going. Great fun.

brenda w said...

~M.A.S., Thanks for your comments. I'm growing fond of your writing, and like to see you stop by here!
~Marianne, Thank you! It was a fun piece to write.
~Elizabeth, I've missed you too. Your work is positive and soulful. It's good to be back.
~Pamela, You are amazing. You always make me feel good inside. Thank you for that.
~Mike, I didn't know where it was going, either, until it got there. ha! That was half the fun!!

Laurie Kolp said...

A delightful and surprising piece. Happy April Poeming!

~laurie

barbara said...

Insanely wonderful.
I love the language fun you had.
(oddly enough, the prompt took me to a murder, too)

Lindsey said...

This was fun to read and made me glad I was wearing stilletos today.

Joseph Harker said...

Cleverly done... love the sound patterns that show up throughout. :)

Anonymous said...

Yikes, Brenda! Not sure I want to visualize some of this imagery. Really clever poem and I'm glad you shared it.

Tilly Bud said...

It's clear you had fun with this - just like I did, reading it.

Anonymous said...

Thought you were going pure dark with this...then bang...a mood reversal. Very clever. Vb

Tumblewords: said...

It's always dark before the laugh. :) Brilliant piece!

Cathy said...

Creepy and very good too. like how you left out how the stiletto got there.