In the morning at sunrise in Iguazu Falls
I’ll die as water rushes down on me,
taking away my breath, filling my lungs.
Tourists will be watching, snapping Polaroids.
On an Argentinian morning I’ll watch myself
in the beautiful falls that engulf my being.
Music will be playing as I tango without
a partner, my shoes well-crafted and fanciful.
My moves will be graceful as I motion for the
waterfall to wrap its shimmering shape around
my ankles and pull me in for one last time …
while an artist paints a picture of the falls.
Napowrimo prompt #3:
Here’s a third prompt for those of you who like to get ahead of the curve. This one is adapted from Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, a book my parents gave me when I was 14 or so and they noticed I was constantly scribbling things down. So here goes: Cesar Vallejo wrote a pretty famous poem that begins with him saying that he will die in Paris, in the rain, on a Thursday (different translations from the Spanish make it hard to quote precisely in English). So go ahead and write a poem predicting your own death — at night in Omaha at the Shell Station, in an underwater Mexican grotto after a dry spell. It’s less morbid than you think!
Red Wolf Journal Spring 2014, and a fresh start
10 years ago
Posts
Sounds ike a plan, but I prefer the Liz Taylor approach...
ReplyDeleteWow! what a romantic way to go!
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job with subject matter that I find such a challenge to write about.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am finding this prompt hard to approach. Maybe I'll get there. I hope I can master it as well as you've done here.
ReplyDeleteI like what you did with this prompt; quite beautiful.
ReplyDeletePamela, Your death is gorgeous. :) The lush image of the falls wrapping around you becomes voyeuristic with the artist and tourists watching your demise. Intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe Liz Taylor approach is not such a bad idea, Stan;)
ReplyDeleteRomantic it would be, Andy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Madeleine, it wasn't that simple without wanting to get morbid, which I sometimes have an inclination to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ron, here's to getting there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tilly, a bit difficult to write to actually.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, funny, I wrote it this way, as much as I love the water (swimming etc ...) I have always had a fear of drowning.
ReplyDeleteSo fanciful and sweet!
ReplyDeleteThat it is, zouxzoux:)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good way to die in the far distant future, of course. However, I have heard that drowning is very painful.
ReplyDeleteI've always told my daughter that, once she thinks I'm ready for the nursing home, she should first book me on a cruise to Alaska. I hope to hop overboard into the frigid waters and die before the fish start nibbling me!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic way to die. I would like to snap that Polaroid. Wait-that doesn't sound right.
ReplyDeleteGreat imagery!
"waterfall to wrap its shimmering shape around
my ankles and pull me in for one last time"
And that sounds wonderful!
I hadn't heard that, Mary, but I would imagine it, to be so.
ReplyDeleteIn Alaska, yeah that would happen, hypothermia would get you first, Amy.
ReplyDeleteTake the Polaroid, gee thanks, MAS.
ReplyDeletePamela