rising up from molten death — earth quakes.
Writhing forth, as slumbers hold abates,
demon wings unfurl and stretch.
(the fates
deem the time has come prepare to snip
threads of helpless lives as red tears drip;
spreading fear sets in.)
Each crack of bone
rolls like thunder — dormant joints now moan,
stolen from their sleep. The creature throws
off its ashen blanket; darkness grows
drawing clouds around its giant form.
Raised arms, clenched fists, puffed chest, call the storm.
Brazen fractals light the pluming cloud
looming 'round the monster like a shroud.
Few can see his head tilt back and laugh
(evilly) he carves out epitaphs.
A note on form: The above construction is a twist on a form; I had this inkling to toy with Framed Couplets. The form was introduced to me by Gay Reiser Cannon (aka beachanny) during one of her lovely post for dVerse Poets Pub's FormforAll. While I am not really one for writing in strict meter or rhyme (of which this form has both), something about this form speaks to me. As I mentioned this is a twist on the form; it may be more aptly named "Chained Couplets." While I maintained the meter of the form, I altered the rhyme pattern slightly. The original form uses pairs of line where the first words and last syllables of the pair rhyme--thus the idea of "framed" couplets. I maintained the end rhyme (first with second, third with fourth, and so on), but I shifted the initial rhyme (second with third, fourth with fifth, and so on). In addition, I used the same initial sound as the the start of the first and last line to act as sort of a clasp in the chain.
Thoughts on writing in form: I once tweeted, "it's amazing how one can loose sight of somethings true purpose when trying to conform." This piece is an example of how I felt as the form took over the writing. I'm not sure how "the fates" made their way into this piece. I was also quite stuck on how they would lead me back to the original image that lay behind this poem. Even now, after suffering their appearance, I'm not 100% sold on them. Yet, they do make an excellent link to the last line...so maybe their unexpected arrival was not so bad. Sometimes I do wonder what a poem might have actually turned out to be if I had neglected to adhere to a specific form.
Inspiration for this piece: I was Flip(board)ing through some photos looking for something that might spark a bit of inspiration. In doing so, I came across some amazing photos of lightening over the Sakurajima in Japan. There, in the ashen clouds adorning this monster, I could see shapes take form--in a fashion similar to looking at the clouds to discover rabbits, flowers, or dragons. What I saw in the billowing masses was a figure rising from the volcano. Below I have included the original image, along with one I tweaked slightly (altering its brightness, contrast and tint) to allow for the form to shine through a bit more clearly for others who do not have my crazy vision.
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| photo taken by Martin Rietze (http://www.mrietze.com/) |
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